One reason the killer deserves the death penalty because of the aggravating evidence to back this claim up. In the story, the narrator says, ‘I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and
After the murder of the old man, the narrator cuts his limbs apart and stuffs him underneath the floorboards. While suffocating the old man, a noise is made and is heard by the neighbors. So the next thing that is heard by the narrator is the knocking on the door by the police. The narrator plays it cool and invites them and even takes them to the room in which the old man was under. He is perfectly content with them and makes small talk until the narrator notices a pounding sound. The narrator hears a beating that 's growing louder by the second, convinced that the officers can hear it as well, he confesses to the murder of the old man. Perfectly depicting the guilty conscious of the narrator, and thus proving that a guilty conscious will always overpower.
For instance, he describes in detail situations that the other member of the community experienced, like when the Board of Aldermen sent a deputation to her home or when the drug store clerk sold her the poison. These scenes were described with perfect first-person perspective. On the other hand, these scenes also say a great deal about the narrator as well.
By narrating from a third person point of view readers are able to see what happens in the lives of the different characters simultaneously and how any events or emotions may affect them or the people around them. The foreshadowing hints at the dire fate of the Clutter family and the two criminals responsible for their death. Using imagery places the audience in the course of the crime. In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, he is able to walk his audience through all of the major events before, during, and after the the death of the
How murder first came to enter the narrators mind is unknown. There was no real motive as said: “Object there was none... I loved the old man. He had never wronged me...” (884.) The narrator states that the old man's eye was a pale blue color with film over it, resembling a vulture. The narrator insists that he is not insane however his repeating of this, and his actions, contradict one another. Being so threatened by the old man's eye, the killer attacks his master at night, cuts up his body and buries it beneath the floor boards. Although the old man had sensed his killer in his bedroom, he was too terrified to run for his life. The fact that the narrator kills this innocent old man because of his eye is proof enough he suffers from psychological imbalance To further the evidence that the narrator is, he continues to hear the man's heart beat beneath the floor boards. Although it seems as if it is his own heart beating, he automatically assumes the old man's heart is haunting his mind. The characters are what play the key role in this short story. The killer is suffering from insanity, which he believes is the cause of the evil eye. The old man is never really developed within the story, just known he is innocent and has never wronged his killer. The old man could just represent an innocence who is opposite of a murderer's mind. Within the whole plot the characters unfold an unsettling dark theme for the story; a cold hearted killer and a loving old man with an
Moreover, he tries to defend his sanity by explaining how wise and cautious he was as he was preparing for the murder. Every night he checked on the old man to make sure he got everything right and get ready to execute his plan. The narration lacks of a concrete explanation of the person or place to which it is addressed, which leaves much room for interpretation for the readers. What we can infer from the story is it is not addressed to the police officers since the narrator says he was successful in making them satisfied. Finally, the climax of the story comes as the revelation of the dead body hidden under the planks. Because the story is told as a memento, our estimation might be that the narrator is addressing a court official or personage who may influence over the judgment of the narrator. Therefore, the story that the narrator is telling is most accurately realized as an appeal for mercy rather than just being an appeal to be thought sane.
First-person narration can provide an exotic and perhaps unreliable viewpoint. The narrator’s thoughts and feelings are conveyed more clairvoyantly than possible in third or even second person, an effect that develops a more intimate and relevant story to the reader. In "Cathedral," Raymond Carver uses conversational tone and diction to expose the narrator 's character: prejudicial at first, sympathetic by the end. Knowing his character simplifies the understanding of major components of the story such as the narrator 's hostility to Robert and his epiphany at the end.
While in the room where the old man was is buried, the narrator is sitting on a chair, which is above where the old man’s body parts are. He engages in conversation with the policemen. In the narrators mind, he starts to feel guilty his anxiety rises. He believes he starts to hear the old
The narrator of the story suffers from heightened senses which makes the narrator despise the clouded eye of his roommate. Due to his condition, he is driven to the point of plotting the murder of the cloudy eyed man. However, the narrator argues that since he planned the deed so meticulously, he could not be crazy and that “madmen know nothing” and he was no madman. There is reason to believe he is lying about the state of his sanity because the narrator does end up killing the man to rid himself of the evil eye. Affected by his anxieties, the narrator begins to hear what he believes to be the heartbeat of the man he has murdered. The heartbeat did not create a sense of regret in the narrator, rather “it increased [his] fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.” The unreliable source of narration is due to the mental illness which allows for the narrator’s judgment to be misconstrued. Guilt of conscience is the main theme and allows for the overall character arch of the narrator as his heightened senses, or more realistically, his anxieties, are the cause of his confession. Although the narrator had killed the man, he was not evil. The narrator was not in the right mind to take action and immediately had the guilt weigh heavy on his mind, causing it to slowly collapse. Nevertheless, the narrator, for these reasons, remains unreliable and mentally
The short story “The Rats in the Wall” by Lovecraft, told in first person narrative, gives the reader a strong sense of his feelings and emotions. The narrator is the last of his family lineage, having lost his father, wife, and son. This loss plays and influences the horrifying events throughout the story.
Through an intellectual lense he is able to add to the story in which it feels less like a prose piece and more like an extension of the manuscript we may have actually stumbled apon. It is told through logic rather then emotion, like a news segment, where all the events are laid out to the reader, then afterwards you are able to react. The rare thing this story is able to do, which is inflict personal fear into the readers minds makes it a terror story. In the end he reveals the uncle
The different uses of point of view in a short story can influence how the reader interprets the text. For example, the short story "Cathedral" incorporates the use of first person. First person point of view is when a narrator conveys an experience from their own perspective. By choosing to use first person narrative, the author allows the reader to gain a concise understanding of how the narrator is thinking and feeling. First person narrative is often used because it allows the reader to better understand the context of the text and the story becomes more intimate for the reader. On the other hand, the short story, "The Lady with the Dog" integrates the use of third person limited narrative. Third person limited narrative is used when authors
The whole novel is written in first person point of view. How does this perspective help the reader to better understand the novel as a whole? If this novel was written in third person point of view, what are some differences that may appear?
James Gargano, a literary critic, explains this motif when he says, “His obsession with conveying to his audience that he is sane only amplifies his lack of sanity” (Wilson 346). Gargano highlights the narrator’s insanity with the fact that the narrator tries to convince the reader he is not a madman, even though his actions and thoughts are not normal. Throughout the short story, the narrator’s obsession with attempting to persuade the reader that he is not insane shows his insanity and creates suspense and terror. In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator says, “Whenever it fell upon me my blood ran cold, and so by degrees, very gradually, I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (para. 2). The insane act of killing the old man builds suspense and terror within the reader because they question the sanity of the narrator since he kills a man simply because he is not fond of his eye. The narrator’s actions in “The Tell-Tale Heart” reinforce the “lunacy” of the narrator and build terror internally and externally for the reader. This terror built through the “mentally ill” narrator heightens tension throughout the story and establishes suspense for the reader (Miksanek 1). The motif of insanity challenges the reader to know what will happen next to the narrator or what he might do to someone else because of
A first-person narration provides an interesting perspective on the main action of a story. A narrator can express his/her own thoughts and feelings, which in turn develops a more personal and relatable story to the reader. Raymond Carver often uses this literary point-of-view tactic in his short stories to reveal the traits of the narrator. In "Cathedral," Carver uses conversational tone and diction to reveal the narrator's character; which is prejudicial at first, but becomes empathic by the end. Knowing this narrator's characteristics facilitates the reader's understanding of major components of the story, such as the narrator's hostility to Robert, his loser-like sociality, and the climax of opening up to Robert.