The Tell-Tale Heart

Reread “The Tell-Tale Heart” on pages 279-282. It can easily be found online. Also, read the biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe’s life (it may be relevant)

and the three critical essays on pages 285-289.

In essay form (550-word minimum), give a reason for the protagonist’s killing the old man. This story is full of ambiguities. This requires you to use your critical

thinking faculties. Your theories will vary a great deal, which I encourage, but consider the narrator’s psychological state. Is he a paranoid schizophrenic, as some

critics have surmised? If so, support this with research. Remember—you must support your thesis (yes, you must have one) with quotations. Apa.org could be one useful

resource.

I require at least one quotation from the short story (the primary source) and one quotation from a critical essay (secondary sources). If you prefer to use more

quotations, that’s fine. Consider using the “sandwich technique” for introducing them. Also, use a signal phrase preceding your quotations, and include an in-text

citation for each one. Signal phrases are always in present tense. Some of these include: writes, asserts, states, contends, argues, etc. NEVER uses “says.” The author

wrote the short story; he did not “say” it.

Lastly, include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay; easybib.com can help you with this. I encourage you to use databases found in the Berkeley library. Bloom

and Literature Resource Center is excellent. Never use Wikipedia, Shmoop, Spark Notes, etc. Use reliable sources. If you must go to Google, use a .edu source. In