Both prominent writers in the 19th century, their work has been widely exposed to the public and still remain as unique pieces today. A morbid and desolated writer with a dark past flooding papers with his emotions and ideas. And an English author famous for his humorous short stories, stunning the world with his very first version of horror and gothic literature. Edgar Allan Poe and W.W. Jacobs pieces of The Tell-Tale Heart and The Monkey’s Paw have many differences and similarities regarding the literary aspects of tone, point of view, and characterization.
To begin, because of the authors’ similar writing taste, concerning the common horror and gothic genre, this reflects on the tone of the two writing pieces. For instance, in The Monkey’s
…show more content…
Paw, it states “A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house… and at the same moment, he found the monkey’s paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish.” The thrill and the way Jacobs addresses the vibe of the situation causes the reader to feel anxious if Mr. White will make it in time to rid of whatever treacherous monster is banging on the door. This suspenseful and intensifying tone is also shown in The Tell-Tale Heart. In the text it said, “Oh God! What could i do? I foamed--I raved--I swore! . . . It grew louder--louder--louder!” (Poe 4). Despite the fact the narrator is probably insane, it contributes to the alarming and unexpected voice of the narrator who is eager to prove his sanity, but how he shouts through the writing actually benefits to the vivid descriptions and make the reader feel compelled to continue reading. Moreover, the characterization in the two stories have similar aspects and ways the main characters change throughout the story.
In The Tell-Tale Heart, as the plan of the murder progressed, the urge and motivation to rid of the evil eye greatly reflects on the beliefs of the narrator. He can be most likely described as a dynamic character because at the end. According to the text, it stated“ ‘I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!’ ’’ (Poe 4). Little does he know, the beating of the deceased man’s heart is the guilt that has driven him to finally confess his crime. Thus, something inside him triggered him to feel that way which concludes he had second thoughts subconsciously. This is the same case in The Monkey’s Paw where Mr. and Mrs. White are also dynamic characters. They were a happy couple in the beginning of the story, with nothing else they wanted, until the monkey’s paw disrupted the family. As quoted from the story, “… and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage to run down to her side…” (Jacobs 6). The words “disappointment” and “misery” describes how they will forever remember that night and regretful moment they wished upon the paw. Unlike his wife, Mr. White learns from his mistakes of using the paw in the first place and later copes with the fact his son is gone. From this, it is noticed that Mr. White has an understanding and protective personality, where he does the best he can to give him and his wife closure from the grief they
faced. Nonetheless there are also major differences between the stories, such as point of view. The Monkey’s Paw is narrated in third person omniscient where the author knows everything and narrates the story professionally. For example, “His dry lips shaped the words, ‘How much?’ ‘Two hundred pounds,’ was the answer.” (Jacobs 4). Jacobs leaves just enough information to allow the reader’s imagination and logic to figure it out. The quote doesn’t specifically say that Herbert had died, and doesn't even state what Mr. White’s last wish was at the end of the story. This creates it to be a suspenseful story with countless possible outcomes readers come up with. Unlike the insane narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart, Jacobs provides a reliable speaker, since the narrator Poe uses, has reactions and thoughts that may be exaggerated due to the mental illness. Additionally, it is in first person where every single detail is described vividly while the narrator’s crazy thoughts interrupt as well. For instance in the text it said, “TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” (Poe 1). This automatically shows that this narrator is quite different from others, and it feels menacing to proceed reading. Overall, the similar and different literary elements of tone, characterization, and point of view play a significant role of the two stories. The intriguing plot and vivid descriptions apply to deeper comprehension and makes the reader think, which contribute to its fame and make them masterpieces today.
The “Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and serves as a testament to Poe’s ability to convey mental disability in an entertaining way. The story revolves around the unnamed narrator and old man, and the narrator’s desire to kill the old man for reasons that seem unexplainable and insane. After taking a more critical approach, it is evident that Poe’s story is a psychological tale of inner turmoil.
