The Tell Tale Heart Dialectical Journal
Number 1: The three main events of the story would have to be the 8th night; the night in which the murder occurs. 2 when the narrator kills the old man. 3rd when the police arrive at the scene. I think that the eighth night was an important event in the story because it was the only night out of the 7 before that the old man had his eye open. That’s important because without the eye the narrator did not have the courage to kill the old man. The narrator killing the old man is killed, is a huge development because it liberates the audiences suspense , because it lets them know that its finally over , and that he was able to complete the task and get rid of the old man’s evil eye. The police arriving at the scene is important for the development
…show more content…
The story begins with the declaration, “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? . . . Hearken! And observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” Notice how the author made sure to give very little detail on the story’s background, except that the narrator had an obsession with the old man’s deformed eye. (“One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold . . .”) which made it difficult to pin point an exact audience, to whom he could have been talking to, that is until we realize that we don’t know anything about the relationship between the old man and the narrator, although it can be presumed that the younger man is a nephew tasked with caring for his aging uncle, or, possibly, a servant whose mental state has diminished by virtue of his daily exposure to the old man’s eye. Poe chose not to provide those details as he also, doesn’t provide us with who he’s speaking with. But the only thing we receive is how the narrator has continuous references to his mental state (“Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me”). Which is why the audience is led to believe that the reason he is describing is crime in such great detail is because he’s trying to convince his psychiatrist of his
The story begins with the declaration, “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? . . . Hearken! And observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.” Notice how the author made sure to give very little detail on the story’s background, except that the narrator had an obsession with the old man’s deformed eye. (“One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold . . .”) which made it difficult to pin point an exact audience, to whom he could have been talking to, that is until we realize that we don’t know anything about the relationship between the old man and the narrator, although it can be presumed that the younger man is a nephew tasked with caring for his aging uncle, or, possibly, a servant whose mental state has diminished by virtue of his daily exposure to the old man’s eye. Poe chose not to provide those details as he also, doesn’t provide us with who he’s speaking with. But the only thing we receive is how the narrator has continuous references to his mental state (“Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me”). Which is why the audience is led to believe that the reason he is describing is crime in such great detail is because he’s trying to convince his psychiatrist of his