Character Analysis-Tell Tale Heart Essays - , Term Papers

Character Analysis-Tell Tale Heart Steven Schwartz Rockland Community College The short story can produce many different types of characters. Usually, these characters are faced with situations that give us an insight into their true character. In the Tell Tale Heart, a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator of the story is faced with a fear. He is afraid of the Old Man's Eye. The actions that this narrator performs in order to quell his fear can lead others to believe that he suffers from some sort of mental illness. The very fact that this narrator is so repulsed by the old man's eye, which he refers to as the evil eye, is reason enough to be suspicious of his character. The narrator has an inner struggle with the thought that the evil eye is watching him and an underlying feeling that the evil eye will see the real person that he has become. This paranoia leads the narrator to believe that the only way he can put down his fears is to kill the old man. It is said that denial is usually the sign of a problem. If this holds true, then the narrator has the characteristics of a madman. In the first paragraph, he asks, but why will you say that I am mad! (Kennedy & Gioia, 34) This statement can be looked upon as a statement made by someone going through a paranoid episode. He talks as if he is in frenzy, especially when he talks about hearing things in heaven and in hell. The disease had sharpened my senses?Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven?I heard many things in hell. (Kennedy & Gioia, 34) The disease that the narrator is talking about eats away at his conscience until [I] made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. (Kennedy & Gioia, 34) The progression of the story revolves around the actions of the narrator. He describes the wise ways in which he prepares himself to commit this deed. The way the narrator stalks the old man the whole week before he kills him can be evidence of a problem. Every night he would watch the old man sleep. He found comfort in knowing that the eye was not watching him, that it could not see the true evil within his soul. While the eye was closed, so was the idea of killing the old man. It is not until the old man awakens each day that the struggle within is apparent. This may be the reason why the narrator is so obsessed with watching the old man sleep. The actual act of murder, which the narrator believes was premeditated, was in fact a spur of the moment action. He toiled with the idea while the man was awake, that is, while he could see the evil eye. However, while the eye was closed, the narrator was at peace. One night, during one of the narrator's stalking sessions, the old man awakens. The narrator goes into a paranoid frenzy, mistaking the beating of his heart for the beating of the old man's heart. During this frenzy, the narrator is afraid that neighbors will hear the beating of the man's heart. This causes the narrator to take action. He quickly subdues the old man and kills him. He then takes extreme steps in disposing of the body, dismembering it and burying it under the planks in the floorboard. These extreme actions can be used as evidence to the paranoia that is taking shape. The fear of getting caught would be a normal reaction to someone who has committed a murder. However, the dismemberment of the body was not necessary since the narrator had ample resources to dispose of the body properly. When the police arrive at the house, the narrator is sure that he has nothing to fear. He lets them into the house and bids them to search wherever they like. He leads them into the room where the body is buried and invites them to sit down. Although he fears nothing consciously, the narrator battles with his conscience subconsciously.

Pursuit of Happyness Essays

Pursuit of Happyness Essays Pursuit of Happyness Essay Pursuit of Happyness Essay The Pursuit of Happyness is a true-life story of a single father, Chris Gardner, who went from living on the streets to owning his own brokerage firm. This film charts the hard times and eventual comeback of Chris, a suddenly single salesman who had custody of his son, but encounters a challenge in providing for him and his son. Chris struggles his way as life continues to offer him setbacks to working as an unpaid intern at Dean Witter to being offered a permanent position as a broker on his last day of the internship.The names of the artists involved in the film’s production: the director, Gabriele Muccino the production designer, J. Michael Riva and the art director, David Klassen. The artists utilize lighting in the scene to display happiness from a beautiful sunny day. The conference room has natural lighting from the sunlight shining through as Chris Gardner was offered a position as a broker. The lighting affects our emotional understanding of Chris Gardener particularly because of the financial and life obstacles encountered struggling to provide for him and his son.As Chris was in taking the offer at hand, his dark brown eyes became red and full of tears. His bosses kept a straight face and displayed no sign of emotion. The natural sunlight shining through an upper floor conference room with view from the surrounding glass and no shades, displayed a mood of happiness and tranquility. The lighting impact on the overall story the filmmaker is attempting to tell is that the sun can shine bright in the midst of a storm. This film takes place in San Francisco, during an economic recession in the early 1980s when Chris and his wife spent their life savings buying a bunch of bone-density scanners.Chris was attempting to sell these to doctors, which turned out to be unsuccessful since doctors considered them to be an pointless luxury. Costuming can explain what hardships or success a character is experiencing. It can also tell us the personality and immediate impression. Costuming can be used to reflect elements of the films plot by describing characters before any dialogue is spoken. This can tell a view about the character’s social status, occupation, age and overall visual statement to the audience. Like costuming, hairstyle and makeup can help tell the story.These two elements are crucial in conveying the story. Hairstyle and makeup completes a character. This can reveal what time period they’re from, social class, profession, mood, personality, standards and much more. In the film, Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner’s appearance was raggedy more associated with a person encountering financial hardships. His overall appearance was not clean compared to his coworkers in a brokerage firm. My opinion regarding the mise-en-scene is the reality of the setting. In the final scene, 8/8, when Chris was offered and accepted the position as a broker, it was natural.Like in most professional firms and companies, when you’re meeting with a boss it’s not a moment of laughter. The office with an outside view and sun shining bright symbolized a breakthrough moment to come. The elements do appear to work together in a harmonious way because of the situation at hand and the outcome. To some viewers, this scene may seem conflicting because the bosses do not display any emotion and offered Chris a position with a straight face. Even with Chris’s eyes filled with tears, they remained with a straight face.I do think the design elements are corresponding with the filmmaker’s vision for the scene, because of the breakthrough moment that frees Chris from life struggles of trying to find a way to doors opening that makes a way. References Muccino, Gabriele. (Director). (2006). Pursuit of Happyness.