TTH - rewritten Flashcards
The Tell Tale Heart
Key themes in TTH
Insanity, obsession, violence and death, loss of humanity/empathy
Key issues in TTH
Insanity, obsession, morality, loss of humanity
Overlaps with themes
Key techniques used in TTH
Word choice, tone, imagery, sentence structure, symbolism, characterisation, direct address, unreliable narrator
Key settings in TTH
- The lack of setting at the start of the story
- The dark room (links to symbolism of the eye)
- The floorboards (symbolise repression)
What does the eye symbolise in TTH?
- Vulture eye represents death and decay because of vutlure’s scavenging nature
- Represents the death and decay of narrator’s mental state/humanity
What does the heart symbolise in TTH
- How an irrational passion has led to the narrator’s insanity
- Marks a clear end point for the end of sanity/humanity and mental state (where the eye represents the start of it)
What are the techniques in TTH for macro analysis?
Plot structure, key incident
Plot structure of TTH
The beginning of the story shows the narrator at their lowest without context, develops sympathy and confusion (makes the narrator seem more vulnerable)
Key incidents in TTH
- Murdering the old man
- Confessing to the murder
- Discussing sanity directly to the reader
Quote that uses direct address in TTH
“Why will you say that I am mad?”
Quote that uses unreliable narrator
“I heard all things in heaven and in the earth”
Contrasts to direct address by contradicting claims that they are sane, mixing delusion and reality. Juxtaposition shows mixing of delusion and reality.
Quote that shows symbolism of the eye
“the eye of a vulture”
Quote that shows symbolism of the heart
“Louder! Louder! Louder!”
Supposedly sharp senses are afffected by the old man, unable to escape the old man even in death. The eye/fixation is gone but the effect on sanity remains
Quote that shows loss of humanity
“I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph”
Tone contrasts with typical emotions around murder, lack of empathy -> loss of humanity
Quote that explores the issue of morality
“I loved the old man. He had never wronged me”
Statements, the old man is objectively a good person (short sentence structure)
Quote that introduces insanity to the reader
“You fancy me mad”
Assumption the reader thinks they are mad, creates confusion because of a lack of context
Criteria for critical essay marking
- Clear line of thought
- Understanding of the text of the whole
- Analysis of the text
- Impact on the reader/evaluation
