...Reference. In my view, "The Tell-Tale Heart" foregrounds different stages of Ego-Evil as the narrator defines himself through the narcissistic eye, the malicious glare, and the enigmatic gaze of the other. In the story, the narrator clearly grounds himself as a powerful Master who can determine all values. As a result, he sees that he is sane, and that his disease is good. His disease has merely "sharpened [his] senses -- not destroyed -- not dulled them" (91). He remains an absolute Master who has an eye for the ultimate Truth, hence he can "calmly tell [the readers] the whole story". This episode foregrounds the way of the eye, which is always on the side of the Subject and its narcissistic fantasy. In the Lacanian context, the eye allows the self to see itself as a unified creature and as a judge, hence the eye is essentially related to the imaginary "identity-building" process. However, as the eye sees what it wants to see, "sight" or "insight" can mean bias. As noted by Ellie Ragland, the eye gives a narcissistic perspective of "unification and fusion" that does not guarantee truth, though it certainly offers a personal "principle of law or judgment" (95). In the story, the eye's bias shows itself when the narrator immediately views the old man's disease in a negative light. The old man's cataract is seen to be the "Evil Eye" (89). If we borrow Martin Buber's concept, we may as well call it the "I-Thou difference." John Cleman believes that the narrator's mental...
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...Jake Hartling 12/6/15 D – Block “The Tell – Tale Heart” Response Poe builds suspense by using several “tools of tension:” repetition, unreliable narrator, and. Edgar Allen Poe starts by building tension though the use of repetition. Repetition is used to intensify the drama, heighten the conflict, and to make an overall better story. In this story, it is in the description of the heart getting louder that there is lots of repetition. Poe could have written once, the beating heart grew louder” and then he simply could have moved on, but that wouldn’t be very intense nor wouldn’t intensify the drama. Compare that to “It grew louder –louder-louder!... and now – again! – hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!” Saying it over and over like that makes the situation seem much more direr, anxious, and helps the reader feel the narrator’s distress. Repetition is a great way to intensify the conflict, make it more real to the reader, and to prioritize the storyline to reader. Poe also builds suspense by using an unreliable narrator. Poe’s use of the first person narrator helps build suspense. Poe uses first person point of view to his advantage in this story. Without the use of this point of view, “The Tell – Tale Heart” would not contain the flow and suspense it does. For example, right away our narrator addresses the reader,” True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" Here the reader is drawn right in to the story and...
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...Edgar Allen Poe was obsessed with cats and often wrote with a cat on his shoulder. One of his quotes where “I wish i could write as mysterious as a cat”(BrainyQuote.com). Poe was in the army and was a sergeant major until he was discharged. In 1848 after his wife’s death in 1847, Poe attempted to commit suicide by ingesting opiates. Due to the horrific experiences in his life had a lot to do with his writing style. Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts, January 19,1809 (Poets.org).Poe had a father and a mother who were both famous actors who died when Poe was three years old. As Poe got older he attended the University of Virginia (Poets.org).Soon after he was forced to leave because he was in gambling debt and John...
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...is required for the fulfillment of the theosis. Despite crises happening constantly during the long existence of the Rule, the Benedictines have not been immune to periods of laxity and decline. In the fourth story of Day One in the Decameron, Boccaccio uncovers the negligent of monasticism in the late middle ages through a witty sexual story took place within a monastery. Using great details in the tale, Boccaccio tries to claim the unfeasible practice of monasticism, as well as the viability of the Christian church in the later middle ages. This tale is about the monastic life under the governing of the Rule of St.Benedict. In the context, the ecclesiastical characters attempt to break the Rule for the sake of their body. The monk uses his wit to free his body rests on the assumption that the freedom and pleasure of the body are good, and that the physical vigour of the young monk is very good. This is particularly significant to the tale because the monastic Rule of St. Benedict expressly denied the monk power over his own body. The physical and temporal setting of the tale prepares and frames the emphasis on the physical body and its carnal appetites. Setting off at the time around noon, when the weariness of physicality, hinders the action of the spirit, it creates a quintessential scene of sensual...
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...“It is the beating of his heart” -Discuss how the writer has employed the symbol of the heart to create an atmosphere of suspense & horror. Give textual evidence to support your response. Edgar Allan Poe has very effectively used the symbol of heart to evoke a mixture of uncomfortable suspense & terror in the readers. ‘The tell-tale heart’ The title itself employees the symbol of heart which has connotation to deception thus creating a feeling of apprehension in the reader. The title also comes across as very personal due to the use of ‘heart’ which effectively catches reader’s attention and evokes a feeling of suspense. The use of the symbol of heart appears again when the writer says “I knew what the old man felt & pitied him although I chuckled at heart” this makes the reader uncomfortable because of the ease by which writer has employed the evil deceptive role of killer’s heart here in the nerve wrecking situation & leaves the reader in uneasy suspense. “low, dull, quick sound –much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton” this detailed description of the old man’s heart appeals to over aural senses hence giving a vivid impression which evokes the sense of terror in the reader. The narrator further heightens the reader’s horror by making a morbid comparison “such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton” this strange comparison strikes the reader’s as ironic & chilling as this physiologically disturbing comparison foreshadows the actual...
