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Analysis Of Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

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The short story “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as a horror story. Although horror stories are most commonly classified with monsters, this story is not associated with actual monsters, like Frankenstein or Cerberus. A horror story might incorporate characters with monstrous characteristics, such as when the old man is murdered by the narrator in the “Tell Tale Heart.” The short story “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe incorporates certain elements that help create the horror genre, including as crimes, slow- down, and nervousness or anxiety.

To begin with, the narrator commits crimes in the short story. The narrator is performing murderous act. “I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him.” (Poe 93) This quote demonstrates what the narrator is doing to the old man. The narrator had planned and was waiting for this attack. Considering that the bed is heavy, it would crush the old man, killing him. This deadly action shows that the narrator abusively attacks the old man. These deeds show that the narrator attacks the old man viciously. Also, The narrator commits another crime, when he lies to the police about the murder of the old man. “ I smiled,—for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country.” (Poe 93) This quote shows the false statements the narrator said to the police. He said that the old man was in the countryside, although he was actually dead. He also tells the police that the scream during the middle of the night was his own, despite it was the old man’s when he was murdered. These crimes prove that the story is part of the horror genre.

Next, the narrator uses the strategy, “slow down,” to create suspense. The narrator was moving extremely carefully and quietly before he was about to murder the old man. “And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel—although he neither saw nor heard—to feel the presence of my head within the room. When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little—a very, very little crevice in the lantern.” (Poe 91) The narrator arrived at the old

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