Kelly Liang

11/5/2012

The Tell-Tale Heart

TS: Edgar Allan Poe hints that the narrator is not reliable and slows down the action of the story

to create suspense in The Tell-Tale Heart.

CD: First, the author shows that the narrator is insane, as he exclaims, True! I had been very

as you tell me the whole story.(450).

COM: It is obvious that the narrator is crazy as he contradicts himself, so he is not reliable.

COM: We can see things merely through a mad persons mind, which makes the story scary and

suspenseful since we cannot view things in an objective way.

CD: Later in the story, the narrator tries to kill the old man, But even then I kept still His

heartbeat grew louder, I say, louder every moment!(453).

COM: The narrator uses sensory details to create tension that makes the reader grow in

anticipation about what will happen next.

COM: These descriptive details also slow down the action of the story, which make the piece

more suspenseful.

CS: In the story, Poe develops suspense by giving clues that the narrator is not trustworthy and

slowing down the action of the story.