The Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe - 1240 Words

In Studies in Classic American Literature, D.H. Lawrence condemns Americans for dodging their true selves by means of intellectualization and idealization. Both Edgar Allan Poe’s short story â€Å"The Black Cat† and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† feature allegorical representations of characters deceiving themselves in order to deny the darker aspects of their inner selves. In Poe’s â€Å"The Black Cat,† the narrator denies the darker aspects of his soul by abstracting his horrific actions with spectral evidence in order to externalize the psychological effects of his guilt. In his allegorical tale â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Hawthorne criticizes the Puritan doctrine of grace in his depiction of the self-deception Lawrence condemns; both†¦show more content†¦Moreover, Lawrence expounds the ways in which Americans deceive themselves and sin against â€Å"the Holy Ghost within† (Lawrence 79), through int ellectualizing and idealizing abstractions of their own experiences. Unlike the Americans who rebel against it, Lawrence encourages listening to the â€Å"Holy Ghost [within] each isolate individual† (Lawrence 85), which prevents one from abstracting new experiences. Furthermore, Lawrence suggests this guiding inner spirit urges, â€Å"not to be too egoistic and willful in [one’s] conscious self† (Lawrence 79). Both Hawthorne’s goodman Brown and Poe’s narrator of â€Å"The Black Cat† justify their actions and experiences with the same egotism and self-conceit Lawrence condemns. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Brown’s curiosity about evil leads him to meet with the devil in hopes he may know and understand the darker aspects of human nature. Like Poe, Hawthorne utilizes allegory in his representation of young Brown’s pursuit of knowledge for what lies beyond his material world. Throughout the allegorical tale, Hawthorne reveals Brown’s self-denial in his externalization of evil in the form of the devil. With an almost comical lack of awareness, Brown begins his errand believing his â€Å"excellent resolve for the future- [his plan to â€Å"cling to [Faith’s] skirts and follow her to Heaven]- justifies his present evil purpose† (Hawthorne 387). Even upon being confronted with the darker aspects of his family history, Brown maintains