The Tell Tale Heart Rhetorical Analysis

The Tell Tale Heart Rhetorical Analysis
The short story Tell–Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is a story about an insane man who lives with an old man. The insane man loves the old man, but
when he sees the old man's eye, it drives him insane and he quickly develops an obsession about the eye and becomes determined to kill the old
man. He kills the man, but then police officers come. He has cleverly hidden the body under the floorboards, so they don't find anything and start
talking. He starts to hear a strange noise, and it starts driving him mad. It eventually drives him absolutely crazy and he yells and admits to the cops
that he killed the old man , the body is under the floorboards and the noise was the beating of the old man's heart,which is just the narrator's guilt. The
Tell–Tale Heart features 3 main central ideas as the story progresses. These central ideas are the madness of the...show more content...
Poe develops the central ideas of madness and obsession by using repetition in the paragraphs, punctuation in the sentences, timing in paragraphs, and
pacing of the sentences in each of the paragraphs. The central idea of the narrator's madness is glaringly obvious throughout the whole story, from the
first paragraph to the eighteenth. Poe uses repetition to show it in the first paragraph, when the narrator keeps repeating the same question of why the
reader would think he is mad. "But why will you Goatley–Sanchez 2 say that I am mad?" "How, then, am I mad?" (Poe paragraph 1.) The narrator
continues to repeat himself in the third paragraph, however this time going into detail about how he performed his plan to kill the old man,
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The Tell-Tale Heart Response Essay
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell–Tale Heart" makes us question the narrator's sanity almost immediately. The story is told by an unnamed narrator who
endeavors to convince the reader of his sanity, while describing the gruesome murder that he committed. The victim is an old man with an "eye of a
vulture" as the narrator describes in the story. The murder is meticulously calculated, and the criminal hides the body under multiple floorboards.
Ultimately, the main character deserves life in prison, with aggravating and mitigating evidence to back it up. One reason the killer deserves the death
penalty because of the aggravating evidence to back this claim up. In the story, the narrator says, 'I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and
...show more content...
Moreover, he sees himself as the shadow of death, in his thought of insanity, '... because death, in approaching the old man, had stalked his black
shadow before him...' – as if this justifies the murder of the old man. This demonstrates, his blurred vision of reality, because he feels the old man
deserves death, and nothing will be able to stop it. Furthermore, the narrator makes references to heaven and hell, 'I heard all things in the heaven and
in the earth. I heard many things in hell.' Ordinarily, these voices show insanity and a different conscience telling him what to do. In addition, the
narrator can't tell the difference between reality and visualization, which is a clear case of Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a disease which makes it
difficult to judge reality, which associates with the narrator as well. Likewise, the narrator had difficulty in determining a real sound than a voice in
his head. The author writes, 'I fancied a ringing in my ears', 'It grew louder – louder – louder!' The killer later goes on to confess his crime to the
policemen, believing they can actually hear the sound. Though there is a lot of evidence proving he is a madman, but there are parts where the
narrator has a sense of reality. At one part, the narrator even writes, 'I knew what the old man felt, and pitied

Essay on Tell-tale Heart Literary Analysis
The Tell–Tale Heart
A Literary Analysis
Like many of Poe's other works, the Tell–Tale Heart is a dark story. This particular one focuses on the events leading the death of an old man, and the
events afterwards. That's the basics of it, but there are many deep meanings hidden in the three page short story. Poe uses techniques such as first person
narrative, irony and style to pull off a believable sense of paranoia. In this particular story, Poe decided to write it in the first person narrative. This
technique is used to get inside the main character's head and view his thoughts and are often exciting. The narrator in the Tell–Tale Heart is telling the
story on how he killed the old man while pleading his sanity. To quote a phrase...show more content...
Poe's economic style of writing is a key instrument in making this story amazing. In this story, he uses his style to truly bring out what he intended for
the story – a study of paranoia. In example, "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no
desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! 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, 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 for ever. "
it is easy to see that Poe used short sentences, to capture the rapid thoughts of a twisted mind.
Perhaps the biggest element in this story is the use of irony, both verbally and dramatically. For verbal irony, we can see clearly at the end that what
the narrator tells the officers and how he acts on the outside, (in a "cool manner", as he puts it) is much different than the chaos on the inside, as in
what he wants to say. He sees the police as "villains" and wishes them to leave, but due to the situation, he had to keep them there. The more that he
assures himself of his sanity near the end of the story and the more that he thinks that he is acting coolly, eventually leads him to reveal that he is the
one that killed the old man after all. As for dramatic irony, since we know that the narrator is the one that killed the old man,

