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The Grotesque Mask Of Death Analysis

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Welcome everyone, you’re listening to ‘inspired by the story’, where we discuss how written tales impact our own writing. This podcast is designed to shed light on my short story, based on my reading and understanding of a number of texts, which have allowed me to consider how to employ numerous stylistic features into my short story. Today is an opportunity for me to discuss with you what has influenced me to write my very own short story titled ‘The Grotesque Mask of Death’. My prime inspiration for the ideas I have implied in my story is from the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, in particular the Tell Tale Heart. My fanatic short story, the grotesque mask of death is based off the paranormal experiences of a teenage girl, who is hounded by …show more content…

Fear pervades the entire story, and it is poe 's manifestation of this within the text that has influenced me to write my short story based off the sole concern of fear. The Tell Tale Heart hinges on the narrators demented fear of the old man’s eye which is evident as he says “He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it.Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold”. Poe utilizes symbolism to characterise the old man 's eye as one of a vultures, to symbolise death as the eye perhaps ‘preys’ on the narrator, driving him crazy, which prompts him to kill the old man, due to his deep fear of the eye. Poe also makes use of personification in “Blood ran cold” to indicate that the narrator is seized by an acute and intense sensation of fear whenever the eye looks at him. As Poe establishes fear through the narrator 's inner terror caused by the “eye of a vulture”, it inspired me to also create the perception of fear through the narrators paranormal experiences. This is identified as she describes the fright she endured as the monster possessed her body “His eyes locked with mine and his lethal stare into my soul pierced my heart as an evil smile that betrayed all innocence filled his face [...] paralyzed with fear, I could not command myself to function”. The distinctive stylistic features of vivid imagery and personification go hand in hand in this quote to communicate how the fiend’s death stare and wicked smile were so horrific that it incapacitated her ability to function and caused a paralytic fearsome spell on her body. The idea of fear is additionally reinforced in “With the constant thought of this monstrous figure, fear became a poison within me”. The metaphor implies that the fear caused by the dark figure permeating the individuals mind became a living toxin within her. Therefore, under the influence of the Tell tale heart, it encouraged me to write the “Grotesque mask

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