Poe and Hitchcock
Edgar Allen Poe and Alfred Hitchcock have insane characters in their stories. Some examples are Edgar Allen Poe's William Wilson in "William Wilson," and the narrator of the "Tell-Tale Heart"; and Alfred Hitchcock's Bruno in Strangers on a Train. These characters have similar foundations for their unstable sanity; however, each character had his own peculiar motives which led to this unsound state-of-mind. William Wilson appears what society deems "normal" in the beginning of the short story. He admits his faults in his "imaginative and easily excitable temperament" (pg. 66). He even begins his story by revealing remorse and shame for his past actions: "The fair page now lying before me need not be sullied with my real appellation," (pg. 66). These traits are those which characterize a "sane" mentality. The story goes on to describe the normal life of any boy away at school. Wilson gains the respect and admiration of others with his "ardor, enthusiasm and imperiousness" that are innate to popular and socially competent persons (pg. 70). However, when Wilson notices that there is one youth whom does not claim the admiration for Wilson as the others, Wilson becomes threatened. This Other person continually interferes with W
Wilson is not perceived as temporarily insane for a moment in rage, but as having a long-term illness. It is their reasons and motives that provoked the killings that define their insanity. Wilson is insane because he brought to life an aspect of himself and eradicated it. "As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knock at the street door. Wilson was unable to deal with this spilt personality everyone possesses; and the Other voice telling him to do what he did not want to drove him mad. At this point, Wilson may be called insane for the brief moment he lost his hold on reality and killed attempted to kill what he believed was another living being-but there is yet an untold aspect of the role of the Other in Wilson's life. His utter disregard for morality isolates him from society's definition of normal, and places him with the insane. However, the narrator is also insane because he mistakes his madness for genius. He and the narrator both believed that their murders were perfectly done because no one would ever suspect them since they had been accomplished with such precise brilliance. Ha! -would a madman have been so wise as this (pg. Bruno's insanity also reveals itself through his blatant disregard for others' opinions. Bruno has the whim and impatience of a child running about with the knowledge of an adult. Later, these unusual incidents that led to Wilson's mental breakdown are explained in the last line of the story: " In me didst thou exist-and in my death, see by this image, which is thy own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself," (pg.
Common topics in this essay:
Wilson Wilson,
Evil Eye,
William Wilson,
Bruno Guy,
Heart Bruno,
Strangers Train,
Tell-Tale Heart,
Alfred Hitchcock,
william wilson,
tell-tale heart,
wilson narrator,
man's heart,
narrator tell-tale,
narrator tell-tale heart,
heart beating,
Bruno Strangers,
Edgar Allen,
bruno strangers train,
pg 193,
strangers train,
bruno's insanity,
mad narrator,
man's heart beating,
william wilson narrator,
|
Acceptance Essays
