... has an obvious meaning that everyone knows and recognizes. A universal symbol in "The Black Cat" is the black cat itself. Black cats to superstitious people have always meant evil or bad luck. Some people even believe them to be witches in disguise. Another obvious symbol is "Pluto", the cat's name. Pluto means HADES, the God of the underworld, the Devil. This is ... eighth element. Theme is the main or central idea of a work. This is sometimes referred to as the "moral" of the story. The theme of "The Black Cat" is every bad thing you do comes back to you times three. That is exactly w...

• Word Count: 2283
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... companies, and it was beginning to break down. Once again, he turned to alcohol to help him cope with his problems. In 1825, John Allan had a small string of good luck. He inherited a large sum of money, and he was now able to enroll Edgar into the University of Virginia. Edgar, before his departure, was dating a fifteen-year-old woman, Sarah ... . During the year 1837, Edgar began his most successful period as a writer. He published popular terror tales such as "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poe's enemies gave Edgar a bad review, and Edgar fired back with many parodies of these peopl...

• Word Count: 1363
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School