Symbolism In Tell Tale Heart - 704 Words

Symbolism in Tell Tale Heart Introduction To fully understand the strange and disturbing short story of Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, one must understand the main character that is narrating the story. Despite the narrator’s best efforts to show that he is smart, wise and above all else sane. The reader gets the feeling that there is more to the story. Body of the essay The story of Tell Tale Heart is about a man describing how and why he killed the elderly man that he was living with while insisting that he is not mad. The story begins with him describing why he killed the old man. According to the narrator, he killed the old man because â€Å"He had the eye of a vulture†. He then goes on to explain in further detail that â€Å"Whenever it†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦It started that night when the police showed up to the house to investigate the scream that had been reported earlier that night. The narrator explains how he led them around the house and had convinced them that nothing was wrong. However, Once the police started taking their time and began to make small talk is when the narrator begins to hear a beating heart. As a result, he begins to turn pale and after each passing minute he begins to become more unstable. Eventually he gives up the sherade and pulls the wood from the floor board to reveal the old man’s bod y. Though out the tale the narrator had shown no pity to the old man and had talked about his death with such glee and satisfaction that one wonders if he had every cared for him at all. However, when he began to hear a nonexistent heartbeat, he begins falling apart. This is probably a sign that he felt guilty about murdering the old man and that the beating heart was his crazed minds way of feeling guilty. Conclusion There are many aspects about the story that the author does not share to the reader. Like why was he living with the old man, and why did he waited so long to kill him. While this is a good food for thought it may not matter in the end since we cannot be sure how much of the story is actually true to begin with. All we can gather from the story is a mad man trying toShow MoreRelatedSymbolism In The Tell Tale Heart And The Tell Tale Heart987 Words   |  4 Pages How does the symbolism affect the meaning of a written piece, does it make it more or less important? Symbolism is used to represent ideas; that may imply deeper, hidden meaning than what the text directly states. Symbolism can be used in different ways throughout different books; for example, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, by Edgar Allen Poe and â€Å"Once upon a Time†, by Nadine Gordimer, contain a variety of symbolism that have the possibility of having two or more meanings. The problem with this is identifyingRead MoreThe Tell-Tale Heart and Symbolism1208 Words   |  5 PagesLike many of Edgar Allen Poes works, The Tell-Tale Heart is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add to the madness the narrator portrays. Poes use ofRead More Symbolism and Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart Essay2249 Words   |  9 PagesSymbolism   and Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart In Edgar Allan Poes short story The Tell-Tale Heart, the author combines vivid symbolism with subtle irony. Although the story runs only four pages, within those few pages many examples of symbolism and irony abound. In short, the symbolism and irony lead to an enormously improved story as compared to a story with the same plot but with these two elements missing. The Tell-Tale Heart consists of a monologue in which the murderer ofRead MoreSymbolism In Edgar Allen Poes The Tell Tale Heart1174 Words   |  5 Pages How does the symbolism affect the meaning of a written piece, does it make it more or less important? Symbolism is used to represent ideas; that may imply deeper, hidden meaning than what the text directly states. Symbolism can be used in different ways throughout different books; for example, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, by Edgar Allen Poe and â€Å"Once upon a Time†, by Nadine Gordimer, contain a variety of symbolism that have the possibility of having two or more meanings. The problem with this is identifyingRead MoreEssay on Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe1155 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Like many of Edgar Allen Poes works, The Tell-Tale Heart is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect and add toRead MoreSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart Essay863 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart In Poes The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator claims that he is not mad but his behavior tells a different story. He is truly determined to destroy another male human being, not because of jealousy or animosity but because one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it (1206). The narrator sees the man with this ghastly eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. HeRead More Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart and the Symbolism of the Eye1221 Words   |  5 Pagesthe genius responsible for dark, twisting, and often uncomfortably wondrous gothic tales, and one of the best is The Tell-Tale Heart. This is a classic tale of a confused man who is so incredibly bothered by his housemates eye, that he (I am