can we apply the narrative theory of barthes on the Black Cat?

Critical thinking encompasses the rationally disciplined process of skillfully and actively
conceptualizing, analyzing, applying, synthesizing, and assessing information collected from or
generated by experience, observation, communication, or reasoning as an appropriate guide to
action and belief (Cottrell, 1). It is typically a good form based on universal logical values
beyond subject matter division such as precision, accuracy, precision, clarity, relevance,
consistency, good reasons, sound evidence, and fairness. Additionally, critical thinking entails
evaluating these elements or structures of thought implied in all reasoning in various aspects,
such as assumptions, purpose, and problem-at-issue, resulting in conclusion, consequences, and
implications. Critical thinking tends to vary concerning the motivation and purpose underlying it.
In The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator employs various critical thinking skills that
form the tale's narration. Poe has used multiple essential aspects of his book by developing a
logical association between witches, cats, and his wife. Errors or defects in reasoning resulting
from logical fallacies and cognitive biases affect our critical thinking capabilities, resulting in an
invalid, weak or unsound conclusion of the information gathered or communicated in the
process.

Logical fallacies refer to misinforming or false suggestions that prove nothing. Often
logical fallacies seem to be correct and usually possess a lot of effective control, even after its
undoubted exposure as being untrue (Hansen,4). Logical fallacies are often not deliberate and are intentionally used to win an argument. In such scenarios, the speaker's fallacies are usually
exhibited in a particular extent of confidence and thus becomes persuasive. Poe in The Black Cat
purposefully employs logical fallacies to make the narrator's argument seem much valid or
compelling than it is. A thorough analysis of The Black Cat certainly vindicates the author of the
charge of merely sentential writing. “Many a night, just at midnight, when the entire world
slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deeping, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that
distracted m.” (Poe and Van Leer 233). By permitting his narrator to detach himself from his
story, Poe competently contrives to depict that he also lives in an eerie and haunted world of his
demented making. With conviction, Poe acknowledges what his narrator never suspects and
what, by the narrative's organized conditions, he is not predestined to imagine that he is the
victim of his self-torturing obsessions. Poe influences the act that the murder rather than
liberating the narrator is revealed to intensify his agony and heighten his delusions.

Authors and speakers often use logical fallacies to present an erroneous argument based
on an illogical or unsound contention. Whereas the narrator's guilt stares at him in the face and
is evident to the reader, the narrator skillfully and subtly attempts to avoid personal responsibility
for his actions. He does this by appealing to what he refers to as "the spirit of perverseness" in all
individuals. Conferring to the narrator, the spirit of perverseness forces individuals to do actions
contradictory to what they are fully acquainted with to be right. In which "from the first the cat
had been but a displacement of the wife” Poe and Van Leer (237) meaning that by killing the cat,
the narrator was clearly expressing his intention of killing his wife, which he does later. The use
of logical fallacies seems to have much appealed to Poe because he applies it much in his
arguments trying to detach his narrator from taking responsibility for his actions. "And this fall,
this rushing anhilaton for the very reason that involves that one most ghastly and loathsome images of death and suffering have ever presented them in our imagination… And because our
reason violently deter us from the brink, therefore do we the most impetuously approach it” (Poe
and Van Leer 235). However, this argument makes readers conclude that the "The Black Cat"
narrator's actual problem is not the supposed spirit of perverseness dormant in every person.
Rather merely, it is an incapability to deal with everyday life demands.

Two competing notions of logical fallacies are false though popular viewpoints and often
misleadingly bad arguments. We might differentiate as the argument and belief conceptions of
logical fallacies. Having the ability to identify and avoid logical fallacies has often been seen as
enhancing practical reasoning and critical thinking criteria. The knowledge of logical fallacies is
necessary to safeguard us against the enticing mistakes we may make within arguments,
ultimately affecting our reasoning and decision-making processes. When examining other people
or forming opinions, we ought to be aware of the probable logical fallacies. It is essential to
study logical fallacies to identify and avoid them whenever we take part in arguments.
Additionally, logical fallacies provide us with a firm foundation for critiquing and evaluating
other's opinions.

Some common missteps that individuals often make when formulating their reasoning
include misrepresenting the views they wish to refute and misrepresenting the scope of the
specific problem they intend to address. According to the straw person logical fallacy,
attempting to bring into disrepute a particular view through criticizing a feeble version of it or
the basis given in support in it affects our reasoning in different arguments that we take part in.
The notion behind the Straw Person fallacy lies in our ability to get individuals to reflect that a
straw description of what a narrator or speaker is saying is the correct version. This enables us to
come into view of refuting what the speaker or narrator has said without essentially addressing it all. This sounds as if it takes much of deceit and cunning; however, the fact remains that we all
practice it spontaneously. It necessitates a huge deal of intellectual honesty and discipline to
carefully listen and read what speakers or narrators say and accurately represent it before
criticizing it.

Additionally, the acknowledgment and interpretation of various cognitive bias aspects
during communication are essential in avoiding critical thinking errors. Errors often occur when
we interpret and process information presented to us by speakers or authors through books,
thereby affecting the judgments and decisions. Cognitive biases usually happen when we attempt
to simplify the processing of information (Cottrell,6). These biases make it impossible for
readers or the audience to derive truths or exchange accurate information. Cognitive bias
deforms our critical thinking, resulting in perhaps perpetuating misinformation or
misconceptions that can be misleading and harmful to others. Biases often lead us to avoid
information that might be uncomfortable or unwelcome rather than assessing the data, thereby
leading us to many accurate outcomes.

Cognitive biases additionally cause us to view connections or patterns between ideas that
do not necessarily exist. In The Black Cat, the narrator asserts that he intends to state his case
honestly, all the while representing nothing more than a charade of objectivity and frankness.
The narrator titillates readers with information concerning the dreadful murder of his first cat and
his wife; if any cat was killed in the story's making. This leaves readers speculating about the
purpose of the narrator in the narrative. Proper identification and interpretation of biases within a
particular set of information are essential in ensuring adequate understanding and
comprehension. “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my vey senses rejected
their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not – and very surely do I not dream” (Poe and Van Leer 230).

When the narrator admits his fault in the opening paragraph and provides incriminating details,
readers may initially think that the narrator is offering a unique and confidential version of his
quandary. Conversely, when the narrator afterward holds the cat responsible for all that has gone
astray or when he starts to contradict himself, readers question the narrator's validity and
reliability. It requires a great deal of attention to establishing possible aspects of biases in our
understanding of information.