Tell Tale Heart Comparison Essay

Literary adaption (Task:4)
The original written narrative of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, and its retelling short-film adaptation by Annette Jung are both classic illustrations of the well-admired genre psychological horror. These versions equally capture the same essence, while still managing to preserve their own unique elements. The plot of the stories revolves around an unnamed narrator who is driven to madness by «his» guilt for murdering an old man with a vulture eye. In both the original text and the adaptation, the narrator attempts to prove «his» sanity to the reader/audience, but «his» guilt eventually overwhelms «him» and leads to «his» downfall. In this analysis I will study and unravel the focal point, being the concept

The reader is introduced to a character burdened with an all-consuming guilt. In the original version the absence of a clear-cut description of the protagonist is fascinating, leaving space for excess detail and vivid wording of the narrator’s mental and emotional state, therefor emphasizing the core element in the story. In the adaption precision and skill takes a more visual approach. The film utilizes a variety of cinematic techniques to convey the sense of paranoia, with sound, lighting, and as the camera often zoom in and out, moreover illustrating «his» mental instability. this is further emphasised through the use of sound, as the sound of the narrator’s heartbeat becomes louder and more insistent as «his» emotions intensifies. The setting of the story and the film are also similar, as they both take place in a small, dark room. In the story, the narrator’s home is described in a way that serves to create a sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. In the film, the setting is further emphasised with the use of shadows and low lighting to create an eerie atmosphere. In this way the film also does a great job capturing the subtle nuances and symbols of the original story, such as the old mans’ evil eye, the heartbeat, and crucially «his» own claim to sanity. The symbols and motifs used in both the story and

In the story, the narrators voice is presented as more of an internal monologue, as «he» speaks directly to the reader. In the film, the narrators voice is presented in a more externalised way, as «he’s» seen and heard speaking directly to the audience. As states the story opens with the narrator proclaiming «his» sanity, but quickly reveals that the narrator’s attempts to defend «himself» are futile, as «he’s» only consoling «himself», and intensifying the depth of «his» irrational behaviour and frenetic mood. With repeated lines such as “"True! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am