Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Wednesday, October 31

Happy Halloween!
Agenda: 

Today we read the story, The Tell-tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe. We had a discussion about how the author was able to develop mood through diction.

Homework: 

1. (Section 4 only) Since I did not check your annotations, bring them to next class.

2. Write a paragraph response to how the Edgar Allen Poe was able to create a tone. Use this Tone Vocabulary worksheet to help you. Remember the algorithm formerly shown you in the diction ppt in a previous class. Post your response below on my blog.

3. Write your IRB2 on the IRB google doc. The link for the google doc can be found in the contents section of your edline page or click your section: section 3 or section 4

4. According to the letter you were assigned, (a - e), complete the Things They Carried worksheet for each section. So, if you were assigned a, then you would answer 1a, 2a, and 3a alone. This is your ticket in order to participate in the discussion that will take place in the our next class.

5. Make an appointment before Monday, Nov. 12 for your second appointment. Your Final Memoir Draft, stapled to your previous drafts, any additional drafts and the rubric with your previous evaluation are due Wednesday, Nov. 14th. No late work accepted. 

23 comments:

  1. Edgar Allan Poe creates a guilty tone through the use of, "Almight God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!"

    The protagonist feels too much pressure and remorse after having killed the old man, so he eventually gives in and admits defeat. However, this was not actually from the questions of the policemen, but from his own feelings of guilt. He thought he could bear the burden of murdering a man and living with those feelings, but they amounted to too much for him. So, even though he was not caught by the police, the protagonist surrendered to his own sorrowful emotions and announced the crime he had committed and was guilty for.

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  2. Poe creates an accusatory tone with the phrase "Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken!"
    The main character claims to be more knowledgable then most. He claims he has heard "all things in heaven" giving him a godly appearance. He also claims of hearing all things on the earth, suggesting that he is well-learned and knows of everything. Finally, and most ludicrous of them all, he declares that he knows everything of hell. This suggests he understands the unknowledgeable: death itself. However, he concludes by demanding to know why he is referred to as mad, and seems to be accusing the readers as being the insulter.

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  3. Poe creates a urgent mood with the use of the phrase, "I felt that I must scream or die!" The use of the words "must scream or die" imply that the author was so overwhelmed and assaulted by the loud beating of the heart that he must either scream out, usually out of fear or anger, or die, choosing to take his life rather than continue on hearing the beating. This use of the word "must" also shows that it is mandatory he do one of the two, creating the urgent mood.

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  4. Edgar Allan Poe describes the story in a very strange and eerie way. Edgar creates a guilty tone with the use of the phrase "They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!"... "I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer!".
    The murder, in this case the main character suspects that the three men, known as police officers, have already assumed that the protagonist murdered the old man. However, mainly because of his guilt of committing a crime, he quickly confesses his crime and gives in.

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  5. Edgar Allen Poe creates a paranoid tone with the use of, "It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! -- no, no! They heard! -- they suspected! -- they knew!"
    The main character feels afraid that he would be caught by the policemen. This is played out when he hears the beating of the dead man's heart going "louder --louder --louder!" This proves he is completely paranoid for the old man is by far dead, however the protagonist still hears the beating of the heart.

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  6. Edgar Allan Poe creates a confident tone with the phrase "I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome".
    The main character thinks that his murder was so well executed that he had nothing to fear, that no one will ever find out about his crime. The protagonist claims to be an experience murderer as he says "What had I to fear?". He is so confident that he even invites the policemen in to his house. This is an act of greed and foolishness that will lead him to his own end. The words "I smiled" suggests that he is rejoiced of his murder, and likes doing it. He is maybe mentally challenged.

