Hey guys, I'm going to post an essay and I need to you all to grade it! Here goes:
Insanity. It can make even the most benevolent people do terrible things. In the short story "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe a common man who denies being insane commits murder, his victim is an old man who he lives with, he is killing him because he has an odd, creepy eye. Poe creates a scary mood with his descriptive words, use of suspense and an easy character to relate to.
One example of Poe's usage of descriptive words would be "I thrust in! I moved it slowly - Very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep." This may not seem like it's very desriptive upon first glance, but if you look closer it is easy to tell many of the words create a mood, Like the word "Thrust" or "Disturb." They give most a deep feeling of terror.
Some suspense Poe used would be when the Narrorator and the old man where both aware of eachother's precense in the room, right before the murder scene. It was very suspenseful because you know he had to do it now or never but he waited a long time to do it.
The character was easy to fit into because he had no name, no voice (unless you listened to it), and no description. And nobody thinks they're crazy even if they are.
Poe set the mood by using techniques to scare the reader and keep him or her on the edge of their seat(?) This story was a very good one and I would reccomend it to any horror fan.
[Remember: This is for 8th grade]
[EDIT: Looks bigger on paper]
Poll