Compare and Contrast Essay:
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
Both short stories "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Landlady” by Roald Dahl are gothic, mysterious stories. The authors (of both stories) make the stories exciting for the reader due to the tension and suspense they create. There are some clear differences between the two stories, but also some similarities. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” the narrator is the main character in the story, and he tells the story from his own point of view. Dahl however is narrating the story more as if you were there, watching the scene. Setting is limited in both stories, yet the setting of “The Landlady” is still described much more by Dahl, while …show more content…
Although in "The Landlady" in the first paragraphs it is described how Billy travelled from London to Bath, the bigger part of the story takes place in the bed and breakfast house. In "The Tell-Tale Heart", the story actually takes place in only one room. The descriptions of the settings are very different in the two stories. Poe does not say anything about what the room looks like - he only lets us feel the atmosphere. We only know there are shutters in front of the windows, there is a bed and the floor is wooden. We know that there are no chairs in the room from the sentence "I brought chairs into the room". Dahl on the other hand, gives a very accurate description of everything Billy sees in the house: the Chrysanthemums, the stuffed animals, which Billy thinks are real, the bright fire in the hearth, the furniture and so …show more content…
This means that the writer has to be able to create the right atmosphere immediately from the beginning. However both writers have a different approach. In Poe's story you know after the first two paragraphs that the narrator is actually mad and that he wants to kill the old man. Further in the story the tension is increased and it becomes clearer that the narrator cannot handle what he did. In the story of Dahl however, everything starts very friendly. Very slowly it becomes obvious that there is something strange, and only at the end of the story it is revealed that the landlady will kill Billy and is going to stuff him. The story of Poe is written in a style where the narrator is telling the story from his own point of view from his memory and there is no dialogue at all. On only two occasions are there quotations of what is said. In contrast to Poe's story, Dahl is uses a lot of dialogue between Billy and the landlady. For the main part, the story is told through their dialogue.
In "The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe is capable of creating a mysterious story with minimal setting and without any dialogue. Only the situation is described very accurately, and from the beginning to the end the story engages you. The story of Dahl starts very friendly - everything is described well and the story is full of pleasant dialogue. Only at the end you understand the intention of the landlady. In conclusion it can be said that both writers
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
Both short stories "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and "The Landlady” by Roald Dahl are gothic, mysterious stories. The authors (of both stories) make the stories exciting for the reader due to the tension and suspense they create. There are some clear differences between the two stories, but also some similarities. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” the narrator is the main character in the story, and he tells the story from his own point of view. Dahl however is narrating the story more as if you were there, watching the scene. Setting is limited in both stories, yet the setting of “The Landlady” is still described much more by Dahl, while …show more content…
Although in "The Landlady" in the first paragraphs it is described how Billy travelled from London to Bath, the bigger part of the story takes place in the bed and breakfast house. In "The Tell-Tale Heart", the story actually takes place in only one room. The descriptions of the settings are very different in the two stories. Poe does not say anything about what the room looks like - he only lets us feel the atmosphere. We only know there are shutters in front of the windows, there is a bed and the floor is wooden. We know that there are no chairs in the room from the sentence "I brought chairs into the room". Dahl on the other hand, gives a very accurate description of everything Billy sees in the house: the Chrysanthemums, the stuffed animals, which Billy thinks are real, the bright fire in the hearth, the furniture and so …show more content…
This means that the writer has to be able to create the right atmosphere immediately from the beginning. However both writers have a different approach. In Poe's story you know after the first two paragraphs that the narrator is actually mad and that he wants to kill the old man. Further in the story the tension is increased and it becomes clearer that the narrator cannot handle what he did. In the story of Dahl however, everything starts very friendly. Very slowly it becomes obvious that there is something strange, and only at the end of the story it is revealed that the landlady will kill Billy and is going to stuff him. The story of Poe is written in a style where the narrator is telling the story from his own point of view from his memory and there is no dialogue at all. On only two occasions are there quotations of what is said. In contrast to Poe's story, Dahl is uses a lot of dialogue between Billy and the landlady. For the main part, the story is told through their dialogue.
In "The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe is capable of creating a mysterious story with minimal setting and without any dialogue. Only the situation is described very accurately, and from the beginning to the end the story engages you. The story of Dahl starts very friendly - everything is described well and the story is full of pleasant dialogue. Only at the end you understand the intention of the landlady. In conclusion it can be said that both writers