Compare the two nineteenth century horror stories Essay

Compare the two nineteenth century horror stories, ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe, showing how Poe uses a range of techniques to make his stories dramatic and effective. ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ are two of the earliest horror stories ever written; they were written in the 1840’s by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts in 1809. He tragically died in 1849 following a life of alcohol and drugs. ‘The Black Cat’ tells us about a man who is in a condemned cell. He is on death row and reflecting on his life and the reason behind the situation he is in. He tells the reader about his love for animals and how he married early in life. His wife allowed him to buy a black cat who never left his master’s side. However, the narrator tells how he became an alcoholic and started to mistreat his wife and pets. On returning home one night he seized the cat and in fright the cat had bitten him. This made him angry and therefore he cut out one of the cat’s eyes. A few days later he took the cat, slipped a noose around its neck and hung it from a limb of a tree. That night the house burnt down and engraved on the wall was the figure of a cat. Later on in the story the narrator tells us of how he found a cat that closely resembled the one he had killed. The cat would never leave his side which started to make him hate the creature. He was walking down the steps of the cellar one day with his wife when the cat followed and sent him headlong down the steps. In fury he picked up an axe and aimed a blow at the cat. His wife tried to stop him so he buried the axe into her brain. He buried the body in the wall of the cellar. The police found the body as the man become cocky and tapped on the wall where he had buried his wife, there was a wailing sound and the police uncovered the body with the cat on the corpses head. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ tells us about a man who has been accused of being mad. He looked after an old man who had a ‘vulture eye’. His eye was a pale blue and had a film over it. Whenever the eye fell upon the narrator, it made his blood run cold. Therefore he decided to kill the old man. In the week before he killed him the narrator tells us about how he crept into the old man’s bedroom every night at midnight, trying to find the right moment to kill him. On the eighth night the old man became aware that someone was in his room. The narrator says how he could hear the man’s heart beating in his chest and was frightened that the neighbours would hear it. He ran into the room; seized the man out of his bed and pulled the bed on top of him. He then took the planks from the flooring of the bedroom and placed the body there. Once he had replaced the floorboards the police arrived saying that a neighbour had heard a shriek and they wished to search the property. He led them towards the old man’s bedroom and placed some chairs out for them on the exact spot of the body. He began to make typical chat with the officers but could hear the heart of the old man beating louder and louder until it drew the narrator mad and he confessed to the murder. Both stories have typical features of a modern horror story – blood, murder, the murders conscience and supernatural aspects. However, the structure of the stories differ. ‘The Black Cat’ is a longer story and is more detailed. It includes more background description. â€Å"I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets.† This quote shows that ‘The Black Cat’ tells us about the background of the narrator since he was a young boy. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is more concise and includes some very detailed sections but less background. â€Å"Presently, I heart a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief — Oh no! It was a low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe.† This quote shows that ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ has some very detailed sections as the narrator goes into depth about the noise that the old man made. The two narrators have various things in common; they both tell the story in first person and use eyes as an important feature in the story. In the opening paragraph both narrators also say that they have been accused of madness but deny the accusation. â€Å"Mad indeed would I be to expect it, In a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not.† This quote from ‘The Black Cat’ supports my point that the narrator has been accused of being mad but denies it. â€Å"But why WILL you say that I am mad?† This quote from ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ also supports my point as it is from the opening paragraph of the story and the narrator is asking why he is being accused of being mad. The significant differences between the two narrators are; ‘The Black Cat’ gives a more in-depth background about his life before the present day whereas ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ goes straight into the present. ‘The Black Cat’ is also set in different rooms of the house and other areas where as ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is set in just one room. The relationship between the readier is also different. ‘The Black Cat’ is wrote as if the narrator is writing a letter whereas ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is wrote as if the narrator is actually speaking to the reader. â€Å"For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen.† These words suggest to me that ‘The Black Cat’ tells the story as if he is writing a letter. â€Å"How then am I mad?† This rhetorical question shows that the narrator tells the story as if he is actually talking to the reader. The two narrators in the story get caught as they become too over confident about the hiding place of their victims. They both lead the police to the place that the bodies are buried. Sound is also a major part in the reason for the two narrators getting caught. Poe uses a range of visual and sound techniques to make the stories dramatic and effectible. In both stories sound plays a major part in the narrator’s getting caught. â€Å"Then quickly swelling into one long, loud and continuous scream, utterly anomalous and inhuman.† This quote from ‘The Black Cat’ suggests to me that the points I have made are correct. The sound makes the story more dramatic and suspicious. It also leads the police to the corpse. â€Å"But the beating of the heart grew louder, LOUDER! I thought the heart must burst.† This quote also suggests to me that the beating of the heart made the murderer go mad and confess. It also adds an eerie effect to the story. Poe also uses visual description in the stories. â€Å"The corpse, already greatly decayed and clotted with gore, stood erect before the eyes of the spectators. Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eyes of fire†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This phrase of writing from ‘The Black Cat’ goes into great visual detail about the corpse which makes it a lot easier to picture the story in your head. The amount of description sets the scene very effectively and makes the reader feel like there telling the story from their own personal experience. The use of evil words such as ‘greatly decayed’ and ‘clotted with gore’ also emphasise the fear and terror of the story. Poe uses a range of imagery in the stories; including alliteration, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeias, and rhetorical questions. These all make the stories dramatic and keep the reader interested. In ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ Edgar Allan Poe uses a lot of onomatopoeia and metaphors. â€Å"my blood ran cold† This quote proves the point that Poe uses metaphors in this story. â€Å"Like the thread of a spider† This also proves that Poe uses Similes in this story. Both of these enhance the story as they make it more dramatic and effective. In ‘The Black Cat’ Edgar Allan Poe uses a lot of alliteration, metaphors and personification. â€Å"My tenderness of heart† This quote is particularly important as later on in the story the narrators heart is the complete opposite from tender. â€Å"Grew with my growth† This quote from the story shows alliteration. By using both of these quotes the writer is making the story more effective as he is making it more interesting to read. He is also encourage interpretation from the reader and helping them to feel the emotion of the characters. Poe also uses language devices to make the stories dramatic and effective. These include rhythm, repetition, and rhetorical questions. In ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. Edgar Allan Poe uses a large amount of rhetorical questions. â€Å"How then am I mad?† This is effective in the story as it involves the reader. It does so by encouraging the reader to reflect upon the question and therefore get involved more with the story. Poe also uses repetition. â€Å"He had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him†¦.† The repetitive phrase all in vain, tells us of the narrators joy at the old mans terror. He also uses a capital ‘D’ in death. This infers he is using death as a name, suggesting that the old man is death. In ‘The Black Cat’ Poe uses plenty of rhythm and repetition. â€Å"Have terrified — Have tortured — Have destroyed me.† In this quote Edgar Allan Poe has repeated the word ‘have’. He has used a rhythm by pausing at the end of each word and the dashes indicate an intensity of emotions. He has also used evil words such a ‘terrified’ and ‘tortured’ which again emphasise the fear and terror of the story. This makes the story more dramatic. In both stories Poe also uses capital letters to emphasise words this gives an immediate dramatic impact. In conclusion, Poe uses a range of techniques to make his stories dramatic and effective, many of these are still used by horror writers today. Although ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ are similar in numerous ways, Poe uses different techniques in each one to make the stories effective in their own particular way.