The Tell- Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe was not like most writers of his time; he was most “famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre” (Charles). Poe did not have a very pleasant life, with the deaths of his mother, brother, foster mother, and his wife (all caused by tuberculosis). Because of the many misfortunes of death in his life, he also had problems with drinking, drugs, and gambling. Although Poe was not very popular within his time, he grew to “national fame”, for “his most famous poem, “The Raven”. Much of Poe’s work is focused on terror and sadness, but he also had “sensitivity to the beauty and sweetness of women” (Charles), which inspired touching lyrics of his more angelic poems. With the touch of darkness in his writing, he came up with tales “of death, wickedness and crime, survival after dissolution, [and] fatality” (Charles). Although it is not clear as to why Poe wrote such dark stories in his lifetime, one could assume the pain from the losses of his loved ones played a role. Writing in such darkness, could be his coping mechanism to dealing with all the loss and pain throughout his life.
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is suspenseful and detailed. The narrator starts off the story by telling the reader how he loves the old man and has nothing against him personally, except his “evil eye”. The narrator feels the need to free himself from this evil sort and decides to kill the old man. So for a week the narrator sneaks into the old man’s room to watch him, but on the eighth night the old man hears the narrator and wakes up. The narrator waits for a long time, in the darkness, and then floods the light of the lantern on the old man’s eye. He then drags the old man off the bed and then pulls the bed on top of him. The narrator then checks to see if the old man is dead, which he is, and then cuts him up and places the dismembered body beneath the floor boards. Soon the policemen came to the house after complaints of screaming coming from within the
“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is suspenseful and detailed. The narrator starts off the story by telling the reader how he loves the old man and has nothing against him personally, except his “evil eye”. The narrator feels the need to free himself from this evil sort and decides to kill the old man. So for a week the narrator sneaks into the old man’s room to watch him, but on the eighth night the old man hears the narrator and wakes up. The narrator waits for a long time, in the darkness, and then floods the light of the lantern on the old man’s eye. He then drags the old man off the bed and then pulls the bed on top of him. The narrator then checks to see if the old man is dead, which he is, and then cuts him up and places the dismembered body beneath the floor boards. Soon the policemen came to the house after complaints of screaming coming from within the
Cited: Charles CestreThomas Ollive MabbottJacques, Barzun. "Poe, Edgar Allan." Britannica Biographies (2011): 1. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 20 Feb. 2012 Howard, Ronald W. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3. MagillOnLiterature Plus. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. May, Charles E. "The Tell-Tale Heart: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. Poe, Edgar A. "The Tell-Tale Heart." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. 702-05. Print. "The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Anna Sheets-Nesbitt. Vol. 34. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 239-287. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. Lamar University - Beaumont. 9 April 2012