the-tell-tale-heart-analysis資料講解

1、TheTell-TaleHeartPublished1843IABOUTTHEAUTHOREdgarPoewasbornonJanuary19,1809,inBoston,Massachusetts,thesonofindigentactors.Atagethree,whenhisparentsdied,PoewastakeninbyJohnAllan,amerchantfromRichmond,Virginia.HeattendedaprivateschoolinEnglandwherehelivedwiththeAllansbetween1815and1820.Afterreturning

2、toAmerica,hecontinuedprivateschoolinguntil1826,whenheenteredtheUniversityofVirginia.However,hewasforcedtoleaveafterlessthanayearbecauseofgamblingdebtswhichJohnAllanrefusedtopay.Afterquarrelingwithhisguardian,PoewenttoBostonwhere,underanassumedname,hejoinedthearmy.Afewmonthslater,attheageof18,hisfirs

3、tcollectionofpoems,privatelyfinanced,waspublished.In1829,afterthedeathofJohnAllanswife,Poewasdischargedfromthearmy.Hereconciledwithhisguardian,andreceivedanappointmenttoWestPoint.However,becauseAllenwouldnotsupporthimadequately(andbecausehedidnotlikemilitarylife)hepurposelyneglectedhisdutiestogethim

4、selfdismissedfromtheacademy.PoethenwenttoBaltimore,whereheresidedwithhisimpoverishedauntandheryoungdaughter,Virginia.In1832hebeganhiscareerasawriterofbizarreandromanticshortstoriesbypublishingMetzengerstein,ataleaboutfeudingfamiliesandsupernaturalrevenge.However,hisfirstrealsuccesscamethefollowingye

5、arwhenhisMS.FoundinaBottle,aneerietaleaboutashipwreckandghostlyseamen,wona$50prizefromaBaltimorenewspaper.Moreimportantly,itwonhimrecognitionandledtoapositionasaneditoronamonthlymagazinepublishedinRichmond.In1836,PoemarriedhiscousinVirginia,whowasnotquite14yearsoldatthetime,andin1837,aftertheendofhi

6、seditorship,heandhischildbrideandhermothermovedtoPhiladelphia.Poesoonpublishedtheonlynovel-lengthfictionheeverwrote,TheNarrativeofArthurGordonPym,aramblingadventureyarnfilledwithmutinyatsea,shipwreck,cannibalism,fierceSouthSeanatives,andavoyagetotheSouthPole.Between1838and1849,theyearhedied,Poewasat

7、thecenterofmagazinepublishinginAmerica,servingastheeditorofseveraljournalsandwritingreviews,criticalarticles,stories,andmiscellaneouspieceswhichwonhimadmirationforhiscriticalacumen.HismostfamousworksincludinggothichorrorstoriessuchasTheFalloftheHouseofUsherandLigeia,detectivestories,suchasMurdersint

8、heRueMorgueandThePurloinedLetter,andtalesofobsessionsuchasTheBlackCatandTheTell-TaleHeartallwerepublishedduringthisperiod.HealsoearnedgreatfameandwideacclaimwithpoemssuchasTheRaven.IIOVERVIEWTheTell-TaleHeartisoneofanumberofPoestoriesthatfocusonanobsessedprotagonist/narrator.Indeed,whatholdsthestory

9、togetherandholdstheattentionofthereaderisthesingle-mindedvoiceofthemadmanwho,evenashedenieshismadness,tellsastorythatconfirmsit.Poesuseofafirst-personnarratorobsessivelyrecountingapasteventisanimportantelementinhiscontributiontotheshortstoryformasahighlyunifiedaestheticentity.Poestheorythateveryelem

10、entinashortprosestoryshouldcontributetoitsoveralleffectisexemplified精品文檔bythefactthattheprotagonist/narratorisobsessivelyconcernedwithhisirrationaldesiretokilltheoldmanbecauseoftheoldmanseyeandbyhisrationalmethodofproceeding.Poesstoriesareoftencharacterizedbyapsychologicalmaniaheldincheckbytheration

11、alcontrolofthenarrativestructureofthestoryitself.Thenarratorinsiststhathislogicalplottokilltheoldmanandthecalmwayhetellsthestoryareevidenceofhissanity.ThisreflectsPoesprimarynarrativemethod.IIISETTINGAsisusuallythecasewithfirst-personnarratives,therearemultiplesettingstothestory.Theactionoftherecoun