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  7. write a paragraph response to how the Edgar Allen Poe was able to create a tone.
    Edgar Allan Poe portrays a tone of panic with the use of the phrase, "Oh God! what could I do? I foamed-- I raved-- I swore!" The words "what could I do" underscores the fact that he is totally helpless about the current situation- he was so delirious that he is in a state where he cannot think and can only be hysteric. Poe weaves the tone of panic near the end of the story by adding repetitions in a sentence, an exemplary sentence being the one mentioned above. By using "I foamed-- I rave-- I swore," Poe creates a vernacular use of the English language, therefore more easily read inside your head as the narrator might think in his head. Not only that, but while reading aloud this section of this story, there is a sense of musicality- a crescendo and an accelerando at the same time. As the narrator starts panicking, his words start getting faster, just like how his heartbeat would race while having thoughts rushing through his mind.

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  8. Edgar Allen Poe creates a franticly tormented tone with the phrase "I felt that I must scream or die!"

    "Must scream or die" gives the feeling that the author is so heavily bothered that he has no other choice but to scream or die. He is frantic and is looking for a way to escape the tormenting sound of the beating heart. It is so tormenting that he considers death over dealing with it.

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  9. Edgar Allan Poe creates a suspenseful tone with the use of the words, "It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled". The main character is extremely paranoid from the murder they had just committed, and feels as though the police men already know what is going on. By adding the -- marks, and using repetition, the author created suspense, and a moment of uncertainty. Readers in the beginning are lead to think the main character would actually get away with the crime, but when sentences like this come up, it makes the readers think if that's true or not, and anticipate what's coming up next.

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  10. Edgar Allan Poe creates a resigned tone with the use of the phrase, "They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think." The words, "They heard! --they suspected! --they knew!" show how he goes through a process of being uncertain to being absolutely certain about the officers knowing. The words, "They heard" suggest that he is not fully certain whether or not the officers knew, however the following words, "They knew!" shows that he is absolutely positive that they know and he has given up on keeping it a secret. Also, the exclamation points show great contrast from the sentences previous to it, which mostly have periods ending the sentences. The added tension to his narration hints that he is becoming more and more paranoid and therefore, more convinced that he has no other option left other than to admit his crime.

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  11. Edgar Allen Poe conveys a mood of agitation with the use of the phrase: "I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides." The phrase itself as a whole portrays the main character's agitation because pacing is something that one does when one is nervous, stressed, or impatient, and he/she paces in order to relieve some of the excess energy caused by the stress. In addition, the word "heavy" further illustrates the character's fluster as he is not simply pacing back and forth, but is doing so with heavy footfalls, which shows that he was becoming increasingly stressed. This image of him being agitated and pacing to and fro is very different from his manner when he was first talking to the police officers. At first, he was sitting down comfortably, and was "singularly at ease." But as he continued to talk to them as if nothing were wrong, he started to feel the nausea and eventually became so agitated that his voice began to change as he spoke, speeding up and growing louder. He soon arose and started speaking while making wild gesticulations, which further convey the mood of him being agitated and the mood of the story being very tense in general.

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  12. Edgar Allen Poe creates an excited tone with the phrase "If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body."
    The main character is extremely excited and exhilarated over the fact that now, after a week of planning and preparation, he has finally killed the old man. He is on an adrenaline high, and is extremely proud of his accomplishment and wants to share all of the details. Poe utilizes the tone he has created to make it clear that the narrator is insane due to the fact that he is proud of his cunning decision to dismember the old mans body and hide it from the cops.

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  13. Edgar Allan Poe creates a fearful tone with the phrase "His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness,...". The arrangement of the words in the phrase " ...as black as pitch with the thick darkness...", implies an image of utter darkness, even more dead, and dark than usual. What would usually be " pitch black", is arranged as "as black as pitch", this infers another level to the darkness that Edgar Allan Poe intended to create. And from this still, pre-climactic darkness, the reader can feel the fear of anticipating what the antagonist would do.

