The Mad Murderer

*Author's Note

This is a POV response to The Tell-Tale Heart

In the tell-tale heart, the narrator is a mad murderer that is overcome with guilt.  He is unreliable and cannot see the world clearly.  His point of view shows the story in a crazy and delusional way.  

This is they story from the police's point of view. 

"We've got a report of someone hearing a neighbor screaming," the chief of police announced, "might be foul play.  Hubert, James, Grey- you go have a look at it.  Search the premises."  

We sighed and tromped out in to the crisp night air.  We walked in silence, looking out over the  barren streets.  After about 10 minutes we reached the old house. 

The house had an eerie feel as we crept up the cobblestone path.  Hubert pushed me forward to knock on the door.  The young man who answered it smiled.  He welcomed us and asked us to come inside.  

When we asked about the shriek he informed us that it was his own, from a nightmare.  He told us that the old man was off in the country, visiting friends.  He was very hospitable, we hardly even had to imply before he let us search his apartments.  He even showed us the old man's room with all of his belongings intact and undisturbed. 

He pulled up chairs and had us sit down.  We chatted about inconsequential things; the weather, the government, the strength of our military.  He seemed to be growing tired and his face was starting to pale.  We thought little of it.  He suddenly started talking faster and louder for no apparent reason.  He seemed particularly upset when the death watches in the wall became a bit louder.  

He talked louder and faster with each passing minute.  Finally he seemed to reach the breaking point.  Se stood raving and swearing.  He thrashed his chair against the floorboards.  He had a reputation of being mad so we thought little of his sudden outburst.  This seemed to aggravate him even more and he screamed in rage.

He admitted to killing the old man; covering up his terrible deed by hiding his limbs under the floor boards.  We brought him back to the police station.  His madness was recorded as his motivation for the murder.  He was brought in for questioning but testified strongly against insanity.  He was sent to the asylum; he obviously had mental issues and could not be trusted with reality.  

Mother to Son Response

In Mother to Son, there are many examples of figurative language.  The author only uses metaphor, but there are many examples within this poem.  First, there is the stair metaphor.  The speaker compares different sets of stairs to different lifestyles.  A crystal stair is used to show the rich, easy life.  The glassy polished stair that almost everyone wants.  A rough wooden stair shows the woman's life.  She talks about how the stair is rough and falling apart, but has pulled through and held up.  In my opinion, this particular metaphor shows that most people can't always have the easy life, but they end up being stronger and less breakable because of it.  Another metaphor is the splinters and tacks.  These symbolize the troubles and hardships throughout someone's life.  The author showed that even though there were snags and setbacks along the way, people move past it and keep moving forward.  There is also a line of the poem that talks about how there is no carpet, so it's painful to sit down.  This symbolizes that sometimes when it seems easier to give up, it just hurts even more.  Also, life is not protected with a plush carpet.  The hardships and tragedies of life are not sugar coated.  Everyone sees other people in the worst light possible, full of splinters and scars.  I think that the speaker can see that these are not scars, they are the things that build people's life and character.  The mood of the poem is inspiring.  The bad grammar and spelling shows how ordinary people break through barriers and  live their life.  The tone of the poem is firm, but still helpful and comforting.  You can really tell that the speaker is encouraging the son in this poem.