“The Tell-Tale Heart” is told from the point of view of an unnamed narrator, a young man who murders an old man who lives with him. The relationship between the two is unclear—perhaps one is a lodger and one is a landlord. The narrator spends much of the story attempting to convince the reader—and perhaps himself—that he is not a madman (he attests that “what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense”), though with every development in his story it becomes clear that to some extent he does indeed merit that title. The murderer states that he holds no animosity toward the old man, but that he rather could not stand the sight of the old man’s “vulture eye”: “a pale blue eye with a film over it.” The night of the murder, the narrator, speaking of this eye, states, “I grew furious as I gazed upon it.” He has been overcome with an obsession, fueled by the very madness he denies, and after the murder is haunted by the beating of the dead man’s heart.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
How does the choice of details set the tone of the sermon?
Edwards is remembered for his choice of details, particularly in this classic sermon. His goal was not to tell people about his beliefs; he ...
-
“Ravens” is told from the perspective of a parent explaining the death of a newborn lamb to his or her child. A raven first makes its appea...
-
Sonnet 29 opens in a negative, almost petulant mood, as the speaker "[beweeps]" his "outcast state" (2), and envies othe...
-
This problem can be solved using the ideal gas law, PV=nRT. STP is standard temperature and pressure. The information you are given is: P =...
No comments:
Post a Comment