Thesis Statement For The Tell Tale Heart
Name Jordyn Whitted
Ms. Walker
Class English 3
Date 11/30/17
Introduction :
Hook
What humanity creates in their own mind is worse than any monster, demon or any act of terror that can be conceived. B ) Background
Gothic Literature is a writing style that has dark setting, it has an overall atmosphere of mystery, exoticism, death. A Gothic story will revolve around a
large, ancient house or an obscure setting that conceals a terrible secret or that serves as the refuge of an especially frightening and threatening character
"The Tell–Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe––narrator kills the "old man" as his eye was bothering him. In his hiding of, and accidental revelation of, the
body, the narrator begins to break down, becoming insane.
"The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe the student becomes obsessively pushing his need for self–torture to the extreme. To become more sorrow, he calls
for the bird to hear only one response to become morself–tortured.
"The Yellow Wallpaper''Charlotte Perkins Gilman the narrator suffers from depression and her only way she feels she can escape is writing.
Eventually, she starts to feel trapped and by tearing down "the woman in the yellow wallpaper'' she thinks that this will set her free but it only makes
her become more mad. C) Thesis Statement The three stories The Tell–Tale Heart The Yellow Wallpaper, and Raven have a common narrator type,
bringing about a sense of psychological horror within the themes of insanity.

Mental Challenges in The Tell-Tale Heart Essay
Edgar Allan Poe was a famous American author who specialised in short story and gothic fiction. One of Poe's most famous works was The Tell–Tale
Heart which explores murder, mental illness, cruelty and horror. The viewer becomes aware of the unprovoked mental challenges between characters
which heightens the tension and fear, as darkness envelops the reader and the strong beating of a heart gradually grows louder. In order to create a
more dramatic storyline, Poe has applied a range of narrative techniques including characters, point of view, setting, and theme, to amplify the intensity
of the text and to elicit fear within the reader. There are two main characters in the story of The Tell–Tale Heart which Poe has refined to reflect the
...show more content...
The relationship between the two characters is unclear but it is known that both reside within the same vicinity. Noises of the night and the loud
beating of a heart capture the distress of the characters and contribute to the fear trapped inside the storyline. Poe has written this story through a
major character who was the killer of the old man with the "eye of a vulture." The first person point of view makes the reader feel as though they
have a personal connection to the event as it gives them an insight into the thoughts and feelings of the murderer. What makes the situation so
horrific is that the narrator continues to plea his sanity whilst carrying out such an atrocious act. He tries to convince the reader how cautiously the
murder was planned and how a mad person would not be capable of such precision. The setting presented in this story has a very dark and gloomy
atmosphere which has been used as a technique to help outline the scene. It is set in the one location; a bedroom. Poe describes the room as being
"black as pitch with the thick darkness," which deepens the effect of terror. The night setting gives the text an eerie feel as it focuses on the horrors of
night time. This horror creates a noticeable impact which is recognisable when the victim cried out "who's there?" against the backdrop of
frighteningly still silence. Ultimately, the way in which Poe's story is set builds anxiety and fear in the reader. Poe presents the text in a way that plays

Tell-Tale Heart
Deep, dark, and devious– the style of Edgar Allen Poe imposes several different reactions upon the reader. For example, the feeling of being watched
and helpless. There are several literary devices that Poe uses to make the audience have these feelings. One of the most well known works of Poe's is
"Tell–Tale Heart." It is a short story about how one man is paranoid about an older man's eye. The one that is worrying about the eye goes to extreme
measures and stalks the man while he is sleeping. He eventually kills the older man and cuts him up and puts him in the freezer.