assuming this sexless character is male) thinks the only solution is to resort to cold-blooded murder. Poe incorporates the symbol of the old mans eye in The Tell-Tale Heart, which has both physical and psycholo gical meaning, it also helps to develop theRead MoreConflict And Symbolism In Edgar Allan Poes The Tell-Tale Heart1117 Words   |  5 PagesEdgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, a short story about internal conflict and obsession, showcases the tortured soul due to a guilty conscience. The story opens with an unnamed narrator describing a man deranged and plagued with a guilty conscience for a murderous act. Edgar Allan Poe was a very popular and magnificent writer back in his day, around the 1800s. You may or may not have heard of him, but, he’s very popular for his dark and haunting poetry and short stories. Two of his most popularRead MoreTell Tale Heart Analysis1176 Words   |  5 Pagesespecially famous for his tales of mystery and macabre. A popular dark short story, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† and one of his first and most famous poems, â€Å"The Raven,† are no exception. â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† is a story of murder narrated by the culprit himself, while â€Å"The Raven† is a melancholy poem about a distraught lover and a talking raven. The reason why the two works are so well known is because of the effect of Poe’s excellent use of literary devices. Throughout â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Raven,†Read MoreAnalysis Of The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe1320 Words   |  6 PagesRory Spillane Mr. Bruno English IV period 8 1.29.15 Analysis of the Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allen Poe was born on January 19th, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He went on to become one of the most famous American poets and authors in history. The subjects of his poems and stories were often morbid in nature, many of them having to do with death and murder. Unfortunately, the dark tone of his work reflected the darkness of his life, which was marked with notable instances of tragedy, such as the

Marriage, a History Free Essays

string(183) " by women advised to have elegant meals and spotless homes and children awaiting his return from work, and the advantages of a charming wife to help him succeed in corporate America\." Coontz (2005) focused on historical changes in marriages from prehistoric to present times, mainly in terms of how institutional and social needs affected restrictions on the liberties of wives.   Although she described historical periods as characterizing marital patterns, she carefully noted that both within and between periods, history has been cyclical. For example, birth and divorce rates have fluctuated based on the changing needs of economies during different times, and conceptions of women as either sexually â€Å"pure† or â€Å"wanton† have varied over the ages. We will write a custom essay sample on Marriage, a History or any similar topic only for you Order Now    She takes issue with three â€Å"myths† she believes people hold:   that the history of women contributing to the support of their families has a fairly short history, and that both love as a reason for marrying and couples aspiring to the marital form of husband as sole â€Å"breadwinner† have long histories. Contrary to what Coontz believes many people think, from the beginning of human evolution, through the days of ancient Greece, until the 1950s, the majority of women were a part of what we now call the work force.   In prehistoric history, she, of course, noted that men were â€Å"hunters† and women were â€Å"gatherers,† since gathering could be done while caring for the young.   However, it was gathering, not hunting, that provided most of the food needed for survival, and hunters and gatherers shared within groups or â€Å"bands† (p. 38), rather than as couples.   Marriages between sons and daughters from different bands served to maintain friendly between-band relationships. The author dated the time that marriage became an institution where wives lacked power in â€Å"ancient agricultural societies† (p. 46), although â€Å"widows† would be a more accurate term than â€Å"wives.†Ã‚   Coontz was referring to the choices a woman had after the death of her husband, e.g., killing herself or marrying a relative of her dead husband.   These practices were a result of the development of economic inequalities, where wealthier families became more interested â€Å"in whom their kin married† (p. 46). Both economic theories and the fact that it is women who are able to reproduce make this interpretation convincing.   In addition, although not noted by Coontz, the fact that on average men are physically larger and stronger might explain why women were not able to resist in becoming dominated. Probably because women were the ones who gave birth, there has been a tradition of holding them accountable for failing to provide male â€Å"heirs† for their husbands.   Coontz recounted the well-known fate of Anne Boleyn in the sixteenth century (p. 133), who refused to become the mistress of Henry VIII, when his current wife Catherine failed to produce a son. Her refusal led Henry to break ties with the pope who refused to grant him a divorce, so he could marry Anne – but he had her executed when she too failed to produce a son.   