（培训课件）大学英语阅读The_Tell-Tale_HeartPPT课件.ppt

1、About the author,Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story

2、and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.,1,During

3、his lifetime, Poe was mostly recognized as a literary critic. Poe was also known as a writer of fiction and became one of the first American authors of the 19th century to become more popular in Europe than in the United States. Poe is now considered a forefather of two literary genres, detective st

4、ories and science fiction, and is regarded as an important writer of psychological thrillers and horror.,2,Literary style,Poes best known fiction works are Gothic,a genre he followed to appease the public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, th

5、e effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Many of his works are generally considered part of the dark romanticism genre, a literary reaction to transcendentalism, which Poe strongly disliked.,3,Beyond horror, Poe also wrote satires, humor ta

6、les, and hoaxes. For comic effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance, often in an attempt to liberate the reader from cultural conformity. Poes writing reflects his literary theories, which he presented in his criticism and also in many essays.He disliked didacticism and allegory, though he b

7、elieved that meaning in literature should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface. Works with obvious meanings, he wrote, cease to be art.He believed that quality work should be brief and focus on a specific single effect. To that end, he believed that the writer should carefully calculate every

8、 sentiment and idea.,4,The Tell-Tale Heart,The Tell-Tale Heart is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. The story was first published in James Russell Lowells The Pioneer in January 1843. The Tell-Tale Heart is widely considered a classic of the Gothic fiction genre and on

9、e of Poes most famous short stories. The story is a psychological portrait of a mad narrator who kills a man and afterward hears his victims relentless heartbeat.,5,6,Words and phrases,tell-tale:(a.) 泄密的 ratiocinative ri:snetv :(a.) 推理的 hearkenhrkn :(vi) 倾听 film:(n.) （眼睛角膜上的）薄翳 by degrees:逐渐地 dissim

10、ulationdisimjulein :(n.) 掩饰,虚伪,装糊涂 I personally dislike the greasy dissimulation of diplomacy. 我这个人不喜欢外交上逢场作戏，装模作样那一套。,7,power:(n.)（常用复数）才能，天赋 sagacity sgsti: :(n.) 精明，睿智 It required a statesmans foresight and sagacity to make the decision. 作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。 containkntein :(v.) 1.包含; 容纳 The hall can

11、 contain 200 people. 大厅可以容纳200人。 2. 控制，抑制 He contained his fear.他抑制住自己的恐惧。,8,deathwatch dewt :(n.) 蛀虫 fancy fnsi :1.(v.)想像, 设想;猜想, 以为 Can you fancy yourself on the moon? 你能想像自己登上月球是怎样一种情景吗? 2.(n.)设想, 空想, 幻想;想像力, 幻想力 He indulged in idle fancy. 他沉溺于幻想之中。 stalk st:k :1.(n.)主茎, 花梗, 叶柄 2.(v.)潜步跟踪, 潜近 He

12、spent the weekend stalking deer in the Scottish highlands. 他周末在苏格兰高地追踪鹿的行踪。,9,envelop envelp :(vt.) 包围, 笼罩, 包住 Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 crevice krevs n. (尤指岩石的)裂缝;缺口 even yet 即使到了这时候 tattoo ttu: 1.n. 文身，刺青，刺花； 连续有节奏的敲击声(尤指军事上的）回营号，击鼓号 2.v.刺青, 文身 ;连续

13、有节奏地敲击 at the dead hour of night 半夜三更，夜深人静的时候,10,scantling skntli n. 小块木材，小梁；一点点,少量 lodge ld v.1.暂住, 借宿 2.提出(报告、要求、申诉等) It is too late to lodge any objections. 现在提出任何异议已为时太晚。 depute dpju:t vt.委托 ，委派 dissemble dsembl vt. 假装；掩饰(感情、意图等) dissemble anger with a smile 用微笑掩饰愤怒,11,Summary,The story follows

14、an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a vulture eye. The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately the narrators guilt manifests itself in the hallucination that the mans

15、heart is still beating under the floorboards. Shocked by the constant beating of the heart and a feeling that not only are the officers aware of the sound, but that they also suspect him, the narrator confesses to killing the old man and tells them to tear up the floorboards to reveal the body.,12,C

16、haracters,The Narrator: Deranged unnamed person who tries to convince the reader that he is sane. The Old Man: Seemingly harmless elder who has a hideous evil eye that unnerves the narrator. Neighbor: Person who hears a shriek coming from the house of the narrator and the old man, then reports it to

17、 the police. Three Policemen: Officers who search the narrators house after a neighbor reports hearing a shriek.,13,Point of View,The story is told from the first-person point of view. The story is a monologue of a nervous narrator telling the reader how he murdered someone. He is eventually driven

18、to confess to the police. The entire straightforward narrative is told from his point of view in a nervous tone. Through Poes masterful and inventive writing, the narrators twisted logic increasingly reveals that he is insane.,14,Questions for Discussion,1.What do you think is the reason why the mur

19、derer did not kill the old man immediately when he was found, but ,instead, waited a long time patiently? (page 244 and 245) 2. What can you infer from “I went down to open it with a light heart -for what had I now to fear?” (page246,para.4,line3)and “I smiled- for what had I to fear?” (page246,para

20、5,line1),15,3.What was the sound that the murderer heard? Had the policemen heard it? What can you learn from the last paragraph? 4. What is the theme of the story? What can you learn from it?,16,First, from “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, but he found all in vain.” (page244,para.4,li

21、ne7)We can see that the murderer was just enjoying the fear and suffering of the poor old man. The consequence that the old man felt endangered and anxious was exactly what he wanted. Second, he waited to see the damned spot (the vulture eye) on the old mans face which was the reason that he wanted

22、to kill him. Third, he was nervous ,and he was struggling in heart. He waited until the old mans terror extended to the extreme. All these reasons were the result of his insanity(精神错乱) ,schizophrenia(精神分裂症) and paranoia (妄想症).,17,It can be inferred that the murderer was quite anxious in his innermos

23、t. He strengthened these words again and again so that he could convince himself that he did not need to worry about anything unusual that would be found by the policemen.The more indifferent he pretended to be, the more anxious he was.The more frequently he insisted on his sanity,the more disturbed

24、 he impressed others. From this we can see that he was in some degree insane.,18,He heard the constant beating of the heart.Actually, it was the murderers imagination. The sound did not exist at all and no one except him could hear it. It just occurred in his own mind, because he was quite afraid of

25、 being discovered the truth that he had killed the old man. We can learn from the last paragraph that he was broken down by his surmise(臆想) and he had to burst out. Maybe the policemen didnt consider him as the murderer, but he, himself, was quite clear about the fact.,19,Theme,Theme 1: A human being has a perverse, wicked sideanother selfthat can goad him into doing evil things that have no apparent motive. The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart admits in the second paragraph of the story that he committed a senseless crime, However, he does note that his evil d