Tell-Tale Heart: Appropriate For Kids My Age
Have you ever read the story Tell–Tale Heart? If so I have a quick question for you. Do you think Tell–Tale Heart is appropriate for kids my age? If not,
why? In lines 98 & 99 it says "For I have directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot." I think it's appropriate because unlike
other usual immature grades we didn't start to laugh or snicker. That is one of my justifications to say it's appropriate. In addition I think Tell–Tale
Heart is appropriate because I think kids my age is mature enough. I say that because we are almost full teenagers–– almost grown. For example we are
mature enough because we know when to play and when not to. My age group is mature enough because in lines 4–5 it says "I heard all

The Tell-Tale Heart Argumentative Essay
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: there can be many different perspectives seen in a poem. One individual could read a poem as depressing and
another can perceive it as a new beginning. One's views rests on individual perspectives. For example, Edgar Allen Poe's writing is dark and
controversial. In my essay I will argue that Poe was not in his right mind and he was driven mad with evidence throughout his short story "The
Tell–Tale Heart". To begin with, Poe is the speaker in the short story, he tells the story as if he is proud. For instance, the speaker states," But you
should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded– – with what caution – – with what foresight – – with what dissimulation I went
to work." (Poe 1) A

The Tell-Tale Heart Argumentative Essay
Do you think it's possible to act "insane" to get out of murder charges? It shouldn't be. In the story "The Tell–Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, the
narrator confesses to murdering the old man who was his living acquaintance. He took wise precautions like preparing for days and hiding the body.
He is guilty because he knew exactly what he was doing when committing the crime. He could have stopped at anytime but he didn't. This was a
premeditated murder.
First of all, he prepared for the murder of the old man by watching the old man for a week before killing him. In his confession, he said, "And this I
did for seven long nights," which means he watched the old man for seven nights before the murder. It wasn't a spur of the moment decision. He was
aware of his actions. He could have stopped one of the nights but continued on, thus was premeditated murder.
Secondly, he took his time being quiet so as to not awaken the man. He said, "I turned the latch of his door and opened it – oh so gently!" This means,
he knew what his was doing and that he had to be quiet enough not to awaken the man. The narrator also said, "You should have seen how wisely i
proceeded." This matters because he knew if he had woken the man up, he wouldn't be able to rid himself of him. The narrator...show more content...
He said, "There was nothing to wash out–no stain of any kind–no blood–spot whatever. I had been to wary for that. A tub had caught all– Ha! Ha!" The
quote means that he chopped up all the body parts in the tub to get rid of any trace. This matters because he knew if he washed down all the blood
and got rid of any trace of the man, that he could get away with it. With no blood anywhere, no trace of the old man's remains, he could have gotten
away with it. These actions prove that he thought about what to do with hiding the body prior to the murder. How can you be fully aware of your
actions, yet say you're insane? He's a cold–blooded

Dramatic Irony In The Tell Tale Heart
Edgar Allen Poe uses dramatic irony in the "Tell Tale Heart" in the line "I moved it slowlyдёЂvery, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old
man's sleep"(Poe 1). This line is saying the narrator is moving into the old man's room and looking at him but, the old man doesn't know that the
narrator is looking at him. This creates suspense by the reader knowing that the narrator is sneaking into the bedroom and looking at the old man but,
the old man does not know. Dramatic Irony creates suspense by the readering knowing more about the situation than one of the characters does. So, in
this case we known the narrator is planning to kill the old man but he does not know. This is how the "Tell Tale Heart" uses dramatic irony.