12、tedtaletakesplaceinthehousethenarratorshareswiththeoldman.Atthesametime,thenarratoristellingthestoryfromeitheraprisonoraninsaneasylumwherehehasbeenincarcerated.Butevenmoreimportantly,thesettingisactuallyinsidetheobsessedmindofthenarratorhimself,forthecrucialclimacticeventofthestoryhishearingthebeati

13、ngofthedeadmanshearttakeplacesolelywithinhisowntorturedimagination.IVTHEMESANDCHARACTERSAlthoughtherearetwocharactersinvolvedinthestoryanoldmanandtheyoungermanwholiveswithhimitisreallyaboutasinglecharacter.AnexaminationofthenatureofthenarratorsobsessionshowshowPoesetsupthisstoryaboutasplitpsyche.The

14、narratorinsiststhathelovestheoldman,hasnopersonalanimositytowardhim,doesnotwanthismoney,andhasnotbeeninjuredbyhim.Instead,hesayshewishestokilltheoldmanbecauseofhiseye!Althoughthereisnowaytounderstandthisobsession,thereadermustdeterminethemethodandmeaningofthemadness.ForPoe,thereisnosuchthingasmeanin

15、glessmadnessinfiction.Tounderstandwhattheoldmanseyemeanstothenarrator,itisnecessarytoexaminetherelevanceofotherthemesandideas.Besidesthethemeoftheeye,therearetwoprimarymotifs:theideaoftime,andtheidentificationofthenarratorwiththeoldman.Thenarratorsaysatvariouspointsinthestorythatheknowswhattheoldman

16、isfeelingasheliesaloneinbed,forhehimselfhasfeltthesamethings.Hesaysthemoantheoldmanmakesdoesnotcomefrompainorgrief,butfrommortalterrorthatarisesfromthebottomofthesouloverchargedwithawe.Manyanight,justatmidnight,whenalltheworldslept,ithaswelledupfrommyownbosom,deepeningwithitsdreadfulecho,theterrorth

17、atdistractedme.Thenarratorsownterrorandaweisrelatedtohisobsessionwithtime.Heassociatesthecentralimageofthebeatingoftheheartwiththebeatingofaclock;hesaystheoldmanlistens,justashehasdone,tothedeathwatches(akindofbeetlethatmakesatickingsound)inthewall;heemphasizeshowtimeslowsdownandalmoststopsashestick

18、shisheadintotheoldmansroom.Tocomprehendthemeaningoftimeforthenarrator,wemustconsiderthesignificanceofthetitleandask:whattaledoesthehearttell?Althoughattheendofthestory,thebeatingheartbeneaththefloorgivesthemurdereraway,moregenerally,everyhearttellsthetaleofpassingtimeeachbeatbringingoneclosertoinevi

19、tabledeath.Thenarratorsstrongidentificationwiththeoldmanandhisobsessionwiththeeye,suggeststhatthenarratorreallywishestodestroytheI,thatis,himself.Theonlywaytodefeattimeistodestroythatwhichtimewouldinevitabilitydestroy,thatis,theself.Buttosavetheselfbydestroyingtheselfisaparadoxthatthenarratorcannoto

20、vercome.Indeed,bydestroyingtheoldmanseye,thenarratorindirectlydestroyshimselfintheendbyexposinghimselfasthemurderer.VLITERARYQUALITIESTheTell-TaleHeart,likemanyofPoesstories,isdeceptivelysimpleatfirstreading.Onemighteasilydismissitasastoryaboutacrazymurdererwhokillswithoutmotivation.However,thiswoul

21、dunderestimatebothPoesideaofartisticcontrolandhisconcernwiththedeepesturgesofthehumanheart.ToreadTheTell-TaleHeartmeaningfully,onemusttakePoesfictionaltheoryseriouslyandattempttounderstandtherelevanceofallthedetailsofthestory.Thistransformsthetemporalnarrativeflowofthestoryintoameaningfulpatternwhic

22、hmakessenseofwhatatfirstseemstomakenosense.ReadingTheTell-TaleHeartisliketryingtosolveamysterystory;inthiscase,themysteryisthemotivationofthekiller.ThekeytomotivationinaPoestoryishisuseofacentralideaoreffecttoholdthestorytogether.Asaresult,everythingcoheresaroundthiseffectandradiatesfromit.Thecoreof

