Black Cat Vs. Young Goodman Brown

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Symbolism in “The Black Cat” and “Young Goodman Brown” Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are American writers known for their contributions to the American dark romance genre. Both writers were born in Massachusetts – Poe in Boston and Hawthorne in Salem - but experienced different upbringings and beliefs. Although Poe and Hawthorne lived two different lifestyles, they share many similarities in their writing styles and enjoyed each other’s work. When reading “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne and “The Black Cat” by Poe, the reader discovers that while these two stories express two different main ideas and settings, both writers incorporate symbolism. Although both stories are told by narrators, Edgar Allan Poe writes “The Black Cat” in first person while Nathaniel Hawthorne writes “Young Goodman Brown” in the third person. Both writers named their stories after the main character in each. “The Black Cat” starts with its narrator explaining that although people may think that he is crazy, the crime which he is being sentenced to death for is a “series mere of household events”. Immediately, the culprit admits that even though the events haunt him, he does not blame himself for the ordinary succession of causes and effects. He murdered his wife, who harbored the love for animals that he once possessed, after she intervened when he tried to murder their second black cat. The first black cat the narrator owned, Pluto, was loved by his owner until alcoholism and possibly rabies caused the narrator’s irritability and change in his once pleasant disposition. He buried his unnamed wife's body behind a brick wall in the cellar of their home. He secured the brick wall with mortar. However, after the police investigated the cellar and were on their way
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