Under construction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
Click here for the full text of the storyIn a nutshell:
The Telltale Heart is a disturbing story narrated in flashback by a man who is clearly suffering from insanity. He recounts how he developed an unexplained fear and fixation with his master's eye (possibly a cataract), stalking him at night, waiting for sight of the 'Evil Eye'. He murders him in the apparent safety of his own bed, dismembers the body and conceals the parts under the floorboards. He gets away with it. The police pay a visit, checking up on a strange noise. The narrator begins to have auditory hallucinations - the beating of a "hideous heart", which he believes to the the old man's (but is arguably his own). He blurts out his confession to the police, who did not suspect any wrongdoing. In Poe's world, what goes around comes around, justice is inescapable and the darkness of the human heart is laid bare. View 1: a cautionary tale of Gothic HorrorIt is hard to sympathise with a character who murders an old man, without apparent motive. Poe's Gothic Horror stories shocked original audiences with the darkness and evil that lurked beneath the surface of the human soul -- to a society governed by religious morality his characters are simply evil, or suffer punishment for some kind of sin (such as alcoholism, violence, envy etc).
However, in Telltale, the character doesn't seem to have any reason, other than his madness. As a student, you need to stop a moment and consider the below to get a handle on how you can view this tale in a different light.... |
"This character is suffering from mental illness, causing him to not only destroy the thing he loves but also destroys himself. If that is not worth sympathising with, there is something wrong with us."
View 2: a tragic tale of personal horror
Consider this: the narrator "loves" the old man and has no cause to hate him. He destroys the very thing he loves because of abject fear - fear of the "vulture eye". To him, it seems perfectly reasonable, as a matter of personal survival, to destroy this thing that fills him with terror. After destroying the thing he loves, his psychotic hallucinations (auditory) and paranoid delusions worsen until he cannot distinguish between reality and madness. After he confesses his crime, there will be nothing left for him - only the further horror of an 1800s mental asylum or death.
So in short, this character is suffering from mental illness which causes him to not only destroy the thing he loves but also destroys himself. If that is not worth sympathising with, there is something wrong with us. However, we fail to see the personal horror within and only see the insanity: it is easier for society to judge rather than empathise.
Still need convincing? Watch the films below, including the brave Vlogs of a young man living with schizophrenia, paranoia and delusions.
Then re-read the story. This should give you a way in to engaging with the story in a different way...
Consider this: the narrator "loves" the old man and has no cause to hate him. He destroys the very thing he loves because of abject fear - fear of the "vulture eye". To him, it seems perfectly reasonable, as a matter of personal survival, to destroy this thing that fills him with terror. After destroying the thing he loves, his psychotic hallucinations (auditory) and paranoid delusions worsen until he cannot distinguish between reality and madness. After he confesses his crime, there will be nothing left for him - only the further horror of an 1800s mental asylum or death.
So in short, this character is suffering from mental illness which causes him to not only destroy the thing he loves but also destroys himself. If that is not worth sympathising with, there is something wrong with us. However, we fail to see the personal horror within and only see the insanity: it is easier for society to judge rather than empathise.
Still need convincing? Watch the films below, including the brave Vlogs of a young man living with schizophrenia, paranoia and delusions.
Then re-read the story. This should give you a way in to engaging with the story in a different way...
Personal response help
- a window into schizophrenia, mental illness and hallucinations
- good to make you think beyond the stereotype and develop real world connections.
From a series of brave Vlogs about living with schizophrenia, including sensory hallucinations and paranoia.
It can happen to anyone. Breaking the stereotype of mental illness and showing how support helps - remember, the narrator has no support and no chance of societal sympathy. NCEA real-world connections.
|
Schizophrenia: my Worst Symptoms.
Watch from around 2:35 Documentary on how mental health affects young people - NCEA real-world connections.
|
Suicide and mental health: New Zealand's quiet crisis (click image for link)
Really short film on one teenager's life, as affected by mental illness. NCEA real-world connections.
|
Rough thematic areas:
mental illness, self-destruction, human darkness, Isolation, power/misuse of power, social status, societal blindness
POSSIBLE ESSAY PAIRINGS (not for CiE) WITH:
- Yellow Wallpaper (mental illness, isolation, darkness/light, power/misuse of power);
- Games at Twilight (isolation, darkness/light, death of hope, power/misuse of power);