Share your literary essay with the rest of the students that chose this short story. Take some time to read 2 or 3 other essays. Comment on them. Your comment should be about something you noticed them doing well from our lessons. For example, "You did a really good job explaining your evidence"
“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that introduce the narrator as a murderer. Which makes the story more mysterious and suspenseful. This short story has a scene of an old man getting killed by the narrator. This short story is based on the narrator's point of view which makes the story unique. The narrator explains how the narrator did not want to do anything to the old man. The narrator just did those actions because of his mental health problems and explained how the old man's eye is like an eye of a vulture. The author uses the theme of mental health and affects actions.
ReplyDeleteFor this reason in the short story the author uses character actions to show how the character makes wrong actions because of his mental health.The Tell-Tale Heart story has mental health issues to represent the theme. The narrator is a mental man who wants to kill this old man by suffocating him with bed covers. In the beginning of the short story the man explains how he lost control of his mind.
To clarify the author states “Indeed the illness only made my mind, feelings, my senses stronger, more powerful”(poe pg 64) This quote explains how the mental man has an illness that affected his actions and his senses. I wonder why the author in the beginning had the narrator tell us that the narrator had mental health issues but didn't except that the narrator killed the old man because of his mental health issues.
With this in mind the author uses symbolism in the short story. In the short story The Tell-Tale Heart there are two symbols the heart and the eye. Such as the eye, the eye symbolizes a vultures eye like the narrator stated. Secondl the heart, the heart is a symbol of the old man's heart beating after the narrator killed him. Also it shows the narrator had done something wrong as well.
That is to say lastly the author uses figurative language. In the short story The Tell-Tale Heart there many examples of imagery. The author shows when the narrator was explaining how and why the narrator killed the old man. Readers i’m sure saw the whole picture in their heads.
To put it in another way the author also uses a simile of describing the old man's eye. “His eye was like the eye of a vulture” This quote is a simile explaining what the narrator thought of the old man's eye.
This could be interpreted as creating a theme of fear; however, it clearly created a theme of mental health affects actions because of the powerful quote in the short story. The author stated “Indeed the illness only made my mind, feelings, my senses stronger, more powerful”. This powerful quote represents the theme of mental health affects actions. Additionally to clarify the author had the narrator to explain that he had a illness in the beginning
Cleary it’s important to realize the theme of the story is mental health affects actions. This is first seen when the author used character actions. Where the author explains how the narrator has a illness, and the reasons. Certainly the theme was created when the author used symbolism to explain what the eye and the heart meant into the story.
For this reason the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the author showed imagery and simile to show what the narrator thought. As a result it is evident that the theme of The Tell-Tale Heart story is mental health affects actions.
Good introduction!
DeleteI like how you did your introduction and conclusion!!
DeletePart 1
ReplyDelete“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story about a guy with mental problems.. He had been able to hear the heartbeat of a man - or at least he thought he could hear it. The man had an eye that would drive the guy crazy. It would turn his blood cold and send shivers down his back. The guy had ended up killing the man and hiding his body under his floor. He had been fine talking to the cops until he had thought he could hear the heartbeat again. This shows that his mental problems had started to affect his acting. The main character went from thinking that he was doing a good thing to ending up murdering someone. He had thought it was the right thing to do because he was getting rid of the evil eye of the man. He didn't realize that getting rid of the eye would mean killing the guy. In his mind, all he could think of was getting rid of the eye. His mind had just been telling him that the eye was evil and that he was the one who needed to get rid of it before it did something bad. He had learned after telling the cops that nothing was wrong and that the guy was somewhere else that what he had done was something bad. He had come clean to the cops and told them what he did. He even showed them where the body was hidden on the floor. It shows us where he had started realizing when things were going downhill and turning not so good.
They both were living together and the guy was taking care of the man with the evil eye. He had started to stalk him at night and watch him while he was sleeping. He had been planning then that he was going to murder him and hide the body under the floor of the house. One night he had decided it was the perfect time to kill him. He had strangled him with a pillow over his face. When the heartbeat had finally stopped, he was taken to a different room and chopped up. Once that was all done, he pulled up pieces of wood from the floor and hid the body under there.
When the cops had come he had told them that the scream that neighbors had heard was him and that the guy was staying at a friend's house. The guy had started to hear the heartbeat again. He had started to get scared thinking that the cops could hear it too. He had finally told the police that he had been murdered and had hidden a body under the floor. He had even taken the police to the area where his body was hidden. “Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop!?”
Part 2
ReplyDeleteAt this moment, it certainly could be said the author created a theme of crime. While this is a good point, it fails to account for the evidence that shows that the man has mental problems. As a result, the theme is mental problems affect actions.
The story shows figurative language by using imagery and symbolism. The author uses the heartbeat to show his guilt. He could hear the heartbeat when the man was alive and then when the police were with him he started hearing the heartbeat again and it started to get louder and louder the longer the cops were with him. The symbolism could be the eye. In his mind the eye is evil and it scares him. “His eye was like the eye of a vulture, the eye of one of those terrible birds that watch and wait while an animal dies, and then fall upon the dead body and pull it to pieces to eat it. When the old man looked at me with his vulture eye a cold feeling went up and down my back; even my blood became cold.” That is how he had described the man's eye.
Clearly, the theme of “The Tell-Tale Heart '' is Mental health affects actions. This is first seen when the author uses the part where they talk about character change. It talks about how his hearing has become stronger and how he can hear the old man's heartbeat when they are close to each other. Next, the theme was created when the author used the spot where the events are shown. He talks about what the eye looks like to him and how it sends a shiver down his back and turns his blood cold when he looks at it. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the author described what the eye looked like and when it said that it had effects. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “The Tell-Tale Heart '' is that mental health affects actions.
