“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe Analysis

Warm-up Describe 5 things you expect to find in scary stories. ___________________________

Warm-Up continued… For these 5 elements, would you react emotionally to these events, occasions, or things? For these 5 elements, would you react physically to these events, occasions, or things??

Setting Setting is the time and place of a work of literature. Time = We do not know exactly when the actions take place (in a historical context), but we can estimate the timeframe to be over the course of a week with most events happening around midnight. Place = The location is the home of an elderly man in which the narrator has become a caretaker.

Agree OR Disagree? The following states reflect the personality of the narrator. Reflect on how these statements could relate to the narrator’s personality. After we read the story, we will come back to these statements & determine whether we think the author agrees or disagrees with each statement.

Do you Agree or Disagree? People who are insane always know that they are insane. Do you Agree or Disagree?

Do you Agree or Disagree? Sane people sometimes imagine that they hear things. Do you Agree or Disagree?

Do you Agree or Disagree? If you commit a major crime, sooner or later you will be caught. Do you Agree or Disagree?

Do you Agree or Disagree? When you’ve done something wrong, it’s agony to wonder if you’ll be caught.   Do you Agree or Disagree?

Do you Agree or Disagree? All people share the same fears (i.e., the same things frighten all people.)   Do you Agree or Disagree?

Characters & Point of View Main Characters – an old man with one sightless, pale blue eye and his murderer. The story is told in first-person from the point of view of the murderer. What is it about the narrator that contributes to the overall effect of horror in the story?

Questions?? Why does the narrator have such a problem with the “evil eye”? Why does the narrator say he isn’t crazy? (True! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will you say that I am mad?” ) Why do you believe that the subtle sound of a heartbeat grabs his attention, rather than the old man’s screams?

More Questions?? Why did the narrator feel the need to cut the old man up? Why does the narrator confess? Does the heartbeat really tell the tale of the murder? Does this story mirror Poe’s life in any way?

Theme The Duality of Man Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Evil – every man has to find a way to balance these out in the hopes that the light/good will be the predominate side in his life. What is it within each person that causes the suppressed dark side to come to the forefront? In the story, what causes the narrator to give in the dark side? Is it mental illness? Explain. How does this illness prove to be the narrator’s downfall?