Comparative analysis of Doubling in The Black Cat and Shadow of a Doubt

Comparative analysis of Doubling in The Black Cat and Shadow of a Doubt

Introduction

According to (citation), the sense of de ja vu and doublings are exist in nearly all aspects of life. Moreover, the doubling theme in literature has always been an issue of extended critical assessment and from both the non-literary and literary points of views, including the sociological correlations, psychoanalytic elaborations, as well as religious, mythological and anthropological approach. However, in instances where the existing coincidences are so many to believe, one may question whether such experiences are real or just dream. Thus, in The Black Cat, Poe makes use of doubling in the illustration of the dream like state under which the narrative occurs. On the other hand, in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, doubling has been used in the illustration of the juxtaposition that exist in both good and evil. Owing to this observation, this paper has been written with the objective of analyzing the doubling literary convention in the two narratives of Alfred Hitchcock and Allan Poe. To attain this, the doubling literary convention will be doubled from the classical constrictions to the characterization, as well as into the broader conception that included aspects of literary fabric including implied criticism and setting constructions.

Discussion

Allen Poe’s The Black Cat” is a narrative on a man who is guilty for killing his cat, Pluto, by hanging. He, however, decides to adopt another black cat, which ends up terrifying him given that the animal constantly reminds him of the previous black cat and how he killed it (Shaw 125). The theme of doubling in Poe’s The Black Cat serves a number of functions that include the provision of temporary irony, creation of symmetry in the narrative to signify the alteration in the character of the narrator and performing the role of projecting the guilt of the narrator (Jones 236). Thus, Poe’s The Black Cat tend to have increased levels of subtle doubling instances. The same night that the narrator murders his initial black cat, fire occurs in his house. However, upon returning to his ruined home, he discovers that the flames did not consume only one wall. He, however, links the fire to the cat by observing that, in the course of the fire, it is likely that the cut from the tree and after that, thrown into the house through the open window, and into his chamber. According to the man, the victim of his cruelty might have also been compressed by the fallen walls into a freshly spread plaster substance; of whose lime and the flames, as well as the carcass ammonia, had after that led to the accomplishment of the portrait (Poe 111). Though this might not be the precise clarification of the uncanny occurrences, the narrator is seen to approve the clarification.

A key function of doubling in The Black Cat entails the provision of irony and this is perceived as justice by the narrator (Ahmed 17). Thus, at the commencement of the narrative, the narrator is seen hanging Pluto, his beloved cat, after gouging out the cat’s eye using a pen knife. Closer to the conclusion of the narrative, the narrator gets sentenced to death through hanging following the murder of his wife (Shaw 127). Such doubling of death by hanging, as well as being hang offers the story the sense of karma. In the story’s opening, the narrator observed that “his immediate purpose is to bring before the world, succinctly, plainly and devoid of comment a sequence of simpler household occurrences. He further asserts that the outcomes of such occurrences have tortured, terrified and destroyed him. From the assertion, the narrator is seen suggesting that his hanging is mainly as a result of his initial actions that attend to be a buildup of the household occurrences (Ahmed 32). The observation that the narrator suffers a similar fate to that of Pluto is considered a doubling that not only offers justice but additionally indicates that the narrator ultimately punished himself.

Additionally, in The Black Cat, the theme of doubling is imperative given that it is a projection of the sense of guilt. The narrator suffers from a mental disorder known as the “delusions of persecution” (Shaw 128).  Such delusions results in the narrator making parallelisms between Pluto and the subsequent black cat. Thus, he doubles the cats through their physical appearances, observing that the second cat appears to be similar to the first cat, Pluto, both in terms of color and size. As a result, the more time the narrator spends with the second cat, the more he gets to fear it.
On the other hand, in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, the theme of doubling that is expressed all through the films is not just performed by using the juxtaposition of characters but is also achieved by using the doubling that exists in characters, in addition to the doubling of individuals in shots as twos (Burkman 15). Thus, doubling as an element enables the drawing in of the audiences, over and able allowing the creation of mystery and intrigues around the characters and plot given that the audiences strive to understand the uncommon behavior being portrayed. The doubling of Charlie’s character enable the notion of the two sides of an individual to come out. While young Charlie appears as a blameless young woman, Uncle Charlie is portrayed as a murderer (Sulaiman 2). Nevertheless, the two characters appear to have a relationship that is deeper compared to the usual uncle-niece relations. Such relationship enables the doubling of the characters of the Charlie to assume a life of its own and also develop a mouse and cat game, as well as the struggle that exists between love and hate of the self. The doubling that Hitchcock makes attempts at creating with the Charlie’s characters is the same with the manner in which he also juxtaposes the small town family that is all-American with Uncle Charlie, the Merry-widow Murderer (Burkman 26). It appears as if Hitchcock’s intent in doubling of the characters is to make a social commentary with regards to the human nature, which is, all humans have both evil and good within; however, the notion is selecting the side that one expresses in his/her everyday life (Sulaiman 5).

Conclusion

In summary, it can be observed that, in Allen Poe’s The Black Cat, the narrator has effectively used the theme of doubling to bring out the consequences of individuals actions, particularly the outcomes of evil deeds. In this regard, the decision to kill Pluto by hanging haunts the narrator when he makes the decision to adopt another black cat that is similar to Pluto in size and color. However, in the end, the narrator faces a fate similar to that of Pluto, death by hanging for the murder of his wife. Consequently, Hitchcock is known for playing with the idea of doubling, which refers to the notion that a bad guy and a good guy are always in several ways reflections of one another, at times in looks but often in the moral ambiguity sense. The doubling is brilliantly encapsulated in Shadow of A Doubt through the parallel shots of the characters of young Charlie and Uncle Charlie in relation to their beds and the manner they are filmed, either facing one another or side by side.