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...is similar to that of Gretchen Schulz’s and R.J.R. Rockwood’s belief asserted in “In Fairyland, Without a Map: Connie’s Exploration Inward in Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” that, “The society depicted in ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’ has failed to make available to children like Connie maps of the unconscious such as fairy tales provide, because it has failed to recognize that in the unconscious, past and future coalesce, and that, psychologically, where the child is going is where he or she has already been” (1453). The point Schulz and Rockwood are making is that Connie’s generation and many following it, are neglecting to read fairy tales as bedtime stories and are consequently inhibiting the child’s ability to experience and work through problems he will encounter in adolescence. Whether we are aware of it or not, these stories have lessons that engrain themselves deeper than that on the superficial layer of a hero will save the day. For my short story analysis I will exemplify Oates’ fairy tale references and assert my compliance with the theory that fairy tales provide us, upon hearing them as children, with a subconscious ability to handle...
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... The story of an hour The story I am choosing is the story of an hour by Kate Chopin (1894). Why I chose the story is because I found the story interesting. A tale kind of like the old saying I laughed I cried I fell down. This story kind of has it all just when you think she is lost to grief over the husband she loved but didn’t. She finds joy and when she’s ready to move on she dies from a kind of joy. Using a reader response approach I find I can identify with the main character Mrs. Mallard and the pain and loss she felt. The meaning of the story to me is about being able to move on but also about grieving for ones loss also. What I found interesting about the story of an hour is the main character they start with that Mrs. Mallard who has a heart condition they go on to explain that her sister is there to tell her that her husband has died in an accident from there she begins to grieve with her sisters support and then begins wonder if she really loved him or if it was just companionship she would be missing. Then when she finally finds a way to move on with her life she finds out that her husband was not dead but still alive. As she realizes that her husband is still alive she is over come with joy and sadness both which is too much for her weakened heart. What’s most amazing is that this all...
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...Expectations and Fairy tales Tolkien describes the facets which are necessary in a good fairy tales as fantasy, recovery, escape, and consolation - recovery from deep despair, escape from some great danger, but most of all, consolation. Speak- ing of the happy ending,�all complete fairy stories must have it�However fantastic or terrible the adventure, it can give to child or man that hears it,�a catch of breath, a beat and lifting of the heart near to tears. (Uses of Enchantment, pg.143) Great Expectations shares many of the conventions of fairy tales. The one dimensional characters, the use of repetition, and the evil women seem to make the similarities strikingly strong. However, are they strong enough to conclude that it is indeed a fairy tale? It can not be ignored that it also falls short on some important areas, such as the traditional fairy tale ending. Is there enough evidence to classify it either way? Fairy tales have characters of complete good or complete evil. There are no characters who posses both of these qualities. In reading Great Expectations it is plain to see that there is indeed total goodness and total evil. This can be seen in many of the characters. There is no goodness to be found in Orlick. He plays the role of the bully. His hot temper results in the near death of Mrs. Joe and in the near death of Pip. Compeyson is another who has no goodness to be found in him. He is full of evil and hate. It was said that "He had no more heart than a iron file...
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...experience expressed through meaning, sound rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry originates in emotion that is recollected in tranquility. The recollections of emotions enable the poet to ‘see’ the object which evoke the emotions. Imagination enables the poet to look deep into the heart and soul of things. It is through the imaginative faculty that poet arrives at the general truths basic to human nature. Through the imaginative power, the poet is able to present emotions which he has not directly experienced. But he presents them in such a way that they seem personally experienced. Imagination is always associated with the created power and is a poetic principle. It is a transforming power as it has the ability to change the usual and ordinary in an unusual and uncommon way. Poetry is a modified "image of man and nature”. The poet is able to impart "the glory and freshness of a dream" to ordinary things of nature. He can present in his poetry the light that never was on land and sea. He is able to do so to the creative faculty of imagination. It is thus an active power. Poet is not a passive reflector of images formed from nature. He is a man who not only feels strongly but also thinks long and deeply. He is able to treat absent things as if they are present. Here Canterbury tales present an example of this imaginative power to visualize objects which are not present before poet’s eyes in their concrete forms...
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...linking your points and examples – voila! The first two steps have been done for you today! This is the extract that the exam board used for their examples, from E.M. Forster’s Room With a View. It is a description of Lucy’s arrival in Florence, and her first impressions of the hotel she will stay in, the Pension Bertolini. Try to take note of the development that takes place, from the band 1 response up to band 5. “And a cockney, besides!” said Lucy, who had been further saddened by the Signora’s unexpected accent. “It might be London.” She looked at the two rows of English people who were sitting at the table; at the row of white bottles of water and red bottles of wine that ran between the English people; at the portraits of the late Queen and the late Poet Laureate that hung behind the English people, heavily framed; at the notice of the English church (Rev. Cuthbert Eager, M.A. Oxon.), that was the only other decoration of the wall. “Charlotte, don’t you feel that we might be in London?” * What can you tell Lucy’s response? How might this be used in an essay response? What kind of close analysis do you think a student writing about this text might apply here? This is the one I’d...
