Madness of Tell-Tale Heart - 1287 Words

Madness! Edgar Allen Poe once said, â€Å"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.† There are many breathtaking horror stories, but none of them influenced literature as much as â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart.† Poe uses the character and theme to make â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† one of his near perfect tales. His works often explored the inner workings of the human mind; in particular its dark side (Bouchard). This story shows the terrible war of superego upon the id, the endless battle between conscience and impulse (Hoffman 226). These struggles, although always in disguise, are constantly enacted on Poe’s work. Poe explored the limits of human reality in stories shaped by both intuitive genius and literary†¦show more content†¦He never even thinks of the possibility that he might be mad and keeps stating he is not mad. You could say that he is a flat character because he is simply a mad man. We don’t hesita te whether he is a crazy or not, and the only thing in the story we are certain about him is that he is insane. But you can also say he is a round character because he describes his thought processes and the reasons for his actions. â€Å"I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever,† (Poe 121). This sentence gives us a reason for the murder, the old mans eye. Later in the story he tells us his clever process of hiding the body. He is not simply crazy, he is full of the praise of his own sagacity (Hoffman 230). In the other hand, he is also a dynamic character. We know this because he is not just narrating the story but he is also in it. By knowing he is the narrator and also in the protagonist of the story, we cant trust what he is saying bec ause he will want us see him as a good person. He would want to justify his own actions and that is just what he does. He justifies himself to why he killed a man and explains why he is not mad. To me he is a dynamic character because we have to see him in twoShow MoreRelated Madness in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Tell-Tale Heart1679 Words   |  7 PagesMadness in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Tell-Tale Heart Compare the portrayal and use of madness in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Which story did you prefer and why? The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe both describe characters who in the opinion of other people are insane. The characters hysterical behaviour due to their insanity is depicted as the stories progress. TheRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1030 Words   |  5 PagesA Guilty- Mad Heart â€Å"Burduck then goes on to ponder how Poe used cultural anxieties and psychological panic to advantage.† (Grim Phantasms, G.A. Cevasco). In The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, a nameless man narrates the story of how he murdered an elderly man because of his eyes. In his short story The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe shows the themes of guilt and the descent into madness through the narrator, in this gothic horror story. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many gothic tales throughout his lifeRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe879 Words   |  4 PagesIn between guilt, paranoia and obsession The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe uses several literary elements to support the themes of the story. The story is based on a gruesome murder of an old man. The author uses madness, obsession and guilt as themes to prove how the narrator is truly twisted and insane. Madness is the first theme of the story; in the beginning the narrator tries to convince the audience he is not mad (insane). â€Å"TRUE!... nervous very, very nervous I had been and am; but whyRead MoreThe Tell-Tale Heart and Symbolism1208 Words   |  5 PagesLike many of Edgar Allen Poes works, The Tell-Tale Heart is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add to the madness the narrator portrays. Poes use of theRead MoreEssay on Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe1155 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Like many of Edgar Allen Poes works, The Tell-Tale Heart is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add toRead MoreEssay about Edgar Allen Poes Gothicism695 Words   |  3 Pagesthe common readers mind. Some though, think more powerful words such as revolutionary, intellectual, or gothic. Poe’s works such as Pit And The Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, Hop-Frog, and The Fall of the House of Usher are considered to be staple works of the 19th century gothic genre. Elements of gothic writing include the number seven, madness, and ironic twists. E.A. Poe used the number seven in his writings to express his gothic style of literature. For example, in Pit And The Pendulum whenRead MoreRebecca- Tell Tale Heart Comparative Essay842 Words   |  4 PagesRebecca and the Tell Tale Heart Comparative Essay Alfred Hitchcock successfully incorporates Gothic conventions within the film Rebecca, based on Daphne De Maurier’s novel written in 1938.Likewise, Edgar Allan Poe’s ability to incorporate Gothic themes within his short story ‘The Tell Tale Heart’, published in 1843, has been a success. Although both their abilities to create Gothic Compositions has been successful, their techniques used to incorporate Gothic conventions within them are both similarRead MoreEssay on Revenge, Insanity, Murder Poe1335 Words   |  6 PagesEnding in death most foul, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† feature revenge and a painstaking cruelty. Pushed to the point of insanity and retribution sought over trivialities, the narrators tell each story by their own personal account. The delivery of their confessions gives a chilling depth to the crimes they have committed and to the men themselves. Both men are motivated by their egos and their obsessions with their offenders. Prompted by their own delusions, each manRead MoreGothic Literature : `` Tell Tale Heart `` And `` The Raven ``1698 Words   |  7 Pagesstories into the classification of the gothic. Among these elements, they include the theme of death and decay, which is almost always in Gothic fiction, the theme or presence of madness, insanity or other internal chaos, and haunted or creepy locations. Some stories by Poe that include these elements are, â€Å"Tell-Tale heart† and â€Å"The Raven†. Edgar Allan Poe possess most if not all of these gothic qualities in his far beyond joyous literature . The Gothic Era was the time in which Fiction, Horror,Read More The Tell-Tale Heart: An Analysis Essay908 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tell-Tale Heart: An Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Edgar Allan Poe’s short-story, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† the storyteller tries to convince the reader that he is not mad. At the very beginning of the story, he asks, ...why will you say I am mad? When the storyteller tells his story, its obvious why. He attempts to tell his story in a calm manner, but occasionally jumps into a frenzied rant. Poes story demonstrates an inner conflict; the state of madness and emotional break-down that the subconscious