Narration and Tone in The Tell Tale Heart, The Ghost in the Mill, and Cannibalism in the Cars
Narration and Tone
If fear, quizzical characters, and death all have something in common, it is that they are all present in each of the following short stories: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “The Ghost in the Mill”, and Samuel Clemens’ “Cannibalism in the Cars”. Each story has a unique and thrilling plot, with diverse characters, from the maniacs in “The Tell Tale Heart” and “Cannibalism in the Cars” to the simple storyteller in “The Ghost in the Mill”. Tones differ quite a bit in each; however narration is almost the same as each short story is being narrated by someone recalling the past. “The Tell Tale Heart” is a very ominous short story presented to us by the narrator who describes how he murdered an old man and his reason behind it. The story begins with the narrator telling his audience he felt nervous and that his disease (presumably his madness) had given him keen senses. “The disease had sharpened my senses –not destroyed –not dulled them” (92). He then proceeds to enlighten readers by recounting the haunting idea that entered his mind—to murder the old man. He devises a very methodical plan to murder the old man—simply because of the old man’s blue eye which had a thin film over it. The “vulture eye” haunted the narrator, and thus he premeditated the ungodly murder which ultimately led to his own downfall.
The way with which he kills the old man is very precise, allowing readers to feel a sense of disgust towards the narrator, yet at the same time his methodology is to be somewhat admired. Prior to the old man’s death, the narrator remains objective about the old man stating that he did have a liking for the old man; however, the thought of the “vulture eye” made him irrational. Cynically he says, “I loved the old man….For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this…I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (92). He graphically describes how each
If fear, quizzical characters, and death all have something in common, it is that they are all present in each of the following short stories: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “The Ghost in the Mill”, and Samuel Clemens’ “Cannibalism in the Cars”. Each story has a unique and thrilling plot, with diverse characters, from the maniacs in “The Tell Tale Heart” and “Cannibalism in the Cars” to the simple storyteller in “The Ghost in the Mill”. Tones differ quite a bit in each; however narration is almost the same as each short story is being narrated by someone recalling the past. “The Tell Tale Heart” is a very ominous short story presented to us by the narrator who describes how he murdered an old man and his reason behind it. The story begins with the narrator telling his audience he felt nervous and that his disease (presumably his madness) had given him keen senses. “The disease had sharpened my senses –not destroyed –not dulled them” (92). He then proceeds to enlighten readers by recounting the haunting idea that entered his mind—to murder the old man. He devises a very methodical plan to murder the old man—simply because of the old man’s blue eye which had a thin film over it. The “vulture eye” haunted the narrator, and thus he premeditated the ungodly murder which ultimately led to his own downfall.
The way with which he kills the old man is very precise, allowing readers to feel a sense of disgust towards the narrator, yet at the same time his methodology is to be somewhat admired. Prior to the old man’s death, the narrator remains objective about the old man stating that he did have a liking for the old man; however, the thought of the “vulture eye” made him irrational. Cynically he says, “I loved the old man….For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this…I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (92). He graphically describes how each