Usher

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism, “began as a movement of ideals that altered society’s traditional beliefs on religion and spirituality” (Characteristics of the Literary Time Period). The characteristics of transcendentalism was that society believed that every single thing in the entire world, was, “a reflection on the Divine Soul” (American Literature Timeline). Other characteristic of transcendentalism is that transcendentalist believed in non-conformity, simplicity, self-reliance,…

The short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce, is a very suspenseful story about a man who is to be executed for war crimes. There are many literary devices that contribute to the creation of suspense that foreshadow the end of this story, three of which will be reviewed. One of the literary devices that pertain to suspense is irony, this device is found all over the story, and in some cases, difficult to find. Imagery is also a key term for suspense in this story,…

“The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe wrote about one of his fears in his story “The Cask of Amontillado”. Imagery plays a big part in this story. It helps the reader visualize the events taking place in the story. Poe uses imagery to add fear and suspense to the story. Edgar Allan Poe uses imagery when he explains about leading Fortunato to the dungeon. “Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris.”(87-88) This…

In “The Tell-Tale Heart” the two main central ideas has structural and point of View evidence. Through his point of view, the narrator relates how he is feeling about the murder plan and his own terror. Poe uses punctuation to show that the narrator is anxious that his murder plans are going to happen. The two main central ideas are madness and obsession. Madness is the main central idea because their is a lot of structural and point of view evidence. In “The Tell- Tale Heart” this man keeps…

In the story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, there is a variety of elements that make it fit into the horror genre including suspense, setting, and the organization of the narrative. All these components are critical to the makeup of any narrative that is meant to thrill and scare. These three segments come together to create the feeling the author would like to radiate to the readers; horror. To begin with, suspense is included in mostly every horror based movie, book, and tale…

Ambrose Bierce is the author of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”. The short story, often described as uncanny, takes the reader into an imaginary journey led by the main character, Farquhar as he is hanged. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” receives criticism on Bierce’s narrative technique. Critics such as Peter Stoicheff, Harriet Kramer Linkin, and James G. Powers, all discuss the purpose of the word choice made by Bierce throughout the story. Although Stoicheff, Powers, and Linkin…

Gothic literature is one of the most dark, scary and thrilling genres in the arts. The greats, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson and many more created a story that left the readers sleeping with one eye open. We can see this particularly in “The Cask of Amontillado” as Poe creates an unforgettable tension. Poe uses irony and elements in the setting of “The Cask of Amontillado” to develop the suspense. Poe’s use of irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” drastically boosted the…

"It's true! Yes, I have been ill, very ill. But why do you say that I have lost control of my mind, why do you say that I am mad?" Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer know for his various literary techniques such as setting, imagery, tone, and suspense to create a particular mood in his stories. This essay will be an evaluation of the story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe. To begin, "The Tell-Tale Heart" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's most prominent poems. I find "The Tell-Tale Heart"…

In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, the reader is quickly introduced to the narrator of the story. The narrator begins the story by giving the reader a glimpse into his unhinged mind “I heard many things in hell.” The narrator then weaves a story about his unhealthy obsession with an old man, particularly the old man’s “Evil Eye.” Like most mentally ill criminals the narrator then tries to rationalize his crime by making himself the victim of the old man’s eye “it…

In what way does transformation play a role in stories meant to scare us? Transformation plays a large role in most stories meant to scare us. In these stories, transformation is what can either get the reader on the edge of their seat, or can change the story to much and make people lose interested in reader. In a scary story, transformation of something such as a character, or a setting, can build major suspense / fright which could be something the reader didn't expect “Beware: do not read…