¨Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man struggling with his mental health. He meets this old man with what he describes as an “Evil eye”. The man watches the evil eye as he sleeps and eventually murders him. He describes the victim's heartbeat as a clock through a wall before it stopped. The cops show up and the man falls into madness, eventually pleading guilty and slipping out of reality in the process. The man has a great issue with the evil eye bothering him, and it causes him to act without thinking. The author uses this story to teach readers that feeling some temptations might cause you to feel guilty afterward. The author brings out the theme in multiple ways: Imagery, symbolism, and character changes.
ReplyDeleteThe main character knows of his psychosis. He understands that people think he is crazy. The man states how he feels about the old man early in the story. “It is impossible to say how the idea first entered my head. There was no reason for what I did. I did not hate the old man; I even loved him. He had never hurt me. I did not want his money.” This quote shows how the main character didn’t kill the man because he was a murderer, and that he was sorry for what he did.
Towards the end of the story, the man realizes what exactly he is doing. “I knew that I was there. He did not see me there. He could not hear me there. He felt me there. Now he knew that Death was standing there.” This quote adds to the fact that the man knows that what he’s doing is evil.
The author includes various figurative language tactics to portray the theme. One example in the story is the old man's heartbeat. The main character gains heightened senses and hears the man’s heartbeat before he murders him. He describes it as a “clock through a wall.” When the police are talking to the man, the man starts hearing the heartbeat again, as if it were the man getting revenge. The man starts to panic and freak out at the noise. He eventually pleads to the cop that it was he who murdered the man. “‘Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?’” One could argue that this supports the theme of murder always comes to light. Although it does support it, the man didn’t realize how he would feel after and he wasn’t killing the man intentionally. He did it so the eye wouldn’t bother him anymore. The author uses the heartbeat as a way to symbolize the guilt the main character feels for killing the old man because the heartbeat was the last noise he heard before he killed him.
Lastly, the author uses the eye of the old man to symbolize evil, or problems people have that they can’t control. The man describes it as “the eye of a vulture, the eye of one of those terrible birds that watch and wait while an animal dies, and then fall upon the dead body and pull it to pieces to eat it.” The man didn’t think of it as killing the man, but rather just getting rid of the eye. He felt sorry after killing the old man because he didn’t realize what he was doing during the moment.
The theme of “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is that feeling temptations can make you feel guilty. This is first seen when the author states the man loved the old man and had no intention or reason to kill him. This shows how the man was sorry for what he did. Next, the theme is created when the author uses the old man’s heartbeat to symbolize the guilt the man felt. The author used the heartbeat to make the man feel guilty, eventually leading to him telling the cops he was the murderer. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the man described the “Vulture Eye” of the old man. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is that filling temptations can make you feel guilty.
I liked how you talk about the theme
DeleteI like how you talk about the author
ReplyDeletepart 1
ReplyDelete“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. In this story, there is a man who is mentally ill and has now decided to kill an old man with a “vulture” eye. The man eventually kills him but he still hears his heart beating until he confesses to the police. In this next paragraph, you will learn about the symbolism in” the tell-tale heart”, the character the actions, and the figurative language used.
inside the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” are two major symbols and in this next paragraph, you will see what they are and what they mean. The first symbol is the vulture eye. Edgar Allen Poe wanted this symbol to be evil because the evil would be a problem for the main character. This is because the main character is mentally ill which would likely cause him to see things that aren't necessarily real. This shows the theme by being the start of the problem because the man does not like the eye The next part of the story includes symbolism such as the heartbeat. this symbolizes the problem that the main character created by killing the old man. this is a symbol for that because the main character hears it even after the old man is dead and it leads him to confess to the police that he killed the old man. “Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop?” this shows the theme because the heartbeat stays with him no matter what he does although the symbol of the problem could be the main character killing the old man; however, it does not create a symbol like the heartbeat because the heartbeat stops while the old man does not.
Another important thing in the short story is the character's actions. The first action is the planning/explanation that he killed the old man. In the short story, he said that he had an illness but said he had not lost control of his mind he said his mind was stronger. “My feeling, my senses stronger more powerful”. But really, there was something wrong with the main character I think he thought this because he is most likely schizophrenic because he sees and hears things that aren't real. Moving on during the planning he said “I did not hate the old man; I even loved the old man” This shows the theme because of the mental health issues of the main character like the heartbeat. After he had stated that he hated his vulture-like eye he noted that the eye was terrible and even evil even though it hadn't been. The main character then proceeded to kill the old man to get rid of his “vulture” eye. I think he has done this because he is mad and has no control over his mental state. I think this caused many problems like the heartbeat or the vulture eye.
part 2
ReplyDeleteFinally the figurative language in the story. So to start let's explore Edgar Allen Poe's use of similes. One of the most used similes in the short story is the vulture eye. This is one of the most important uses of figurative language because it paints a picture in your mind. Edgar Allen Poe used this to show how the main character could have hated the eye this also leads to the symbolism with the eye with it symbolizing evil. Moving on the the onomatopoeia, the onomatopoeia in the story is the heartbeat. This is because it is a sound that is described in the story. Edgar Allen Poe added this to the story to show how a sound like this getting louder and louder could drive a person crazy.
clearly the theme of “The Tell-tale Heart “ is you can't run away from your problems no matter what you do. This is first seen when the author shows the character's actions. This is because this is the first time the author shows the killing of the old man. Write a sentence here that subtopic. Next, the theme was created when the author used the symbolism. One of the main symbols that I had said earlier was the heartbeat this shows the theme because the man cannot escape it. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the heartbeat was used for some onomatopoeia. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “The Telltale Heart “ is you can't run away from your problems no matter what you do.