复旦大学：《英美短篇小说 British and American Short Stories》教学课件（PPT）Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

The Tell-Tale heart Edgar∠ lan poe

The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe

Outline ● Introduction Setting ● Characters ● Point of view o My Reflection S moIs ●Tone

Outline ⚫ Introduction ⚫ Setting ⚫ Characters ⚫ Point of View ⚫ My Reflection ⚫ Symbols ⚫ Tone

Introduction ● AUTHOR· Edgar Allan Poe(1809~1849 ● TYPE OF WORK· Short story ● TIME WRITTEN:1843 ● GENRE· Horror or Gothic Fiction

Introduction ⚫ AUTHOR ·Edgar Allan Poe (1809~1849) ⚫ TYPE OF WORK ·Short story ⚫ TIME WRITTEN ·1843 ⚫ GENRE ·Horror or Gothic Fiction

Setting 1. A random old house 2. The landscape of the narrator's mind

Setting 1. A random old house 2. The landscape of the narrator's mind

Characters e The Unnamed narrator--the murderer of the old man. Male or female? The Old Man-The narrator's murder victim The Three Policemen--don't really have any characteristics but play a major role in driving the plot o A neighbour--plays a small but important role in the narrator's story

Characters ⚫ The Unnamed narrator—the murderer of the old man. Male or female? ⚫ The Old Man—The narrator’s murder victim ⚫ The Three Policemen—don't really have any characteristics but play a major role in driving the plot. ⚫ A neighbour—plays a small but important role in the narrator's story

POINT OF VIEW o Unreliable First Person Narrator O An omniscient narrator

POINT OF VIEW ⚫ Unreliable First Person Narrator ⚫ An omniscient narrator

Summary o Obsessed with the vulture-like eye of an old man he otherwise loves and trusts. the narrator smothers the old man, dismembers his body, and conceals the parts under the floorboards of the bedroom. When the police arrive to investigate reports of the old mans shrieks, the narrator attempts to keep his cool, but hears the beating of the old man's heart. Afraid that the police know his secret, he rips up the floorboards and confesses his crime

Summary ⚫ Obsessed with the vulture-like eye of an old man he otherwise loves and trusts, the narrator smothers the old man, dismembers his body, and conceals the parts under the floorboards of the bedroom. When the police arrive to investigate reports of the old man’s shrieks, the narrator attempts to keep his cool, but hears the beating of the old man’s heart. Afraid that the police know his secret, he rips up the floorboards and confesses his crime

My Reflection ● Darkest secret o What's up with the title?

My Reflection ⚫ Darkest secret ⚫ What’s up with the title?

Versions of reality The story disrupts our versions of reality. The narrators sensitivity to sound ultimately overcomes him, and he is unable to distinguish between real and imagined sound e The more the narrator proclaims his own cool manner, the more he cannot escape the beating of his own heart, which he mistakes for the beating of the old man's heart As he confesses to the crime in the final sentence. he addresses the policemen as"villains, indicating his inability to distinguish between their real identity and his own villainy

Versions of reality ⚫ The story disrupts our versions of reality. The narrator’s sensitivity to sound ultimately overcomes him, and he is unable to distinguish between real and imagined sound. ⚫ The more the narrator proclaims his own cool manner, the more he cannot escape the beating of his own heart, which he mistakes for the beating of the old man’s heart. ⚫ As he confesses to the crime in the final sentence, he addresses the policemen as “villains”, indicating his inability to distinguish between their real identity and his own villainy

Mortality lty The story is a murder mystery, the kind where we know mbo the killer is, but can t really understand his motives This story deals with the fear of death, with dying, and the question of how a person can kill another. As such Poe's story is suffused with an underlying sadness, and a sense of mourning

Mortality ⚫ The story is a murder mystery, the kind where we know who the killer is, but can‘t really understand his motives. This story deals with the fear of death, with dying, and the question of how a person can kill another. As such, Poe’s story is suffused with an underlying sadness, and a sense of mourning