23、thestoryislikeanobsessionthatcanbeidentifiedbytheprincipleofrepetition,sincethoseobsessedreturnagainandagaintothecoreoftheirobsession.Thus,thereadermustbealerttorepetitionsinthestory,referencestosingle-mindedmotifsorthemes.Theserepeateddetailsarethecluestothemystery;repetitionistheprinciplebywhichth

24、ereadermakesadistinctionbetweenrelevantandirrelevantdetails.TheTell-TaleHeartisaclassicexampleofPoesmethod.VISOCIALSENSITIVITYPoeisunconcernedwiththebroadsocialissuesofhistime.Hisprotagonistsare,byandlarge,notsocialfigures.Instead,theyseemtolivecutofffromsociety,detachedfromthelargeworldaroundtheman

25、deithercontentto,ordoomedto,livealone.Itmaybethattheshortstoryformitself,whichPoeismostcreditedwithcreatinginAmerica,isaformthatislesssuitedtodealingwithsocialissuesthanitiswithsolitarypeople.Thenovel,whichisabletoplacecharacterswithinarealisticexternalworld,ismoreopentothedepictionofsocialissuestha

26、ntheshortstory,whichusuallyfocusesononeortwocharactersconfrontingpsychologicalandmetaphysicalissues.VII TOPICSFORDISCUSSION1. Thenarratorinsistsfromtheverybeginningofthestorythatheisnotinsane.Whatcharacteristicsdoeshesayprovehissanity?Whatcharacteristicssuggesthismadnessinstead?2. Lookcarefullyatthe

27、narratorsdiscussionofhismotivationforthecrime.Whydoesheassurethereaderthathelovestheoldmanandhasnoreasonablecausetokillhim?3. Noticehowcautiouslythenarratorsetsupthemurderoftheoldman?Howdoeshedothis?Whydoes精品文檔hetakesolongbeforekillinghim?4. Noticeallthoseplacesinthestorywhenthenarratoridentifieswit

28、htheoldman.Discussthenatureofthisidentification.5. Discussallthereferencestotimeinthestorywatches,clocks,timepassing,etc.Whyisthenarratorsoconcernedwithtime?6. Noticethenarratorsinsistencethatwhatismistakenformadnessisactuallyanover-acutenessofthesenses.Whatsenseisparticularlyacute?Whatrelevancedoes

29、thishaveinthestory?7. Whenthepolicecalltoinvestigate,whydoesthenarratorinvitetheminandaskthemtostayforawhile?Whatdoesthisrevealabouthispersonality?8. Ifthisisnotasupernaturalstorywhichactuallypresentsthebeatingofadeadmansheart,thenwhatmakesthenarratorfinallyconfess?Explain.VIII IDEASFORREPORTSANDPAP

30、ERS1. Althoughthisisastoryofmadness,forPoethereisnosuchthingasmeaninglessmadness.Writeadiscussionofthenatureofmadnessinthestory.2. Poeinsistedthateverydetailinashortstoryshouldrelatetoitscentraleffectandthuscontributetoaunifiedstory.Whatunifiesthisstory?Whatcentraleffectholdsittogether?Howcanyoutell

31、thedifferencebetweenthosedetailsthataremeaningfulandthosethatarenot?3. Poeisoftenconcernedwiththethemeoftimeandmortality,thatis,howhumanbeingsaretrappedintimeandthusdoomedtodeath.ExplainhowthisstoryreflectsthiscommonPoetheme.4. LookatotherPoestorieswhichfocusonanobsessed,seeminglymad,narrator,suchas

32、TheBlackCat,TheImpofthePerverse,andTheCaskofAmontillado.Whatcharacteristicsdothenarratorsinthesestoriesshare?IXRELATEDTITLESANDADAPTATIONSTheTell-TaleHeartisoneofagroupofPoestoriesthatdealwithobsessionandmadness.ThecentralandmostexplicitofthesestoriesisTheImpofthePerverse(1845),acombinationofstoryandessayinwhichaPoenarratordiscussesandillustrateshowhumansoftenpersistinsomeactorbehaviorfortheveryfactthattheyshouldnot.Althoughthestorynotessuch