Edgar Allen Poe's short story The Tell-Tale Heart is an example of the main characters unreliability. The first person view of the story only allows the reader to know what the main character is thinking. This is what makes the reader infer that not everything the main character says is true. The character is in a situation where he is either presenting the story. He is also very defensive by saying that he is not mad and that he loves the old man.
The actions and thoughts themselves tell us that there is something wrong with this murderer. The old man's vulturous eye is what he says drove him to kill him. Therefore, as long as one's looks haunt him he has to get rid off them. If there is no other reason for his crime then it proves he is crazy. If he did love the old man as much as he confesses he does then that love would be stronger than the uncomfortableness the eye causes. Also when he tried to kill him he said he could not because at those times the eye remained closed and it was not a big enough reason to kill him.
The other part of the story is the super senses that this man or woman seems to have. He says that he is able to hear the beating of a heart. He is able to keep motionless for an hour or so. He tries to explain how much caution he took in order not to get caught.
The ending of the story is what gives away the fact that this murderer is crazy. He had already chopped the old man into pieces and yet he thought or heard the heart beat. There is also guilt that one feels that may cause one to give the secret away. There is explanations for many things of the story but they al sum up to make the reader believe he is a sick man.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Short Story Draft
Leo uncovered himself from under his Green Packer blankets. He slowly reached over to his phone and rubbed his eyes as soon as he pressed the unlock screen button. He as usual woke up a few minutes before his alarm went off. Deciding to appreciate those next few minutes he hid again.
The alarm went off and his daily routine was about to begin. He woke up got his green towel and went downstairs to shower. Leo knew that today would be like an ordinary day, but he has known to come to appreciate any sort of nature or human capability. It started early and even though he saw basically the same things every morning he always had new things to think about.
This morning his phone caught his attention. As he continued to text some his friends he wondered how it all worked. How the applications existed and how the internet worked crossed his mind, but thoughts that he had had before gave him the answers. He knew enough about science to know the basics of how everything could be possible. He asks few questions to others about his thoughts and usually he just thinks them through.
At school he is always with somebody and is friendly with everyone. He still has some thoughts but only due to the fact that he can not ignore his surroundings. He does think about others, but mostly he compares them to himself and how he can do better or might already be better then them. His goals in life are not to be better just to be happy and he does not believe it is all based on hard work and that is why he encourages himself to try anything he wants to and to forget about things unless they matter to him and his happiness.
Leo comes home right after school every day unless there is something else he can do preferably with friends that makes him happier. He eats a snack and usually dozes off to music on his bed. He then has no plans, yet he always has something to do and or someone invites him to do something. He can take his time in anything he does, usually for the same reason of thoughts.
After the day is done he concludes it with television to wash out all thoughts. There is days like today where he instead stays up thinking. He thinks not about tomorrow or about the days before. He only goes as far back as the morning.
The alarm went off and his daily routine was about to begin. He woke up got his green towel and went downstairs to shower. Leo knew that today would be like an ordinary day, but he has known to come to appreciate any sort of nature or human capability. It started early and even though he saw basically the same things every morning he always had new things to think about.
This morning his phone caught his attention. As he continued to text some his friends he wondered how it all worked. How the applications existed and how the internet worked crossed his mind, but thoughts that he had had before gave him the answers. He knew enough about science to know the basics of how everything could be possible. He asks few questions to others about his thoughts and usually he just thinks them through.
At school he is always with somebody and is friendly with everyone. He still has some thoughts but only due to the fact that he can not ignore his surroundings. He does think about others, but mostly he compares them to himself and how he can do better or might already be better then them. His goals in life are not to be better just to be happy and he does not believe it is all based on hard work and that is why he encourages himself to try anything he wants to and to forget about things unless they matter to him and his happiness.
Leo comes home right after school every day unless there is something else he can do preferably with friends that makes him happier. He eats a snack and usually dozes off to music on his bed. He then has no plans, yet he always has something to do and or someone invites him to do something. He can take his time in anything he does, usually for the same reason of thoughts.
After the day is done he concludes it with television to wash out all thoughts. There is days like today where he instead stays up thinking. He thinks not about tomorrow or about the days before. He only goes as far back as the morning.
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