Tell Tale Heart Supernatural
Edgar Allan Poe has written some bizarre stories about supernatural events. The story ВЁThe Tell–Tale HeartВЁ was written in 1843 about a young
man killing an innocent old man. This bizarre young man is in fact a crazy person. The young man was very obsessed with the old man in this story
for a particular reason – the old man's eye. The old man's eye had a pale blue film over it and it was called a vulture eye. Every night at midnight he
opened the door to the old man's bedroom and just watched him. One time, the old man heard his bedroom door open, so he stayed up for one hour
and the young man never moved a muscle for that entire time, only watched and stared. That was a true obsession. This young man is very possessed
about the old man's

Essay on The Tell-Tale Heart
Andrew Fiddler Professor Esquivel English 1020 15 February 2013 Themes of "The Tell–Tale Heart" Edgar Allen Poe explores the similarity of love
and hate in many stories, especially "The Tell Tale Heart." In "The Tell
–Tale Heart," the narrator confesses a love for an old man whom he then
violently murders and dismembers the body and hides the pieces below the floorboards in the bedroom. When the police arrive, the narrator appears
normal and unshaken by the murder. Later on, the man gives in to the guilt and cannot withstand knowing anymore and not telling anyone. The
narrator reveals his madness by attempting to separate the person of the old man, whom he loves, from the old man's supposedly evil eye, which
triggers the narrator's...show more content...
The narrator reveals his inability to recognize that the "eye" is the "I," or identity, of the old man. The eyes symbolize the essence of human identity,
which cannot be separated from the body. The eye cannot be killed without causing the man to die. According to the narrator, "For it was not the old
man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye." (Poe), the eye not the old man haunted him and had to be eliminated. Characterization also helps the reader
understand the theme. I think that the narrator is unnamed to give the reader another sense that this whole story could happen to them, or anyone they
know. It shows the theme that everyone has an evil side, and although it is hard to admit, all humans are capable of committing a murder such as this.
But just like everyone is capable of committing this kind of crime, everyone also feels the guilt after the deed is done. As the story goes on, the
readers can see the madness growing in the narrator. At first, he tells the story quite calmly. He even explains that after the murder, he was completely
calm with the police officers. The narrator then states "The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them." (Poe), thinking he could get by
with the murder but he could not stand the guilt that came along with it. By the end of the story when he hears the heartbeat, his whole mannerism
changes. He is stressed and his words and thoughts come out in a panicked tone. Interestingly, there is only one set of spoken words that the

Critical Analysis of Poe's The Tell Tale Heart
The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the most basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself (assuming the narrator is male).
Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is described as an
obsession (with the old man's eye), which in turn leads to loss of control and eventually results in violence. Ultimately, the narrator tells his story of
killing his housemate. Although the narrator seems to be blatantly insane, and thinks he has freedom from guilt, the feeling of guilt over the murder is
too overwhelming to bear. The narrator cannot tolerate it and eventually...show more content...
One statement by the narrator sums up his mental state: 'You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me'; (777). What he is
actually saying is: 'There are madmen who are clumsy in their actions, but not this madman!'; This is as close to a self–admission of insanity as
possible. The mental setting is put into place by the narrator's own statements. This setting is pure chaos starting in the head of the killer and spilling
out into the physical world around him resulting in an unnecessary death. When the narrator is explaining the end of his tale to the unnamed listener
(presumably a jailor, or a mental health practitioner), he states the beating of the heart was unbearable on his conscious:
'I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited by the observations of the men–but the noise steadily increased?I foamed–
I raved–I swore!?the noise arose over all and continually increased.
It grew louder–louder–louder!?They heard!–they suspected!–they knew!?I felt I must scream or die!';(780).
The narrator proceeded to admit his killing of the old man. Obviously, his mental state was one of pure fear and disillusion. An auditory hallucination of
a dead heart beating caused so much mental anguish in the narrator that it made him confess to the crime. This indeed shows insanity. Yet this insanity
was not as strong as the guilt pushing through it.
Another element that supports the theme is

