An Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart” from the Perspective of Unreliable Narration_英语论文

摘要

爱伦坡被誉为是优秀的作家,创作出各种各样的作品,包括诗歌、短篇小说和文学理论。许多作品体现了坡善于将哥特式风格、丰富的想象力和心理探讨结合在一起，使评论家和读者们为其着迷。他的恐怖小说引领读者探讨主题包括死忙、暴力和谋杀。《泄密的心》是他其中一篇有名的短片篇小说。这篇小说讲述的是“我”作为叙述者坦白谋杀一位老人以此证明“我”是头脑清明的事实，但这举动致使“我”走向自我毁灭的命运。论文将通过布斯和费伦的不可靠叙述理论,发现叙述者“我”的不可靠叙述，剖析其不可靠叙述的原因，归纳其不可靠叙述的类型和揭示隐含作者的道德观。因此，论文会丰富为不可靠叙述的应用，进而显示了不可靠叙述在文学领域的实际价值。

关键字：不可靠叙述  隐含作者 道德观

Abstract

Edgar Allan Poe has gained his fame as a preeminent writer with varieties of works, including poems, short novels and literary theories. Many of his works show Poe’s proficiency in combining Gothic style with his unlimited imagination and psychological insight, which captivates critics and readers. His horror stories engage readers with the theme of death, violence and murder, among which is “The Tell-Tale Heart”. The short novel is about the narrator’s confession on his murdering an old man to prove his sanity, which leads to his doom of self-destruction. 

Through the theory of unreliable narration by Booth and Phelan, the dissertation is committed to spotting the unreliable narration, analyzing the reason for fallible narration, indicating the specific types of unreliability and uncovering the ethical concerns by the implied author. Therefore, it will spice up the application of unreliable narration, which further give evidence of this theory’s practical role in literature. 

Key words: unreliable narration  implied author  moral teaching

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe 1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to “The Tell-Tale Heart” 1

1.3 Significance of This Thesis 2

1.4 Structure of This Thesis 3

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1 Introduction 4

2.2 Previous Studies on “The Tell-Tale Heart” at Abroad 4

2.3 Previous Studies on “The Tell-Tale Heart” in China. 5

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 7

3.1 Introduction 7

3.2 Studies on Unreliable Narration abroad 7

3.3 Studies on Unreliable Narration at Home 9

3.4 Phelan’s Theory of Unreliable Narration 10

Chapter Four  Unreliable Narration in “The Tell-Tale Heart” 12

4.1 Introduction 12

4.2 Unreliable Narration along the Axes of Facts/Events 12

4.2.1 The Man’s Supernatural Hearing 13

4.2.2 The Man’s Hypocrisy 14

4.3 Unreliable Narration along the Axes of Knowledge/Perception 16

4.3.1 The Man’s Distortion of “Madness” 16

4.3.2 The Man’s Distortion of “Eye” 17

4.3.3 The Man’s Distortion of Sound 18

4.4 Moral Concerns of Implied Author in “The Tell-Tale Heart” 21

Chapter Five  Conclusion 24

5.1 Major Findings 24

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study 25

Bibliography

Acknowledgements