When I first read about “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, it felt as though the narrator’s inner struggles resonated inside my mind. Certainly, Poe’s execution of psychological torment was indeed remarkable. I was able to relate to the main character’s transitions in such peculiar and distinct ways, which made it seem that arguably his changes were justified; I feel as though Poe (and even Freud) had hoped for that. This led to the development of my argument reflected throughout my Exploratory Essay, a perceived notion I want my audience to rationalize, following the effects of social stigma on every individual. Social construct created regulations each person should collectively follow, and as a side effect, social construct also created norms, labels, identifiers, a convention that everyone should abide by, without any objection. We are all affected by this framework, as we stand to confront society day after day, realize how indifferent it is to us, but also repress our underlying fulfillment. This is where the philosophy of the absurd takes place: the extreme behavior of a sociopath, the discerning attribute of a psychopath, and the rising primitive impulsion all consume an individual’s conscious state. This is what I want my audience to realize, that both Poe and Freud conceptualized the effects of the social construct on individual minds, and what will happen if we prolonged the effects; also to insight scientific study on how to coordinate our absurdity without influencing the social structure, or even to diminish the social stigma.  

By demonstrating how I correlated my analysis with constructive reasonings, it is viable that I identified the social problem alluded to Poe’s short story and gradually supported it with Freud’s psychoanalysis studies. Edgar Allan Poe is an influential American writer, who is known for his malicious interpretation of human psychological complexities throughout his published short story novels, and it is also evident that Poe has severe experiences of these complexities himself. Meanwhile, Freud is an Austrian neurologist who was credited to be the father of psychoanalysis and did extraordinary studies about the cause of hysterical symptoms and how to apprehend it. These individuals are highly accredited publicly by renowned influencers, thus justifying their claims to be accurate and precise. As for my own interpretation, I acknowledged how some of my points were indeed arguable and  I would like to reinstate my disclose to be one that requires further discussions and constructive analysis; however, Poe’s willingness to institute the act of “perverseness” in his storyline to justify the narrator’s insurgences, shows me the narrator’s hidden agenda throughout his life experiences. With this in mind, I tried to use a forceful tone and intricate language to further elucidate the seriousness of the problem and to justify my comprehension of the source material. The only other remark I didn’t integrate into my revision of my essay, is the willingness to further engage my audience in the text. Some of my claims were vague enough to not be considered as necessary to the attributes of my essay. Enabling a deep-thought comprehension and allusion of the text would keep my audience as active readers.

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