The Tell-Tale Heart Group

Question:

jessicalopez323
jessicalopez323
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What are some details that Poe uses to build suspense in the story "The Tell-Tale Heart"? Give examples from the story.

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Posted by jessicalopez323 on Monday October 12, 2009 at 4:52 PM and tagged with edgar allan poe, literature.

Answers:

  1. bullgatortail
    bullgatortail Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The first lines of Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" help to establish the overall suspense of the story. The narrator immediately establishes that he is both nervous and mad and can further hear many things in hell. Poe introduces the evil "vulture eye" in the second paragraph, and in the third paragraph he unveils his plan to sneak into the darkened room. The fact that the story takes place almost entirely during the hours of darkness contributes to the overall effect of impending evil.

    Other details include the "groan of mortal terror," and the initial reference to the "hellish tattoo of the heart." After the murder, the narrator dismembers the body and buries it beneath the floor, creating an even more gruesome act of concealment. The recurring beating of the heart followed by the arrival of the police take the story to its climax.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/tell-tale-heart

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    Posted by bullgatortail on Monday October 12, 2009 at 7:18 PM