People still speak of wives â€Å"giving† their husbands sons, when anyone who has taken high-school biology knows that women have nothing to do with a child’s genetic sex – i.e., since only men have a Y chromosome, women always provide one of their two X chromosomes and the genetic sex of a child depends upon whether the father passes on his X or Y chromosome. Prior to the seventeenth century, although married women and men might come to love each other after marriage, love was not considered necessary or even desirable in a marriage.   Indeed, early Christianity discouraged close marital or other family ties because one’s first loyalty was supposed to be to God (pp. 87-88).   In medieval Europe, marriages within family aristocracies were encouraged, and despite the selectively enforced rules of the Catholic Church, incest was not uncommon. The overwhelming majority of people were not among the aristocracy, but marriages among tradespersons also were arranged for economic purposes, and the marriages of peasants generally were arranged by their masters. In the seventeenth century, marriage based on the personal choices of those being married was sanctioned.   But it wasn’t until the eighteenth century â€Å"in Western Europe and North America†¦ [that] marriage for love†¦[became] a cultural ideal† (p. 7), until the nineteenth century that marriage in the form of husband as â€Å"breadwinner† with a wife at home emerged, and it wasn’t until the 1950s that the economy in America permitted the majority of marriages to assume this form. It is easy to assume, as Coontz does, that those who marry for love have been happier than those in arranged marriages or those marrying for other reasons.   Interestingly, there seems to be no evidence that social scientists have ever tested this assumption.   We don’t really know, for example, whether women who marry for love wind up any more or less happy than women in arranged marriages, such as Golde, in Fiddler on the Roof (Stein, 1971), who ends her description of years of caring for her husband’s needs, by asking, â€Å"If that’s not love, what is?† Actually, the difference between a sexual relationship between a couple who love each other and a couple who are â€Å"in love† is not clear, and may, in fact, be a quantitative variable, rather than the qualitative one people assume.   Montagu (1999), considered a major anthropologist of the last century, wrote, â€Å"Marriages between persons of character who can be friends tend to last and grow in reward and happiness† and ultimately result in love, as opposed to marriages resulting from â€Å"that frenzy miscalled ‘love’† (p. 105). In fact, most of us know some very happily married couples who met because they were able to afford the expensive services of businesses that have replaced the â€Å"matchmakers† of days past.   In fact, based on observation, â€Å"love† does not â€Å"conquer all,† in the sense that most marriages still are between those of similar socioeconomic status, who are of the same race, and even the same religion. As for the form of marriage where the husband is â€Å"breadwinner,† as Coontz observed, the form was a goal of both husbands and wives.   Presumably, the rewards husbands expected were status, i.e., being a man who could provide for his wife and children through his own efforts (or the efforts of wealthy ancestors), having his needs met by women advised to have elegant meals and spotless homes and children awaiting his return from work, and the advantages of a charming wife to help him succeed in corporate America. You read "Marriage, a History" in category "Essay examples"   Women too must have expected status, i.e., snaring a successful husband through her own charms (or those perceived in women with wealthy ancestors), fulfillment in being able to devote herself to raising her children, and leisure to pursue her interests. Coontz has noted that the male â€Å"breadwinner† model has worked and continues to work for some couples, but not for most.   Men were less vocal, probably because it’s harder, or perceived as less noble, to express discontent for having sole responsibility than to express discontent about not being able to assume responsibilities.   While Coontz devoted only half a page (p. 251) to male discontent, and does so in the context of rebelling against social expectations and wanting to enjoy the sexual pleasures Hugh Heffner was promoting, men were expressing the realities of the world of work they knew, as opposed to women expressing a desire to join a world they didn’t yet know. When you think of work, as others have done, in terms of what you actually do, as opposed to how much you’re paid to do it, how much work is there that’s inherently interesting or rewarding to those doing it, how much is even a pleasant way to pass the time, and how much is so meaningless and mind-numbing that those doing it are â€Å"leading lives of quiet desperation† (Thoreau, 1854/1995)?     Ã‚  It would be interesting to read about work and marital relationships written in the year 2050. Coontz views the rejection of the 1950s predominant model of marriage in the context of dissatisfaction with this model.   She describes The Feminine Mystique (Friedan, 1063/2001) as a wake-up call to women that was an important force in introducing the changes over the next thirty years that have made diverse forms of relationships acceptable. Friedan’s book was, in fact, a wake-up call to white middle-class women, but the rejection of the 1950s model of marriage probably should be seen as part of the larger historical context, i.e., rejection of a decade of fear of nonconformity after people witnessed lives were destroyed as a result of seeing communists under all of our beds who were out to paint America â€Å"red.