The Ambiguity Of Meaning In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

It is important that readers explore the ambiguity of meanings and the possibility of multiple meanings in literary texts. Readers need to be able to identify the significance of word choices, not just the face value of a text. Deconstruction is a method of critical analysis that emphasizes the internal workings of language and conceptual systems, the relationships of meaning, and the assuming forms of expression. Deconstruction calls for a double reading of the text. The first reading of a text follows the typical form of understanding, which results in a single interpretation. The reader must then break down the first reading, concentrating on the multiple aspects of the text. The second reading comes out of what Deconstructionists see

There are two focuses: the tale and the telling. The tale includes all events and the telling is the way the story is revealed. For example, “The Tell-Tale Heart” focuses on the explanation of how and why the narrator killed the old man and how the narrator tells the story. There are gaps between the tale and the telling, which often omits portions of the tale—in the case of “The Tell-Tale Heart” the reader only knows what the narrator tells us. The point of view of the focalizer in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is external via the narrator and is represented through direct discourse, as the narrator’s speech or thought is presented directly. Another category structuralists look at is narrative embedding, which is the story within a story, and how the conflict between outside story and inside story exposes conflict between tale and the telling. This is very apparent in “The Tell-Tale Heart” as the narrator is telling the story of how he stalks, kills, and dismembers the old man. However, by the end of the telling, the narrator is speaking as if the events are unfolding in real time. The anxious telling of his actions spurs his confession and unveiling of the old man’s hideous heart. Structuralism plays a key role in analyzing narrative reliability. For instance, in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the readers must ask themselves if they can trust the narrator’s