A Reader Analysis of Three Stories by Edgar Allen Poe - Case Study Example

Task: A Reader Response analysis of three stories by Edgar Allen Poe The tell tale heart The short story by Edgar Allan Poe features an unmanned narrator, who insists to be mentally clear and possessive of his senses contrary to claims by others. The notable cause of disagreement in the story is clear from the instance when the narrator insists of murdering an old woman claiming the man has a vulture eye. This finds a base through hallucination of the well-calculated murder by claims that the man still has a heartbeat in floorboards. In the story, the relationship existing between the old man and the narrator is unclear whether the old man is a father or the narrator is a servant to the old man. The story is, therefore, a short time documented life experience story, which the author uses to portray the personifying characters. In as much as the story, tell tale heart does not make use of pronouns and other necessary English devices; it sparks symbolical ideologies and themes in people. The story starts with a conversation where an alleged man is confessing to an unknown person. It is not clear whether it is a prison guard, doctor, news reporter or a psychiatrist. In the process of giving a confession, memory of terror prevail in the story where the man admits the state of guilt. This grabs the attention of readers as the narrator take responsibility for murder, but does not accept insanity (Poe 23). The narrator attempts to prove his guiltiness while at the same time denying insanity in confessing. It is, therefore, a story, which involves a tag of war between two forces, one confessing a murder while the other defends sanity, hence the name tell tale.The narrator, while lamenting, tries to defend himself from any idea, which might portray him as insane. At the same time he says, “I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily” (Poe, 34) this is a phrase which proves illusion in the narrator, leaving readers wondering his position and his mental condition. For example, how did he hear the many things he speaks about in hell and why does the things haunt him day and night. These are questions, which leaves readers wondering the acuteness of narrator senses. The vulture eye of the old man portrays a symbol of parental surveillance identifying right and wrong activities. From a reader’s perspective, this might be one of the causes of misunderstanding in the story, which makes the narrator plan for the old man’s murder. In addition, the story penetrates a veil of secrecy in the final night regardless of the incidental relationship existing. (Poe, 45). To ascertain the death of the old man, he cuts his body parts and hides the remains under the floor. The dissimilation to protect his conscience gets centered in the old man’s vulture eyes. Subsequently, the quest to know more remains in readers having the anxiety to understand the motives behind the killings. The heart is symbolic of emotions of the individual. It shows the guilt of the narrator when the investigation proceeds. It seems the narrator is speaking to the heart. The old man’s bedroom is symbolic in the story. The manner of narrator’s intrusion into the room is symbolic of the violation of the violation of honor that the man had. In the story, the watch is symbolic of time. Notable aspect imagery in the story is that of the lantern displayed as beautiful and decent. In conclusion, the story, tell tale heart is more of similar to Roderick Usher’s book, the fall of the house of usher. Both reveal uncontrolled imagination among characters, which gets linked to psychological and emotional instabilities. The story is a representation in the struggle between imagination and science. The old man in the story represents scientific, rational mind in allegorical sequence portraying high degree of intelligence. The black Cat The short story of Poe was published in 1843. It closely relates other works by Poe since it portrays the notion psychological guilt. In this case, the murderer carefully hides his unworthy actions but cannot remain sober. This initiates the murderer to reveal his evil actions committed. The story, presented in a first person narration, is a masterpiece among the various works of Poe. In as much as there are various literary devices used in the story symbolism dominates it right from the heading. The black cat for instance is a representation of the many bad acts committed in the story. The story manly revolved a master who had many pets including a black cat called Pluto. The relationship existing between the two worsen with time because of the master’s aggressiveness and irritation. For instance, the owner prickles the cat with a penknife in the first instance a factor that makes that to flee in any instance they meet. This is the point that raises a questionable sanity as well as mental retardation in the owner. For instance, at the beginning of the story, the term “mad indeed” appears. Consequently, the author ascertains that for readers to understand the book, they must understand the word. Subsequently, the extent to which