†Ã‚   The 1950s dictated not only marital arrangements but all facets of our lives.   While still oversimplified, perhaps the wake-up call that eventually resonated with many Americans was the question finally put to Joe McCarthy:   â€Å"Have you no shame, sir?† (Welch, 1954, cited in Kiely, 2005). Surprises It should surprise no-one that wives have had a long history in the work force.   If nothing else, we do know that â€Å"ladies† had maids and some of the ladies’ maids must have had husbands. We know too that some have considered prostitution the â€Å"oldest profession† and, despite the obstacles, there were at least some women who were able to become poets or scientists.   However, I had never thought about the large number of women, married and single, who would have had needed to work because the overwhelming majority of people were and in some countries still are poor. While we all know that arranged marriages were not unusual in the past, I was surprised to learn that for most of human history virtually all marriages were arranged and love was not even considered a reason for marrying.   I guess my surprise is a result of our culture being saturated by stories of love.   If love is not the theme of a movie, it’s hard to think of any movie that doesn’t have a â€Å"love interest† as part of the plot. By the fifth grade, girls and boys claim they are â€Å"in love,† and, despite the changes in the ways Coontz believes young people think, most of the young people I know think, talk, and are more involved in both love and sex than in thinking about and working on equitable and mutually rewarding relationships.   Knowing now that loving before marrying wasn’t even considered for most of human history, I’d like to know how the concept â€Å"in love† developed and suspect it’s actually a social construction – or perhaps simply means both loving someone and wanting a permanent sexual relationship with that person. As for the history of the â€Å"man as breadwinner† form of marriage, I did assume it had always been around, but was not surprised that it was a form that, except for the fifties, most married couples were unable to adopt.   Even in the fifties, this form of marriage was affordable by only a small majority   Ã‚  As long as women are allowed to work and can find jobs that pay more than the cost of childcare, for most of the world, working is not an â€Å"option† that women or men â€Å"choose,† but what one does in order to put food on the table, pay the rent, etc. Coontz said in reference to the nineteenth century, â€Å"It is hard for us to grasp the slim margin that made the difference between survival and destitution for so many people in the past† (p. 174).   This sentence probably surprised me more than anything else in her book.   It is hard for me to grasp that anyone capable of reading a book, let alone writing one, is unable to grasp that this slim margin is true for â€Å"so many people† in the present, for many in the United States and for the majority of those living in many so-called third-world nations.   Perhaps this sentence explains why I had the sense that after descriptions of her own middle-class reality, she merely felt obliged to pay lip-service to the â€Å"unwashed masses.† Sometimes, what she failed to say was more revealing than what she did say.   For example, she failed to mention that a by-product of Friedan’s (1063/2001) call for middle-class married women to enter the work force resulted in poor, often minority, women being poorly paid (probably in cash) for caring for the children left at home or in children being left with poorly paid and poorly trained workers at understaffed daycare centers.   I also was surprised that she felt comfortable drawing conclusions without providing empirical data to support them.   For example, she says that marriage â€Å"remains the highest expression of commitment in our culture.†Ã‚   She states this as fact, rather than as I would state my belief as an â€Å"opinion that the highest expression of commitment is between mothers and their children.† Finally, her noting that marital history was cyclical made me realize that it was a mistake to consider current social conditions in general as either permanent or becoming more firmly established.   However, Coontz herself believes that we cannot turn back from changes in patterns created by the â€Å"marriage revolution.†Ã‚   Why not?   She does not even consider this question. References Coontz, S. (2005).   Marriage, a History:   From obedience to intimacy or how love  conquered marriage.   New York:   Viking. Friedan, B.   (1963/2001).   The feminine mystique.   New York:   Norton. Kiely, K.   (2005).   Supreme court.   USA Today.   Retrieved April 23, 2007. Montagu, A. (1999).   The natural superiority of women.   Walnut Creek, CA:   AltaMira Press. Stein, J. (1971, based on Aleicham, S.).   Fiddler on the roof.   Minsch-Cartier Production. Thoreau, H. D. (1854/1995).   Walden.   New York:   Houghton Mifflin. How to cite Marriage, a History, Essay examples

Do You Have A Choice In Surfboards free essay sample