The Tell Tale Heart Insanity Essay
Insanity– the state of being mentally ill. Could insanity be an excuse for an unforgivable crime? In the short story "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar
Allen Poe, we come face to face with a man reliving his killing of an innocent man and learn the chilling state of mind the narrator has decreased to. It
is clear he is mentally ill from the start of the story and it is constant throughout the text. The narrator is not guilty for reasons of insanity because he
converses and argues with voices in his head, hears nonexistent sounds, and killed an innocent man because he believed his eye was haunting him.
Some may claim that there is no excuse for murder, but this man is obviously mentally challenged, therefore should not be degraded any further...show
more content...
This proves that this poor man is innocent because he is showing major signs of insanity such as hallucinations and hearing nonexistent voices. The
second reason why this man deserves justice is because he was obviously having some sort of mental breakdown at the time of his "crime". He seems
to be violently angry and very anxious. In the story, my client had just killed the old man and begins conversing with himself, "––do you mark me well
I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as
this excited me to uncontrollable terror" (3). This quotes helps prove that the narrator is innocent for plea of insanity because he is showing another
major symptom of a mental disease– anxious or violent outbursts. The man even admits to being nervous before he killed the old man. The quote also
describes how the old man's dead heart still beating in the narrator's mind and is taking over his thoughts. My client also connects his hypnotic state to
bringing him "uncontrollable terror". This supports his symptoms of anxiety because it shows his mind being taken over by his nervousness. Towards
the end of the text, the narrator feels too guilted and lets his anger get the best of himself, "I foamed ––I raved ––I swore! I swung the chair upon
which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually

Tell Tale Heart
The Tell Tale Heart is an amazing story with a very interesting plot. The characters are uniquely created with distinctive traits. The narrator is an
intriguing guy with an awkward obsession. He had the upmost respect and love for the old man. The old man had never wronged or criticized him.
Soon his hatred for one of the old man's physical features causes him to conjuring up a master plan of destruction. Once the narrator displays signs of
unstable thinking, one can concur that he is a border line psychotic individual. In the beginning of the story he says, "Nervous– very very nervous
dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" He then went on to say that, "I heard all things in the heaven and in the
earth. I heard many things in hell. How then am I mad?" It is as if he has to convince himself that he is not insane when in actuality he is that and
more. Throughout the story, the narrator goes from one extreme to the next. He always asks a question referring to himself as a mad man or
acknowledging his actions as that of being wise...show more content...
Why is he watching this man sleep? He did this every day a week prior to the night of his devious plans. Doing so on a daily basis the narrator got
comfortable, so comfortable that he became arrogant about taking the necessary precautions when entering the old man's room. "I could scarcely
contain my feelings of triumph. I fairly chucked at the idea, and perhaps he heard me for he moved on the bed suddenly as if startled. Now you may
think I drew back– but no." For the narrator to continue to stand there fearlessly when he has just awakened the old man resembles the power that he
felt he had. Him not closing the door at that moment was like saying you waking up does not intimidate

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe Essay
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell–Tale Heart", a short story about internal conflict and obsession, showcases the tortured soul due to a guilty conscience. The
story opens with an unnamed narrator describing a man deranged and plagued with a guilty conscience for a murderous act. This man, the narrator,
suffers from paranoia, and the reason for his crime is solely in his disturbed mind. He becomes fixated on the victim's (the old man's) eye, and his
conscience forces him to demonize the eye. Finally, the reader is taken on a journey through the planning and execution of a murder at the hands of the
narrator. Ultimately, the narrator's obsession causes an unjust death which culminates into internal conflict due to his guilty conscience. The...show more
content...
The cold and calculating confession is due to the fact that the narrator has detached himself from all sense of normal remorse. His madness has
rendered him unable to control ordinary emotions. Instead, he is left begging the reader to praise his cunningly accomplished acts. The narrator states,
"You should have seen me," and then implores again, "You should have seen how wisely I proceeded– and with what caution – with what foresight –
with what dissimulation I went to work!" (Poe 923). It is apparent to the reader, or anyone of sound mind, that this man is suffering a mental
breakdown due to obsessive paranoia. What triggered his obsession with the victim is something so simple it cannot be justified. It was the victim's
eye! The motivation for murder according to the narrator was "not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye" (Poe 922). However, it is possible
that the eye symbolizes a necrosis of the narrator's spirit. The narrator uses terms such as "infuriate", "hideous", "vulture" and "dammed" when
describing the eye (Poe 923). These words are often used to describe the demonization of individuals who commit irrational crimes against humanity,
such as the crime our narrator is confessing to, the murder and dismemberment of an innocent old man in his sleep. In "The Physiognomical Meaning
of Poe's 'The Tell–Tale Heart'", Edward W. Pritcher states "it