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...foot, moved to the deep-sea depths of my being, like a creature thrown into audience with thunder.At the same time, I am secretly unfooled. The uproar is only my own shriek, and chasms are, like all things vast, inanimate. They will not snatch me in a thousand years, unless, in a lunatic fit of religion, I jump. (10) | Critical Response The words used are informal, giving us a feeling that the character is trying to relate to use. Most of the words are denotative, giving us a specific meaning to hold onto, while some are less clear which gives more mystery to the passage. The diction is mostly concrete, speaking of the chasm and his voice, not of other abstract ideas mentioned previously in the chapter. The words are also cacophonous, not sounding pleasant together and further expressing the distress Grendel seems to be experiencing as the monster he is. The words are mostly monosyllabic, making it easier for us to understand. The diction used clearly expresses the idea that Grendel pretends to be intrigued by the idea of the dark chasm seizing him, he also understands that this would only be possible if he gave in and jumped. | Personal Response I think this quote relates to me because I too, often talk to inanimate things as if they could hear me, while still realizing they can’t. I mostly do this when I am lonely, which relates me to Grendel in this instance. He seems like the lonely type. In a way I pity him, in a way I don’t. I’m sure if he tried hard enough...
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...My Creative Response to “To My Brother Miguel (in memoriam)” Of all the texts in the book of readings, this particular poem remained in my thoughts for a long time. It’s an emotional piece; the writer clearly delivered a lot of heavy feelings within it. Whether or not the poem is based on real life experience by the poet is irrelevant to my comprehension of the piece’s emotional message and eulogy to a long since dead family member. Throughout the piece he contrasts himself by both writing in the voice of a child and an ironic, slightly world-weary adult. The innocence of his childhood voice and memories, countered with the lingering sadness of his adult one gave me pause to think about the range of voice being brought to the table. The piece lacks a distinct sense of rage at the narrator’s loss of his brother. This made me highly intrigued as to what the poem would feel like if it was filled with rage or even regret. And while the narrator lingers on past memories, he certainly doesn’t regret the time he spends dwelling over them. The largest voice missing from the poem was that of the dead brother himself. I entertained the thought of writing an opposing poem from the point of view of the dead brother, in the same style as the original piece, while he laments over the fact that his brother won’t let his memories pass on. But I thought that that piece would lack the anger and regret that I felt was missing from the original piece. So I instead made the brother a slightly...
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...editorial position for the “Southern Literary Messenger.” While working for this company, Poe’s stories and book reviews made the magazine very famous. Some say that he was fearless in his work because he was not afraid to criticize anyone’s work while also insulting the authors personally. Poe did not stay with the magazine long and moved to New York City to find more work. Poe did not have any luck finding work, so he went on to write his own novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. After his year in New York Poe decided to move again, this time to Philadelphia. In 1838, Poe had written for several different magazines. His fame was growing, but his fortune was not. There were only 25 free copies made of the short stories collection, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. After Poe complained that writers were underpaid, he attempted to create his own journal but failed miserably because he did not have the necessary means to fund the journal. In 1842, Poe’s wife, Virginia, fell sick with Tuberculosis. Poe still trying to find work, left home and moved to New York again. In 1845 while in New York, Poe published the story, The Raven, which is one of his most famous works today. Poe was becoming more popular, bringing in larger crowds and even making more money. Although this was a peak in Poe’s writing career, his wife’s health was declining and the rumor of an “affair” drove Poe to leave New York and move to home with his wife. Virginia’s illness grew worse and she soon died...
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...Claudo liked and trusted his friend, so when Don Pedro said, “I will assume thy part in some disguise and tell fair Hero I am Caudo, and in her bosom I’ll unclasp my heart and take her hearing prisoner with the force and strong encounter of my amourous tale.” Claudo happily agreed for his friend to make the match. Don Pedro did such a great job that her father was woo’d as well. Don Pedro did not mind manipulating to get the outcome he wanted. But his form of manipulation was positive and not meant to hurt anyone, but only to help. When he proposed to Beatrice, I believe it was only to draw her closer to his friend Benedick. Don Pedro said,”I would she had bestowed her dotage on me. I would have daffed all other respects and made her half myself.” He says this to convince his friend that Beatrice is worthy of his affection. Nowadays we would say, “Hey man, she’s hot, I’d date her myself.” Shakespeare created Don Pedro...
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...I wanted to be the caregiver that made one laugh hysterically and dance with anticipation. As I arrived at the ending of my stories, I felt it. I felt the story, its energy and excitement, bringing me closer to “my baby”. My 41 inch height and even tinier physique defied the independent, motherly spirit and passion I had for babies. I wanted to teach, open up to, care for and love all my baby dolls and the real-life babies I excitedly saw at church, school events and my favorite place to volunteer with my family: Elizabeth New Life Center. The unassuming red brick building in Sharonville, OH, decorated only with a rather unappealing sign and a modest garden. Little did my 4 year old mind realize that within that center located in the heart of...
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