Essay, Research Paper Do You Have a Choice in Surfboards Who owns the Internet? If you were to inquire this inquiry to any individual familiar with the World Wide Web they most likely would state that cipher owns the # 8220 ; Net # 8221 ; , but in the past few old ages a major participant has stepped onto the Internet scene and they don # 8217 ; t desire merely a piece of it, they want to rule the whole thing. This ambitious, greed machine is the 1 and merely Microsoft steamroller. The Microsoft corporation has been known for old ages as the best operating system maker, holding produced the MS-DOS, Windows 3.1 and the improbably popular Windows 95 operating system platforms and in the past few old ages have blitzkrieged the Internet scene with their web browser Internet Explorer and their Internet service ; The Microsoft Network. The manner Microsoft goes about their selling tactics though could be compared to a snake eyess table utilizing laden dies: they merely do non play carnival. In current issues Microsoft and its president Bill Gates have been at odds with the authorities over anti-trust Torahs. In Microsoft # 8217 ; s command to monopolise the Internet browser market, its selling scheme has been under heavy fire. Microsoft had been coercing computing machine industries to buy their operating system that included Internet Explorer, which they were being charged to boot for. This was chiefly brought approximately because Microsoft was really latent on get downing in on this market and had to happen a manner to catch up rapidly. In a issue of Mother Jones, G. Pascal Zachary writes # 8220 ; Gates failed to hold on the importance of the Web until Netscape had about won the game. Chastened by holding to claw his manner into Web package, which he now dominates, Gates is improbable to do this error again. # 8221 ; What quite a few people consider to be the ground that Internet Explorer usurped Netscape as the dominate Web browser is the fact that Microsoft push ed its browser on the computing machine industries, in bend forcing it onto the consumer. The authorities has since forced Microsoft to subscribe a consent edict that made them stop boxing their web browser with their operating system. # 8220 ; The consent edict says that Microsoft can # 8217 ; t necessitate a computing machine shaper or reseller to purchase an application as a status of acquiring the OS. # 8221 ; writes Jerry Pournelle of Byte. This edict may stop up being an illustration of the clich, a twenty-four hours tardily and a dollar short. The Microsoft job had seemed to come to an terminal after the authorities opinion, but it is get downing to look more like a minor incommodiousness than a licking. The originators at Microsoft have found a loophole in the consent grade. In a unusual attack at a monopoly Microsoft has announced that it will incorporate their new Internet Explorer into the new operating system Windows 98 and will be the computing machine manufactures nil excess. This proposal has made a few people happy as Jerry Pournelle writes â€Å"Microsoft has a long history of incorporating new maps into the OS, and I for one am sword lily of it.† My ain traffics with Microsoft package has me a spot infected on the affair, as I am a protagonist of Sun Microsystems Netscape browser and want to take my ain package. This new operating system, if non limited, could really good render all other Web browsers obsolete as Windows 95 has fundamentally done with operating systems. In another portion of the Internet concern, Microsoft # 8217 ; s Internet service supplier, the Microsoft Network has been taking on clients at a rapid rate. The Microsoft Network was ab initio limited by the federal authorities to how many clients it could hold, but has since broken this ceiling. In an interview with Economics professor Mr. Fred Ellis, he stated # 8220 ; I believe that the Microsoft Network was limited to five-hundred 1000 clients, but has far surpassed that amount. # 8221 ; The ground for the increased popularity in the Microsoft Network could be attributed to the unbelievable rush of people on the Internet in the last twelvemonth and the fact that major Internet service suppliers such as America Online have non been able to maintain up with demand. The Microsoft Network is presently the 2nd largest Internet service supplier in the state, merely America Online beats them in this market. The Microsoft corporation bids huge fiscal resources and powerful influence in about every facet of computer science, so I would non be surprised to see them take the figure one place in the Internet service supplier market if they so choose. The Microsoft steamroller continues to steam through the Internet market like a well oiled machine, being all but uncontended. The authorities is seeking to decelerate the gait at which Microsoft can travel, but will it turn out to be equal in order to let just competition? I suggest that it may non be plenty due to Microsoft being about a one-stop store for the computing machine consumer unless Microsoft # 8217 ; s rivals merge to seek and halt the giant in what is the universes fastest turning industry. Will everyone in the computing machine industry be forced to cover merely with Microsoft applications? This inquiry is a existent one and could really good go on if Bill Gates has his manner. Where will you hold to travel tomorrow? Plants Cited Pournelle, Jerry. # 8220 ; Making something about Microsoft. # 8221 ; Byte March, 1998: 130. Zachary, Pascal, G. # 8220 ; Why is this adult male express joying? # 8221 ; Mother Jones January/February, 1998: 38-39.