a tell tale heart Flashcards
“i had been”
the narrator uses tense forms suggesting he is unable to place himself, used to skew all idea of where he is and suggests he is a confused man just as we are a confused audience
“TRUE!–nervous”
this extenuates the narrators nervousness and make it a more authentic dialogue. it clearly suggests he is speaking to someone which can imply this is story telling maybe even confessional. the use of nervous makes it seem like the narrator is trying to defend his own sanity
“why will you say that i am mad?”
narrator proposes a question an waits for the readers or his won audience to answer. as if he understands that he is mad however he wants to know what others think, this forceful decleration makes him seem more mad
“disease”
suggests the narrator is not well. disease suggests a sense of the narrator being uncomfortable and restless almost mirroring the readers feelings at this point in the story
“impossible”
the narrator has no valid reason for why he first thought of murdering the old man
“it haunted me day and night”
suggests the idea was like a ghost . it was constantly looming around him and his mind and became and overpowering force that he cannot deny, this links to the Gothic themes of the novel
“object there was none. passion there was none”
use of short sentences creates an impact statement for the narrator.he tries so hard to blame his need to kill on other reasons whether they be supernatural or not he contradicts this almost by suggesting that there was no reason for his hatred to the man. his excuses have became invalid
“i think it was his eye”
the old mans eye can be used as a symbol in the narrators life. the eye in a sense may have acted as a mirror to the narrator. just as a mirror reflects back your true self so to does the old mans eye for the narrator. a mirror into his own mind. his eye shows the truth to the narrator about his insanity however the narrator does everything in his power to prove he is not made so the decision to blame it on the old mans eye suggests he just wanted to get rid of the proof of his insanity
“he had the eye of a vulture”
in one way this can simply suggest that the old man was suspicious of the narrator and seemed to always be watching him to ensure he stayed on the right path. however a vulture signifies death so the narrator saying the old man was like a vulture suggest the narrator considers the man to also be associated with death. in this sense the narrator could be projecting his own desire to kill onto the old man making his eye as an excuse, this suggests the narrator is imbalanced and irrational as he is praying on the sick an elderly just like a vulture.
“a pale blue eye,with a film over it”
creates the image of not seeing clearly, can suggest the idea of a veil covering his eye and links to the idea that the narrator can see his own insanity through the mans eye and how we are reading the story from a confused view as if his mind has a film over it also
“thus rid myself of the eye forever”
suggests that the narrator does not want to be seen or looked upon by this eye as he feels paranoid and unnevered about what the old man sees of him
“this is the point”
form of sign-posting. the narrator feels like he is in control at this point and believe everyone is on his side.he is a form of an unreliable narrator which makes this seem unnerving
