Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
The narrator in this tale internalizes "elements of anxiety and fear pushed to an unrelenting extreme" (269). We can see this extreme in the narrator's thought processes as he continues to watch the old man's eye. For instance, he says:
It was open -- wide, wide open -- and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness -- all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray, as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot. (Poe 2)
Here we see how the narrator's anxiety has pushed him to an extreme in this scene, a prelude to the old man's murder. The anxiety is produced by the eye and only intensifies as the narrator thinks of it.
This form of fear is transferred to us as we become involved in the story and realize the dreadfulness of the narrator's state of being. Michael Burduck believes that Poe delves into the realm of "pain, decay, and terror" to "enlighten the dark tunnels of human life" (Burduck 102). Madness is never a path that is filled with light and our narrator illustrates this perfectly as he moves closer and closer to the dark side of reason. Nothing illustrates this more than when the narrator decides to kill the old man and does so, neatly cleaning up the mess and successfully hiding the corpse. He admits, "I smiled -- for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search -- search well" (Poe 3). The narrator not only murders the old man but also is proud of the fact and his pride spills over into his conversation with the policemen. Poe demonstrates that fear works best when it is confronted with the painful reality. We are never more frightened than when we face the truth of reality. Poe's narrator is a man just like any other man...
His steady decline is an illustration of man's delicate frame of mind and it should serve as a warning.
The Tell-Tale Heart" is a story that works from the inside out. We are terrified because we see a trace of realism in the character of the narrator. It is through the narrator's madness that we become afraid - it is difficult to look at this man and not consider the fact that we may know someone like this, or worse, be someone like this. Poe engages us with this kind of fear because we want to know what happens - we want to know how things work out for this madman. The narrator's inner dialogue is the most important aspect of the story because it takes us into the mind of this crazy man. We see how his madness unfolds and that is terrifying. Poe weaves this story around a man that claims to be sane, and is sane enough to write the story and record facts. The narrator's denial is a crucial factor in this tale because he never considers that he is mad. He is driven by his madness and he thinks he is perfectly justified in his actions. His mind has left him and this is frightening because he continues to carry on the most "normal" of ways. In doing so, Poe terrifies us because he knows that nothing g is more frightening than fiction peppered with truth.
Works Cited
Burduck, Michael. "Fear as a Theme in Poe's Work." Readings on Edgar Allan Poe. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. 1998.
Parini, Jay. et al. American Writers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 2003.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minnesota: Amaranth Press: 1984.
Sullivan, Jack, ed. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural. New York: Viking Penguin, Inc. 1986.
Thompson, G.R. "Edgar Allan Poe." Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 3. Gale Resource Database. 1979. Site Accessed April 27, 2008. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com
Tell-Tale Heart: A Descent into Madness Edgar Allan Poe may be considered one of the founders of American Gothic Literature. His obsession with the macabre and his ability to explore the psychological repercussions of perceived danger inspired him to write various short stories including "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." In "The Tell-Tale Heart," Poe explores the events that lead the unnamed narrator to devise a plan to
This short story, as well as Poe's other works, reveals his upbringing and focuses on sick mothers and guilty fathers. Gothic literature, the form of the short story, became known in Britain in the 18th century. It delves into the dark side of human experience and there finds death, alienation, nightmares, ghosts and haunted places. It was Poe who brought the literary form to America. American Gothic literature present a
His making his way to Memphis illustrates that he is much like his bother in that he feels compelled to do the right thing. The pieces differ in their approach toward the pain of the war. Stevens view is from a distance; we know what happens in war but maybe if we stand far enough away, we will not be touched by it personally. A soldier dies but even the
Terror in "The Tell-Tale Heart" The contrasts of life show us the true nature of things. William Shakespeare knew this about humanity and we see it displayed in many of his plays. Opposites allow us to see the true nature of man as we look at Othello. Contrasts balance things in this play, allowing to see the best of mankind alongside the worst of man. Emelia and Desdemona are women living
What brought him joy now eminds him of the sadness that exists in the world. It is still the same beautiful place but it gives him a "presence that disturbs me with the joy of elated thoughts; a sense sublime/of something far more deeply interfused" (94-6). There are two distinct experiences happening here and through poetry, Wordsworth can appreciate both of them without preference. Both experiences have their benefits. The
While it may seem easy to write for children, it is actually difficult because the writer must be familiar enough with his or her audience to write with confidence. White accomplished this by keeping things simple. In doing so, Charlotte's Web not only appeals to children but adults as well. White also sticks to the principles of composition as well. He follows the principle of using one tense throughout the