Concetti Chiave
- The story is set in a house shared by the protagonist and an old man, occurring in the 20th century.
- The plot revolves around the protagonist's obsession with the old man's "vulture-like" eye, leading to murder.
- The crime is committed at midnight, with the protagonist hiding the old man's body under the floor.
- The narrative style is first-person, providing an inside look into the protagonist's mind, enhancing the tension.
- Themes include madness, hallucination, and insanity, depicted through a growing atmosphere of fear and horror.
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Type of book: Short Story_ Fiction
Published in: 1843
Setting and Plot
Setting: indoor setting
Place: house shared by the characters
Time: 20th century
Plot: The protagonist lives with an old man, but he's obsessed by the "vulture-like" old man's Eye. For one week, every night at midnight, the man gets into the old man's room and looks at him. But one night the old man feels the presence of the man and is terrified. So the man takes his decision: he kills the old man and hides his body under the floor.
The Crime and the Confession
Next morning policemen get into the house advised by the neighbour that heard mysterious noises. The man at the beginning is quite, but then starts to feel and hear the beat of the old man' heart, in his mind. He becomes nervous and, at the end, he confesses his crime.
The man=he's crazy and obsessed by the old man's Eye.
The old man=he's old, he's the victim, he has a pale blue Eye with a film over it.
Narrative Style and Themes
Type of narrator: 1st person, omniscent, inside the story, goes inside man's mind
Comments on the language of the text: free indirect questions; growning atmosphere of fear, horror, terror and tension; realistic description.
Themes: Madness, Allucination, Insanity
Domande da interrogazione
- What drives the protagonist to commit murder in Edgar Allan Poe's short story?
- How does the narrative style contribute to the story's atmosphere?
- What role does the old man's heart play in the protagonist's confession?
The protagonist is driven to murder by an obsession with the old man's "vulture-like" Eye, which he finds intolerable. This obsession leads to madness and ultimately results in the old man's death.
The story employs a first-person, omniscient narrator who delves into the protagonist's mind, creating a growing atmosphere of fear, horror, and tension. This style effectively conveys the protagonist's madness and hallucinations.
The protagonist becomes increasingly nervous as he imagines hearing the old man's heart beating, which symbolizes his guilt and insanity. This auditory hallucination ultimately compels him to confess his crime to the police.
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