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[A comparison between “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart”]

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION1

ANALYSIS OF THE STORIES1

Tell Tale Heart1

The Black Cat2

Comparison of Tell Tale Heart and the Black Cat3

Narrator's love for pain4

Eye for an Eye5

Plot of the Story5

DISCUSSION6

CONCLUSION7

WORK CITED8

Introduction

In this thesis, we will be conducting a research about the comparison of two stories named “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. The study aims to provide the comparison of the stories. The study provides the analysis of the stories by differentiating between them.

Analysis of the Stories

Tell Tale Heart

The Tell Tale Heart begins with a line ''True!—nervous—very, very nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?'' This sentence shows that the narrator insists that he has recovered from his disease. He further states the story of old man with blue eyes whose pale blue eyes triggered insanity. Thus, every time the old man looked at him he gets angry and in the end he decided to kill him in order to get rid of his curse. A prominent aspect of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is that the story is told from the first-person. Critics state that there are two themes of the story: first includes the identification of narrator with the man he kills and second includes the psychological handling of time (Fisher, Benjamin, 87). The narrator states that he is aware of the condition of old man whom he killed and compared it to his own. Throughout the story, time is continuously highlighted He further describes that the time slowed and stopped when he decided to murder him. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Another theme which is discussed includes the double meaning as the internal “I” of narrator is seen as external “eye” of old man.The story is provides a speech of a worried narrator who is trying to explain the the reader how he murdered someone (Quinn, 394). In the end of the story he had to confess his murder against the police. The entire story is open from his point of view and is presented in a worried tone. Since, Poe is master and his writing is imaginative, the narrator's mental logic reveals that he is senseless. In this story first-person narrative is used, therefore, Poe clearly defines the fear and tension running through the narrators mind (Fisher, Benjamin, 87). The narrator defines logical and calm statements based on irrational outbursts. The use of frequent cries reveals his extreme anxiety. The first-person point of view helps in drawing the readers attention to the reflection of insane narrator who enables one to sympathize ironically with his worthless state of mind. Critics also suggest that the entire narration is a representation of confession in a police station or trial.

The Black Cat

In The Black Cat the plot of the story is confined in the first person point of view and ...