Tell Tale Heart Response
I am writing about the Tell Tale Heart. Because in the story a mad man kills an old man for his eye. Yes my freinds, his eye. He did not like the
way the eye looked at him. He even chopped the guy into pieces and hid them under floor boards. This guy is smart and insane at the same time. I
think he should be sent to an insane asylm and a prison at the same time. I mean he killed a man for his eye and smart enough to hide the victim. "If
you still think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for concelment of the body," as the narrator states.
Sounds like prison is down the road for the mad man. Oh just wait theres more. Lets take a look some asylm reasons. "I made up my mind to take

The Tell-Tale Heart Essay
The Tell Tale Heart is an amazing fictional short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. It is about a man who has a mental health problem which causes
him to kill an old man, who is also his neighbor. In the beginning of the Tell–Tale Heart, the narrator tries to convince the readers that he is not the
culprit and that he is not mad either. Instead, he says that his disease has "sharpened his senses––not destroyed––not dulled them." Later on, to prove
that he is insane, he calmly explains why he commits the murder of the old man, who has "an eye of a vulture." As explained in the story, the old
man's eye is a pale blue eye, with a film over it. The unnamed narrator has nothing against the old man, but his pale blue eye. To be free of the
"vulturous eye," the narrator goes into the old man's room every night at 12:00 for seven days....show more content...
He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire." After that, he goes on talking about the old man's eye. He
says "I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever." The anonymous narrator murdered the very old man
because the his eye was made of glass and the narrator did not like that at all. Later on, some neighbors hear disturbance and they immediately call the
police. Once the police come to investigate they ask the narrator some questions. The more questions they asked, the more nervousness the narrator
gained. Soon, he started hearing his own heart, but he thought it was the old man's

Tell Tale Heart Transcendentalism
Poe has a method for telling a story that is so distinctive. I think you made a decent point by expressing "The Tell–Tale Heart" as a "dim sentimental
writing." I likewise concur with you that one of the essential qualities of sentimental writing is to expound on a man's feelings for sentiments. Poe
made an astounding showing in portraying the character's "dim sentiments". Human nature is a fragile offset of light and obscurity or great and
shrewdness. More often than not, this tricky parity is kept up; in any case (when there is a movement) for reasons unknown, the dim or unreasonable
side surfaces. How and why this "dim side" rises contrasts from individual to individual. What may push one person "over the edge", will just bring
about a cocked...show more content...
For instance, the storyteller concedes, in the first sentence, to being terribly anxious. He is not able to understand why he ought to be thought frantic.
He expresses his self–protection against insanity regarding increased tactile limit. Another inconsistency fundamental to the story includes the strain
between the storyteller's abilities for affection and scorn. Poe investigates here a mental riddle that individuals in some cases hurt those whom they
cherish or require in their lives. Poe's storyteller adores the old man. He is not voracious for the old man's riches, nor wrathful on account of any slight.
The storyteller in this manner takes out intentions that may typically rouse such a savage homicide. As he announces his own particular rational
soundness, the storyteller focuses on the old man's vulture–eye. He decreases the old man to the light blue of his eye in over the top design. He needs
to isolated the man from his "Stink eye" so he can save the man the weight of blame that he ascribes to the eye itself. The storyteller neglects to see
that the eye is the "I" of the old man, an inborn piece of his personality that can't be detached as the storyteller unreasonably

The Tell Tale Heart Rhetorical Analysis

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The Tell Tale Heart Rhetorical Analysis