Characterization of "I" in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Characterization of "I" in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

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  Characterization of “I” inThe Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe By Femmy Rachmawati
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  Abstract: In this research,the writer would like to analyze the characterization of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. The purpose of this writing is to analyze the character of “I” as the main character in this short story. The writer uses character and characterization theories, and close reading method. The characterization of “I” is used to expose the main character personality. The characterization is applied by using subjective “I”. Keyword: character, characterization, subjective “I”
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  Introduction The Tell-Tale heartis a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The story was published in January 1843. This story is one the of horror fiction stories. The story is about “I” who feels afraid of the old man’s pale blue eye. There are 3 characters in this story which are, I, the old man and the polices. This story is great because Poe tries to expose someone who has personality disorder, that makes his hearing get sensitive.
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  Theory and Method Inthis research, the writer uses character and characterization theories and close reading method by: 1. Examining the texts of The Tell-Tale Heart. 2. Analyzing the character of “I” as the main character in this short story.
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  Research Object The objectsof research are divided into material and formal object. The material object in this writing is The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. While the formal object is the characterization of “I” in this short story.
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  Biography and Summary •Biography Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, writer, poet, critic, and editor Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and horror gave birth to the modern detective story and many of his works, including “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” became literary classics. "The Raven," which he published in 1845, is considered among the best-known poems in American literature. • 4.2 Summary The story opens with “I” that is afraid of the eye of the old man, so every night in seven days. He wants the old man’s pale blue eye disappear forever, so he goes to see what the old man do in old man’s room. Then three policeman come to his home that is sent by his neighbors. He start to make a story to cover the murder by saying he screamed while sleeping, and claims that the old man is out of town. After convicing the cops nothing bad happened, he starts hearing a terrible noise which get louder and louder until he freaks out and admit to the cops about the murder. He believe that the sound is coming from the old man’s heart.
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  The characterization of“I” • Paranoid. “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.” • Stalker. “And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it—oh, so gently!” • Two-faced. “And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he had passed the night.” • Grumpy. “It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage. But even yet I refrained” • Cruel, sadist. “I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” • Clever. “I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye—not even his—could have detected any thing wrong.” • Liar. “The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country.”
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  Conclusion As we know,the “I” kills the old man because he is afraid of the old man’s pale blue eyes even though the old man never wronged him and never give him insult as well. This reason of murder is not make sense. Then, when he tries to lie at the police, he starts to hearing something that he thinks from the old man’s heart. That’s all a prove that the “I” has mental disorder that can be seen from his personality and from what he is done.
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  Reference Poe, Edgar Allan.1843. The Pioneer, Volume 1. USA. James Russell rowell