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The Black Cat
The second black cat is a symbol of the narrator’s guilt and remorse. Because of the cat’s visual similarities to Pluto and the way it behaves with the same devotion that Pluto did before he lost his eye, the narrator cannot look at or interact with the second black cat without remembering how he treated Pluto. The gallows spot on the black cat is a very literal reminder of the way the narrator murdered Pluto. However, the narrator describes the spot as a gallows, not simply a noose, like the one he hung Pluto with. An entire gallows set-up is one of the 19th century means of capital punishment. Therefore, the gallows on the second black cat’s chest suggests a punishment for the narrator’s murderous crime, a sure sign of guilt and remorse. Finally, when the narrator taps on the wall at the end, the cat’s cry, which the narrator describes as escalating into a shriek and then a howl, represents all the narrator’s walled-up feelings of remorse for the destruction he’s caused that he has attempted to repress.
The Wall
The narrator closes up his wife and, accidentally, the second black cat behind a wall, symbolizing how he attempts to repress his guilt. With his wife hidden and the cat out of sight, he is able to sleep through the night, no longer tormented with reminders of how he destroyed his entire happy household. However, his overconfidence in his ability to hide from his guilt becomes clear when he gives the police a tour of his house. Once they reach the cellar, the narrator babbles on about the sturdiness of the wall he hid his wife behind, bragging that “these walls are solidly put together.” His focus on this wall and his claims of it being excellently constructed metaphorically describe his belief that he no longer feels guilt or remorse for murdering those close to him. However, all it takes is a tap on the wall for the truth to come screaming out.