The authors, Ambrose Bierce of 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' and Edger Allan Poe of 'The Tell Tale Heart' have unique styles to pull the reader into the story. Both authors use unreliable narrator and imagery to allow the reader to picture and follow the narrator's way of thinking. In the Tell Tale Heart, the man is very repetitious and his psychotic behavior is what intrigues the overall dark madness of The Tell Tale Heart. In Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Bierce uses illusions to allow the reader to follow wherever his ideas lead which also intrigues the overall dark madness effect.
Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.
Reading Edgar Allen Poe’s works such as “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart” are both written around 1840’s and written in the gothic style. Poe displays his horror short stories, in which the reader can differentiate his signature style. Although many of Poe’s significant works may have a similar theme, the reader can distinguish the themes through the characters in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart.”
In Edgar Allan Poe’s works, there are many similarities between them and his life. There are plenty similarities to find when only focusing on two of his stories, The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado. When paying close attention, it is easy to notice the similarities and differences between Poe‘s life and his stories..
In the article, “The Question of Poe’s Narrators” James W. Gargano discusses the criticize in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe and tries to help the readers understand why Poe writes the way he does and identifies some of the quotes in his work. According, to Gargano, other authors view’s Poe’s work as “cheap or embarrassing Gothic Style” (177). The author is saying that Poe’s work makes the reader look at themselves not only the work. The author explores three main points. Some author thinks that Poe’s life is reflected in a lot of his work, uses dramatic language to show his style in work, and explains how Poe’s work manipulates his readers to understand.
The two short stories that I have chosen by Edgar Allan Poe are The Tell Tale Heart and The Black Cat. These two stories in particular have many things in common as far as technique goes, but they do have some significant differences between the two. In this paper I will try to compare and contrast these two short stories and hopefully bring something to the readers attention that wasn't there at first.
Edgar Allan Poe was an excellent horror, suspense, and mystery writer of the eighteenth century. His use of literary devices and different literary techniques makes this writer important to American literature. This paper will show how Edgar Allan Poe has made an impact on Society and American literature as well as how Edgar Allan Poe developed the short story. I will also discuss and analyze some of his works and techniques he uses in his short stories and poems.
...binson, E. Arthur. "Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. ED. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. 94-102.
Benfey, Christopher. "Poe and the Unreadable: 'The Black Cat' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart " New Essays on poe's Major Tales viii (1993): 27-43
Poe writes “The Tell Tale Heart” from the perspective of the murderer of the old man. When an author creates a situation where the central character tells his own account, the overall impact of the story is heightened. The narrator, in this story, adds to the overall effect of horror by continually stressing to the reader that he or she is not mad, and tries to convince us of that fact by how carefully this brutal crime was planned and executed. The point of view helps communicate that the theme is madness to the audience because from the beginning the narrator uses repetition, onomatopoeias, similes, hyperboles, metaphors and irony.
Yet, there are two overwhelming explanations behind trusting that Poe 's motivation in "The Tell-Tale Heart" goes past the blend of ghastliness and confusion. Above all else, he has shrewdly muddled his story by making the storyteller 's portrayal of himself and his activities seem inconsistent. Incidentally, the hero endeavors to demonstrate in dialect that is wild and cluttered that he is deliberate, quiet, and
A virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his Gothic writing style. His style is created through his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Punctuation-wise; dashes, exclamation marks, semicolons, and commas are a favorite of Poe. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice set the tone of his works. Figurative language colors his writings with description. Such is observed in the similarities between two of his most well-known short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
In the “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator is extremely uncanny due to the reader’s inability to trust him. Right from the beggining the reader can tell that the narrator is crazy although the narrator does proclaim that he is sane. Since a person cannot trust a crazy person, the narrator himself is unreliable and therefore uncanny. Also as the story progress the narrator falls deeper and deeper into lunacy making him more and more unreliable, until the end of the story where the narrator gives in to his insanity, and the reader loses all ability to believe him.
The characters in The Tell-Tale Heart are complex, interesting, and elaborate. Although much is not known about them, they each have minor details that make them stand out. Whether it be the old man’s eye, or the narrators growing insanity.