Analyzing

A detailed Summary of Analyzing

"The Tell-Tale Heart" was first published as a "horror" story in James Russell Lowell's The Pioneer in January 1843, and it appeared again in The Broadway Journal on August 23, 1845. The story narrates the process of a planned murder of an old man by, what appears to be, his caregiver of many years. Poe presents the murderer as an unreliable narrator by repetitive, horrific and questionable expressions throughout "The Tell-Tale Heart".

We can see repetition right away with, the narrator accusing the reader of thinking that he is "mad", meaning mentally unstable: "...but why then will you say I am mad? [...] You fancy me mad...if still you think me mad, you will think so no longer". Then, desperately, tries to convince the reader he is justified: "...How then am I mad? [...] would a madman have been so wise as this? [...] what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses" There's no possible way for the murderer to know what the reader is thinking. Yet still he insists the reader is thinking that he is mad and then tries to combat this thought. Perhaps he is nervous or in denial. Obviously, the murderer is frantically trying to convince the reader he is not, in any way, unstable, evidenced by this repetit

iveness. A reader could conclude that the repetition of the murderer's argument of whether he's "mad" or not asks the question whether or not he actually is "mad". Another example is a beating sound that is described as: "a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton...It was a low, dull, quick sound -- much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton."

This story gains much of its merit from the suspense built in. For example, the narrator goes to the man's room seven times before finally being able to commit the crime. The reader wonders throughout the seven nights if the narrator will actually go through with it. Also, the sound of the beating heart that the narrator claims to hear adds an element of suspense. A reader may wonder if the story is about to shift from realistic horror to the something unrealistic with a monster coming out of the floorboards still alive after the narrator's murder. This is far from the case. Even so, it becomes a very interesting way for Poe to show this narrator's insanity.

Some possible facts can be extracted from this story by way of logical thinking. The murderer describes how he kills the old man: "...and pulled the heavy bed over him." Possibly, the plan was to suffocate the old man. Then he disposes of the body by dismembering it and hiding it in the floor boards. However, the old man let out a loud shriek just before he is killed, loud enough for the

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Approximate Word count = 980
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English