Throughout the story, Poe carefully chooses his words to portray the narrator and create a sense of suspense that makes you feel as if you were observing the whole event, slowly, frame by frame. Poe states "For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down". In this example his words are described in such vivid detail that you picture this scene perfectly, even though, we have to gather the details one by one, slowly. By this feeling of proximity to the story, Poe manages to catch the reader’s interest as he keeps us reading it, wanting to know what will happen next. Another example is when Poe uses phrases such as, "It was open-wide, wide open and I grew furious as I gazed upon it".
Comparable to the beginning of the novel McEwan immediately dives into the plot with the objective being to captivating the reader, he starts the novel with the sentence “The beginning is simple to mark”, and by using the word ‘beginning’ it leaves the reader to suggest that an important event is going to take place. This sentence is used to create suspense that leads the reader to carry on out of curiosity and uncertainty, the short length of the sentence conveys a bluntness which leaves more emotional impact. Ironically the narrator, who is also the protagonist: Joe, claims the beginning of the story to be ‘simple’ yet his frequent digression and evading of the topic makes it seem far from. This is another device McEwan uses, Joe's tendencies to have his thoughts diverted elsewhere lengthens the narrative, essentially building up tension for the readers. McEwan uses the narrator’s euphemistic persona to build tension demonstrated through the way he withholds vital information with the use of euphemisms, “saw the danger”, “running towards it”, the narrator intentionally omits what the situation is by identifying it as “the danger” or “it”.
The Narrator's Delusions As readers, we begin to realize that the narrator suffers from paranoia. This means that perhaps not everything the narrator recounts is accurate. Look through the text for passages in which the narrator describes a sensation, experience, or belief that you think might not be grounded in reality. For example, do you think the ticking sound the narrator hears is real, or is it just in the narrator's mind? Why do you think Poe would choose to tell his story from the perspective of this delusional narrator?
Although, both Amir and Rahim Khan tell their stories in a formal manner. Hosseini does this to add ferocity to the story, whilst the change of manner of voice suggests a significant change to the reader. Hosseini uses the change of voice to show a turning point within the story as Hassan is brought back to Amir’s memory. The whole chapter is spoken in Rahim Khan’s narrative and is mostly his dialogue in monologue, though readers understand that Amir is listening as he references his presence, ‘‘You’d recognise him.’’ The style of monologue helps tell the story personally so that the readers become involved and indulge in every detail. It also allows sole focus on the story Rahim Khan is telling, once again pointing to extreme significance and importance within the story.
Sedaris also uses hyperboles to enhance the humor and drama in his writings. One instance of hyperbole is in “Go Carolina,” when he states, “the word therapy suggested a profound failure on my part.” Obviously, he is exaggerating the fact that therapy was a “profound failure,” adding to his intended drama. Also, in “In the Waiting Room,” when he is describing his experience, it is an exaggeration to have the thought of suicide at the moment. But the use of hyperboles in this case works, because the exaggeration of certain things provides comedy for the reader. Sedaris also makes use of rhetorical questioning.
The Tell-Tale Heart Assignment: We notice that some details in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” make a literal reading of the story rather difficult. Advance and defend a figurative reading of the story consistent with the story’s details. Poe seems to focus on creating mood throughout his story. Many symbols in this story are interpreted in several different ways depending on the reader. These symbols throughout the story include the old mans eye, the heartbeat and the contradiction between love and hate in which I will be talking about in this paper.
At several points in the story, he all but addresses us directly, imploring us, for example, to notice how bad Aylmer looks in comparison even to an animal like Aminadab. The narrator can also be characterized as a moralist who condescends to his readers. Rather than trusting us to figure out the symbolism of the birthmark, for example, or allowing us to draw our own conclusions about the soundness of Aylmer’s experiment, the narrator rushes to explain every metaphor and symbol as if we might miss his point. The strong narrative voice of “The Birthmark” epitomizes a key difference between modern American short stories and nineteenth-century American short stories. Modern stories are often told in an objective, distant, even ironic voice, whereas nineteenth-century stories were usually told by passionate narrators who infused their own strong opinions.
By calling into question the truth of his stories, he disorients readers who are expecting to read a standard fiction, where the events are undoubtably false. He also shows readers why reinventing a story may be more important than telling the story just as it is remembered. Norman Bowker disapproves of O’Brien’s first attempt to describe a horrific battle, and, therefore, O’Brien feels the need to rewrite the story. Essentially, O’Brien must remember the event in a new way that makes the story more real for Bowker and other readers. Finally, O’Brien explains to readers why stories must be told, even with the risk telling the story the “wrong” way.
As a result of the first person perspective the readers view is bias and reliant on trusting the accounts that Changez provides. Initially the text is awkward to read as it depicts one side of a conversation. Changez appears to approach the American with a strong, almost badgered tone. The technique Hamid uses of silencing the American gentleman engages the reader and initiates their thinking. Where there are gaps in the responses of the other characters the reader must imagine what is being said themselves in order for the text to make sense.
Contrast Kent’s and the Fool’s attitude towards Lear. What point of view does each represent with regard to our evaluation of Lear as either villain or Hero? One major difference in the attitude taken by Kent and the Fool toward Lear is the approach they both take when speaking to him. The Fool’s lexis is in the form of riddles; he gives wisdom in folly so to the audience his lexis seems complex and comedic however at second glance is in fact wisdom. The Fool appears to speak the mind of the audience, informing Lear of his rash and unwise decisions- “Thou hast pared thy wit o’both sides and left noting i’th’middle.” This honesty spoken by the Fool interrupts the natural order of being as in Elizabethan times Lear was seen the ‘the embodiment of God- his equal on earth’ therefore such a ‘lowly’ person as the Fool would not be permitted to be so blunt and honest.