the narrator loves his animals also suggests a mental problem. Psychologically he had replaced the paltry relationship and association to others with the love for animals. His problem associated with social life makes his an alcohol addict hence destroying his personality. In as much as Pluto shows a character of neutrality in the first instance, he develops animosity and antagonism towards the end of the story. This is due to the owner’s intemperance as well as violence, which arise because of alcohol. Symbolism further prevails when the narrator cuts Pluto’s eye from the eye pockets showing the narrator as a self-inflicted person. In as much as he considers this as a moral good and compensation to the kind cat, it is a non-moral character. The rhetorical standpoint prevails as a style employed by Poe in effective scheme of the black cat. This therefore the diazeugma used by Poe brings out various character traits of the narrator. For instance, he remains a careless and socially unstable person who is willing to go into extra miles in order to find what he calls peace or appease his interests. When fire destroys his house, the house stands as complete disintegration of previous characters. For example, only a remainder of Pluto’s impression on the wall remains hence making Pluto the malevolent witch. This is because Pluto’s appearance made the narrator mad a factor, which made things further worse. While concluding, the black cat is a symbolic story picturing various atrocities face by Pluto in the hands of a mentally retarded person. The non human nature of the narrator is also noticed in many instance of the story. Consequently, the first person narration reveals many things about the narrator hence helping readers further to understand the story. The Mosque of the Red Death Poe’s work in his 1849 work, The Mosque of the Red Death, features Everyman as the main character. Everyone has encounters with the other character in the story, Death. The story commences with the recounting of the historic Red Death. Through the narrator, Poe outlines the process of the disease, in which emphasis is placed on the extent to which people oozed very red blood. The deadly nature of the disease is noteworthy in Poe’s work. His choice of words in the description of the disease in the story provides a comprehensive emphasis on the extent of the effect that it brought. The description creates, in the reader’s mind the figurative illustration of the extent to which the population felt the impact of the outbreak. There is a notable instance, in the story, that brings out contrast in Poe’s work. The reader, after reading of the destructive and fatal disease, meets the return of Prince Prospero. It is contrasting since the name of the prince is symbolic of happiness. Noteworthy in contrast is the extent of the impact caused by the Red Death. Prince Prospero’s return saw a celebrated welcoming by friends and comrades. They join him in the ceremony, where the people entertain the prince. Outside, the effects of the Red Death are a gripping reality that causes serious rampage. Poe brings the story of the people who think they can escape the death when they put up high walls to prevent them from contacting the disease. The actions of this group of people are depicted as foolish given their failed notion to escape death by setting barriers. Their role in the story is to emphasize the contrast that Poe depicted at the beginning of the story. The people receive entertainment and merriment from the masked ball. The story of the masked ball in the book is significant since Poe uses is to create symbolism in the story. The entertainment that people can afford, even at a time when there is a problem is a fact that receives notable criticism. The ball has patterns that note symbolism. The symbolism is related to the seven rooms. The role of the rooms is notable on the seven, which is the last. The windows of the room do not provide a view of the outside world as expected. The windows, instead, provide a view of the hall. This displays the extent of lack of concern that those inside have for what occurs in the outside world. The emphasis that Poe brings out in the use of the seven rooms is the ineffectiveness of the first six. In as much as they may serve the right purpose, the orientation of the seventh room depicts the lack of concern by those inside. In the story, Poe creates the realities in life trough the characters. The reader finds an insight in what any aspect of life may take. The unconcerned nature of others in the story over the problems of other society members is a reality in the story. Symbolism in the story is evident in the seven colored rooms. The representation of the black and red rooms is symbolic of death. Death is evident in most parts of the story. The clock is symbolic of the advancement in time. Poe uses the castellated abbey as a symbol to show that all the people in the society experience the same plight. The mosque is a representation of the wild nature of things in the story. Work Cited Poe, Edga Allan. The tell tale heart. Canterbury: Black Cat Publishing, 2003. Print Read More