Many American Gothic Fiction novels incorporate the same plot and structure. Gothic Fiction is a genre that utilizes fiction, horror, death, and Romanticism to tell a story. In Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Wieland, an insane man murders his wife and children because of his strict devotion to God. On the other hand, in Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator murdered an old man because the old man’s eye horrified him. Since both stories employ common ideas such as murder and insanity, it is wise to say America was built on violence and that people enjoy reading about it. Even today, news headlines are mostly about violence, crime, and terrorism to catch reader’s attention.
In Chapter 19 of Wieland, Theodore Wieland, the murderer, is in trial for murdering his wife and son. He explains to everyone that his utmost passion is devoting his …show more content…
At first, the speaker attempts to prove his sanity by explaining his thought process. Defending himself by contradicting that someone insane is incapable of carrying out such a deed so carefully. The old man’s pale blue, vulture eye terrified and motivated the narrator. Therefore, every night for a week, he would look at the old man while he was sleeping, and wait for the best time to kill the old man. Eventually on the eighth night, the old man woke up, horrified by the noise coming from the door. Finally, after seeing the old man’s eye and hearing his beating heart, the narrator flew at the old man and suffocated him. He butchered the dead man and put him under the floorboards, leaving no evidence. Later, the police shows up to investigate because neighbors overheard screaming. However, the narrator was able to fool them with his nonchalant behavior until he started hearing noises. The dead man’s beating heart terrified him, driving him completely insane. As a result, he flew open the floorboards and admitted he murdered the
In Chapter 19 of Wieland, Theodore Wieland, the murderer, is in trial for murdering his wife and son. He explains to everyone that his utmost passion is devoting his …show more content…
At first, the speaker attempts to prove his sanity by explaining his thought process. Defending himself by contradicting that someone insane is incapable of carrying out such a deed so carefully. The old man’s pale blue, vulture eye terrified and motivated the narrator. Therefore, every night for a week, he would look at the old man while he was sleeping, and wait for the best time to kill the old man. Eventually on the eighth night, the old man woke up, horrified by the noise coming from the door. Finally, after seeing the old man’s eye and hearing his beating heart, the narrator flew at the old man and suffocated him. He butchered the dead man and put him under the floorboards, leaving no evidence. Later, the police shows up to investigate because neighbors overheard screaming. However, the narrator was able to fool them with his nonchalant behavior until he started hearing noises. The dead man’s beating heart terrified him, driving him completely insane. As a result, he flew open the floorboards and admitted he murdered the