One of the key components to his horror stories is the motif of madness which pervades almost all of his tales. ... In, "The Tell-Tale Heart," it is the madness of the man which brings him to murder his employer and at the end of this particular story, the madness – or the acuteness of senses as it is frequently described by Poe – serves also as the man's punishment since the unbearable sound of the beating of his own guilty heart forced him to confess. ... One example is the narrator of, "The Tell-Tale Heart." He calmly tells the story, plans the crime in ...

• Word Count: 1406
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The common character among these stories is a 19-year-old reporter named George Willard who, for unknown reasons, connects with the grotesques of the community and listens to their tales. ... Her ability to open up his heart and allow him to verbally express his emotions, which were previously only written on his paper pills, broke his grotesque mold. ... This story tells of a little girl's desire to be named Tandy. ... At that moment, George enters the room, her fury abates, and she casually tells George to go for a walk. ...

• Word Count: 1325
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate