One’s Marriage, The Eye and Faith When texting someone, emojis are straightforward, with a laughing emoji symbolizing laughter and clocks representing a clock. On a heart rate monitor, a flashing heart would symbolize the human heart beating in real time. In short stories however, symbols are more ambiguous. The symbols need more time to be identified and explained to those who do not see them. The symbols in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne represent the dreams, guilt and innocence of their protagonists. The symbols in “The Story of an Hour” are Mrs. Mallard’s heart troubles, Mrs. Mallard herself, and her husband. First, according to the first
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First, the main reason that the narrator killed the old man was the old man’s “Evil eye”. The eye symbolizes the narrator’s control of his “inner demons”. For example, “...to fall upon that vulture eye! It was open — wide, wide open, and my anger increased as it looked straight at me” (Poe). Unless the eye was visible to the narrator, he was otherwise a normal minded man, but for some unknown reason the eye angered him. Second, as police come to look for the old man, the narrator hears heartbeats. The beating heart symbolizes the narrator's guilt. ““Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?”” (Poe). The heart beats for the narrator twice after the old man’s death. Once immediately after his death and another as police arrive. It is this guilt that makes the narrator cry out and confess. Lastly, the narrator’s mental health symbolizes the mental health of the author. For example the narrator starts his tale with “Listen! Listen, and I will tell you how it happened. You will see, you will hear how healthy my mind is.” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe and the narrator both started off as normal minded or at least viewed themselves as such. However, towards the end, something had caused both of their mental states to decline. For Poe, it may have most likely been the death of his wife and various other
First, the main reason that the narrator killed the old man was the old man’s “Evil eye”. The eye symbolizes the narrator’s control of his “inner demons”. For example, “...to fall upon that vulture eye! It was open — wide, wide open, and my anger increased as it looked straight at me” (Poe). Unless the eye was visible to the narrator, he was otherwise a normal minded man, but for some unknown reason the eye angered him. Second, as police come to look for the old man, the narrator hears heartbeats. The beating heart symbolizes the narrator's guilt. ““Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?”” (Poe). The heart beats for the narrator twice after the old man’s death. Once immediately after his death and another as police arrive. It is this guilt that makes the narrator cry out and confess. Lastly, the narrator’s mental health symbolizes the mental health of the author. For example the narrator starts his tale with “Listen! Listen, and I will tell you how it happened. You will see, you will hear how healthy my mind is.” (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe and the narrator both started off as normal minded or at least viewed themselves as such. However, towards the end, something had caused both of their mental states to decline. For Poe, it may have most likely been the death of his wife and various other