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  14. Edgar Allen Poe creates a petrified tone with the use of the phrase “ I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! ”The repetitious use of the word “louder” suggests an escalating sense of chaos and disorder. Because the reader is aware that no physical sound is being produced, the reader can determine that this chaos is internal and that the narrator is becoming overly sensitive. Chaos also connotes intimidation and pressure because in chaos you lose your focus from the many thoughts surging into your mind at the same time. However because he now has no control over his thoughts, all these thoughts that are gushing into the narrators mind all resolve to the emotion of fear. He is losing himself and deceiving his senses. The guilt of murder is caving upon the narrator, pressuring him and making him feel insecure, exposed and vulnerable.

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  15. In the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe creates a tone of brief relief, followed by a tone of escalating panic with the following excerpt, “The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease…. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone.”
    The author uses short, concise and simple sentences to put the reader in a state of calm. With the use of “I was singularly at ease,” the reader is able to empathize with the narrator and feel comfortable. The narrator’s tone is successful at convincing the reader of his emotion because although the reader most likely does not think that a murderer should get away without being caught, the reader is convinced and does not want the police to catch the narrator’s wrongdoings.
    The narrator uses a cautious, panicking tone with the use of the words “But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale.” The sentence constists of many commas to form breaks and pauses. These pauses leave the air hanging, and put the reader in a state of uneasiness. It allows the reader to have a prospect that something wrong will happen.

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  16. Edgar Allan Poe was able to create an extremely suspenseful mood through out most of the story, using the repetition of hard sounding consonants to think that the next thing will finish the story. Using words like “evil” and “wicked”, the author also creates a very dark and sinister mood underlining practically the entire story, which really contributed to the suspenseful pieces by having a supportive eerie aura before a barrage of words that seem more harder-hitting than most. Near the final parts of the short story, Edgar Allan Poe was able to easily create a torturous mood by, not only having the character slowly go lose sanity, but by constantly assaulting the audience with a hailstorm of quick phrases containing a powerful effect on your senses.

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  17. The author uses a confident self-assured tone with the phrase “I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome.” The question, “what had I to fear?” implies that through out the horror of the night, he had taken care off all of his problems and had nothing to loose with letting the men in. The tub had caught all of the blood, the body was put away and the board put back in perfect condition. He had whipped away all the evidence and was coolheaded. To show the amount of faith in the job that he had done, he invited the men in and later see that he himself places his chair right where he had hidden the body.

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  18. Edgar Allan Poe created a very scary, and mysterious tone in his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”. He uses pauses, and exclamation, for example, “TRUE! – Nervous –very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am;” or “ ‘Villains!’ I shrieked. ‘Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – Tear up the planks! Here, here! – It is the beating of his hideous heart!’” This implies that Edger Allan Poe intended the character to be in panic, scared, and terrified.

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  19. Edgar Allan Poe made a very apprehensive mood with the phrase, "No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do?". The words "I now grew very pale" implies the fact that the man is now fearing the possibility of him getting caught. When someone grows pale, it also means that they starting to get paranoid and nervous. These simple words of unease pass through the borders of the page and into the minds of the readers/listeners. Due to the fact that it's also nearing the end of the short story, the anticipation for the ending grows and grows until the reader has to read on to find out what happens.

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  20. Edgar Allan Poe creates a very scary and creepy tone in his short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". With the phrase "he had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold." This implies that Edgar Allen Poe is creeped out and scared about the old man's eye. How he feared it and wanted to get rid of it. Through this, the reader can easily tell that Edgar Allan Poe was trying to depict a scary mood.

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  21. Edgar Allen Poe sets a mood of obsession with the use of the phrase :
    "It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night." This suggests a mood of obsession because of his constant thinking and contemplating of killing the old man, who had done nothing to him. He was constantly thinking of it, constantly being haunted by it.

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  22. Edgar Allen Poe creates a nervous mood with the use of the phrase "But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone." The words getting pale implies that he was starting to get nervous and frightened. This suggests a nervous mood because of how nervous he was getting and the fact the he "wished them gone."

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