Although they differ in many ways, they have a commonality. Both short stories feature protagonists that are dynamic characters. The Caretaker from The Tell-Tale Heart and Sammy from A&P both display profound motives through their actions, a timespan of meditation suited to their actions, and a sense of uneasiness from their actions in the story. In both pieces of literature, the protagonists display a certain nearly surreal intensity and passion, despite their motives, when faced with the circumstances that placed them in the conundrums in which they found themselves. The protagonists of both short stories feel as if they are doing the right thing despite their internal conflictions displayed at the end of the stories. In The Tell-Tale Heart,
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The caretaker in The Tell-Tale Heart carefully executes his long thought out plan. He takes eight nights to plan his murder of the old man and his evil eye. It is not until the eighth night that the caretaker can see the vulture eye. When he sees the eye, he releases all of his built up resentment for the eye. “It was open – wide, wide open – and I grew furious as I gazed upon the vulture eye.” (Poe, Literature 38) It is never discussed in the story that the caretaker ever considered the consequences of his action. His meditation suits his motivation in that he was probably suffering from a mental illness and the sight of the eye made him snap. Although he planned to murder the man, the reader can infer that the act also could have been committed out of passion like Sammy’s hasty decision. The caretaker acknowledges that he does not hate the old man, just the evil eye. In A&P Sammy, on a whim quits his job. As stated above, his overwhelming feelings about the girls and his manager’s actions drove him to act in passion without taking time to think of the …show more content…
The actions of the characters vary in magnitude of severity, but can both effect their life in some way. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the caretaker begins to show his uneasiness, or regret, when he begins to hear the old man’s heart beating through the floor boards. While sitting and talking to the officers, his remorse began to envelop him. “My head hurt and there was a strange sound in my ears. I talked more, and faster. The sound became clearer.” (Poe, Literature) He submits to his regret by telling the officers where he hid the old man’s body. Sammy’s uneasiness hits him almost immediately after quitting his job. Before he had even taken his apron off he states, “But it seems to me once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it.” (Updike, Literature 21) His regret is displayed in a greater amount in the last sentence of the short story. Killing somebody and quitting a job is nowhere near the same, but it is possible to feel regret for both of the
The caretaker in The Tell-Tale Heart carefully executes his long thought out plan. He takes eight nights to plan his murder of the old man and his evil eye. It is not until the eighth night that the caretaker can see the vulture eye. When he sees the eye, he releases all of his built up resentment for the eye. “It was open – wide, wide open – and I grew furious as I gazed upon the vulture eye.” (Poe, Literature 38) It is never discussed in the story that the caretaker ever considered the consequences of his action. His meditation suits his motivation in that he was probably suffering from a mental illness and the sight of the eye made him snap. Although he planned to murder the man, the reader can infer that the act also could have been committed out of passion like Sammy’s hasty decision. The caretaker acknowledges that he does not hate the old man, just the evil eye. In A&P Sammy, on a whim quits his job. As stated above, his overwhelming feelings about the girls and his manager’s actions drove him to act in passion without taking time to think of the …show more content…
The actions of the characters vary in magnitude of severity, but can both effect their life in some way. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the caretaker begins to show his uneasiness, or regret, when he begins to hear the old man’s heart beating through the floor boards. While sitting and talking to the officers, his remorse began to envelop him. “My head hurt and there was a strange sound in my ears. I talked more, and faster. The sound became clearer.” (Poe, Literature) He submits to his regret by telling the officers where he hid the old man’s body. Sammy’s uneasiness hits him almost immediately after quitting his job. Before he had even taken his apron off he states, “But it seems to me once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it.” (Updike, Literature 21) His regret is displayed in a greater amount in the last sentence of the short story. Killing somebody and quitting a job is nowhere near the same, but it is possible to feel regret for both of the