Responding to One’s Conscience Exploring the works of Edgar Allan Poe

“Conscience. ” she said. “She broke down completely and fainted “Conscience!” she said. “She broke down completely and fainted. The shock if having her wickedness brought home to her was too much for her. She literally died of fear.” “You regard it as impossible that a sinner should be struck down by the wrath of God! I do not!” (p. 80) What does it mean to have a conscience? How is it an important theme in And Then There Were None?

Edgar Allan Poe Poe drove to stretch the boundaries of literary representation Aimed to achieve celebrity by shocking the public His poems and tales defined a twilight zone of primal anxiety and endless melancholy Utilizes repetition, onomatopoeia, unreliable narration, and rich sensory details His stories aim to copy a deteriorating mind

This character is often struggling with psychological difficulties In his stories in poems, we often share an overwhelming loss with the character This character is often struggling with psychological difficulties Narrator typically has an unsteady voice Poe challenged the conventions of writing Hopelessness, sadness while addressing universal fears of every human being Ex) being buried alive, losing a loved one, the destruction of beauty

The Tell Tale Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUFqBKUwRe8 Narrator can be viewed as talking in circles Narrator often discusses the state of his senses Narrator is guilty of a mortal sin, notice how he is handling what he has done. As we read, write down sensory details Poe utilizes Why do you think he focuses on these descriptions?

Discussion Questions 1. “How then, am I mad? Observe how healthily-how calmly I can tell you the whole story” What is the narrator trying to prove? What emotion is he evoking instead in the reader? 2. What is the narrator guilty of? What is the state of his conscience? How can we tell? 3. What body part does the narrator mention most often? Why do you think that is? 4. Which character is this narrator most similar to in And Then There Were None? How?