Tell Tale Heart pg. 78

Name: ______

Symbolism / Imagery/Mood / Characterization / Irony / Elements of Suspense
The old man’s eye eye-symbolizes his unclear vision because of his insanity: “Pale blue eye with film over it.” Pg. 78 …
He didn’t want his gold, he just wanted to rid himself of his vulture eye. He loved the old man but hated the eye-thus the eye could symbolize his desire to rid himself of something else…
Every time he went to the man’s room, his eye was closed. He couldn’t kill him then because it was his eye that vexed him-the eye could symbolize misplaced anger or it could symbolize…
Many nights when all the world is asleep the sound of mortal terror rises up within the madman, “deepening with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me” The groans of mortal terror symbolize…
He gazed upon the eye and grew furious-a dull blue with a hideous veil over it that chilled the marrow of his bones. Eye symbolizes…
He heard the beating of the old man’s heart and it increased his fury..the beating of the heart symbolizes…
When he hears the beating of his heart he is excited by uncontrolled terror
Once he is dead he thinks the eye won’t trouble him anymore…eye symbolizes…
He keeps hearing the beating of the man’s heart getting louder as he talks to the police-symbolizes guilt or… / Pg. 78 When he peeks into the room each night he “put in a lantern all closed, closed so that no light shone out”
Creepy
Hinges of the door creaked when entered room. Suspenseful
pg. 79
“His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness.” Pg. 79
The old man cried out “Who is there?” pg. 79
A groan of mortal terror from the old man pg. 79
“A single dim ray, like the thread of a spider, shot out from the crevice and fell upon the eye.” Simile pg. 81
When he finished hiding the body-“dark as midnight” simile / He tries to convince you that he is not mad, which makes one think he is.
Hearing is acute-hears things in heaven and hell-could be the voices in his head..could be…
He says that the way he killed the old man was wise, so he wasn’t mad-convince you maybe he can convince himself….
He smiled gaily when he killed him…
Again, he says that his isn’t mad because he took such wise precautions in concealing the body-cut up body, hid in floorboards, no blood
Finally at the end he shows the police the body because the beating of his heart is driving him mad / Pg. 79 “His shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers.”
“I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” Pg. 78
He put his chair over the dead old man while talking to the police to make everything seem normal, when it isn’t.
Ironic that he gave himself away to the police.
Ironic that he tries to convince us that he is sane when he is clearly crazy. / When he put in the lantern to the room he moved it “slowly, very, very slowly.” Repetition
Took an hour to place whole head in.
“Undid the lantern cautiously, oh so cautiously.” Pg. 79
“Every night, just about twelve, I looked upon him while he slept” pg. 79
He moved, startled by the madman chuckling
“I kept pushing it steadily, steadily.” Pg. 79
“For a whole hour I didn’t move a muscle.” Pg. 79
“Death in approaching him, stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.” Pg. 80
“Opened a little, very little crevice in the lantern.” He opened it stealthily, stealthily. Repetition- pg. 81
The beating of his heart grew quicker and quicker and louder and louder every instant
I talked more quickly, more vehemtly-repetition. Pg. 83
Paced the floor