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Notes on The Tell-Tale Heart

 

             Setting: The story take places at night inside a random old house the narrator shares with the old man. Although any details are given about the year, we can assume that the story most likely took place around the years that Edgar Allen Poe lived, which were from 1809 to 1849. Almost any details are given about the geographic place but we can assume that it takes place in an apartment or a small house with close neighbors since the police officers come just after the neighbor's report about hearing a scream in the night. The old man doesn't have any fear sharing a house with someone he has good relation with, someone he never has trouble with and someone who also loves him. In the story, the narrator completely violates the holiness of the old man's bedroom spying on him until he commits such an act.
             2. Characterization: The narrator who is the protagonist doesn't share his name, nor any other identification information. Neither for the antagonist, any name is shared. We only know him through the narrator's plan. We know that he has a blue eye, which is the reason why the narrator wants to kill him, we know that he is old and we also know that he is rich because in the story the narrator shows the old man's valuables to the police officers. The police officers can be considered as the catalysts. They don't really have any characteristics, they are just characters who do what needs to be done. The neighbor can be considered as a minor character, but he plays an important role in the story. He shows us solidarity by getting out of his bed when hearing the scream to let the police knows about what happens. The narrator is a round character because he changes by admitting the murder he commits to the officers at the end of the story.
             3. Plot: The exposition phase starts immediately since the narrator feels a terrible fear about the old man's eye. He wants to show us that he is not a paranoid as he uses the story to prove that.


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