The Tell-Tale Heart

1. Edgar Allan Poe The Tell-Tale Heart

2. Characters • The narrator – protagonist • Antagonist – his guilty conscience • The old man • The police officers

3. Setting • At night • An old man’s house

4. Plot • An insane man kills his old man boss because the old man has a vulture eye. • He hides the body under the floor. • The narrator confesses to the police because of his guilt. • Conflict – man against himself • man against man

5. Theme • Even if you think you have gotten away with something, your conscience will still make you feel guilty. • Evil deeds produce a guilty conscience.

6. Tone • Tale of terror • Scary

7. Point of View • First person

8. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe • Point of View – first person

9. Characters • The narrator – protagonist • Keeping his sanity - antagonist • His tormentors – antagonists • Flat characters – his tormentors • Round character - narrator

10. Setting • Toledo, Spain • During the Inquisition

11. Plot • Conflict – man against man • Captured and tried by the Inquisitors, a man struggles to stay alive in a dungeon with a pit and a sharp pendulum. • He is ultimately saved at the last minute by the invading French army.

12. Theme • The terror a human being experiences when confined and subjected to mental and physical torture; • The cruelty or unjust treatment suffered by any individual who dissents from established beliefs or is falsely accused of doing so

13. Tone • Fearful anticipation • Creepy • Afraid