Explore the similarities and differences between Collete’s “The Murderer” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe.

In "The Tell Tale Heart" the narrator does not tell us exactly where he is but he does tell us that there are "creaky floor boards" and "heavy doors" there are also "mice". This leads us to believe that he is in a gothic house that is quite old. The narrator does not tell us about the weather directly but mention "the wind in the chimney" which suggest mid-winter.

In the murderer there are a lot of different places, the murder scene, out side the newsagents, the flat where he slept and worked, each of them described in detail.

The murder scene was a stationary notions shop as with the tell tale heart during the whole story there is only a few references to the weather such as a "brief shower" and that "darkness cam suddenly apron them.

The themes of the stories are both murders. The strangest one of the two stories is the murderer because the main character, Louis, kills his victim, for no reason that we know of, but there is a clear motive in the tell tale heart. The eye. The old mans evil eye this is the thing that drives the murderer to kills the old mans "vulture eye" the eye with a "pale blue film over it."

The main character in "The Tell Tale Heart is a person who talks about him self a lot in the story ands says a few things like "never before that night had I felt the extent of my powers."

I think this person is insane (he spent an hour to look through a door) He is mostly in self-denial but he does say "the disease has sharpened my senses -not destroyed them" this becomes exenterated when he says he "heard all the things in heaven" because of the acute sense of hearing he has acquired from being mad.

The main character of the tell tale heart is a mystery because they does not reveal their sex or their age, or any of their physical looks. Where in the murderer we know that Louis is good looking and has a "swarthy face" that girls like to smile at.

I think that, whilst these authors have crated stories that are similar in theme they have there own way of introducing the characters and victims of the story. Also the setting is very different. I like them both for they are very griping and leave a great deal of the story to the readers imagination but my favourite is "The Tell-Tale Heart" because of the way the nature of the murderer is very well presented and has left me thinking about it.

The very way that he calmly killed him with out no little voice in his head telling him what he is doing is wrong chills me to the bone. This is a little detail that Poe was very clear about for although he was insane (As I have pointed out before the evidence for this case is not in short supply) he was still a human being and as one of them I fell disturbed that one human can do that to a fellow human. Humans are the most dangerous species because of our actions. Our kind is the only ones that ill because they feel like it. Not because they are hungry or in danger but because of pure spite. This is one of the many dangers of free will and Poe and collate point this out in the most disturbing ways imaginable.

Rustie Orton Yr. 10 New Hall Mrs. Williamson