The Tell-Tale Heart Analysis

     The Tell-Tale Heart is a classic Poe story, but it is short so it leaves a lot of details unexplained. Throughout the story the narrator tries to prove that he's not a madman by explaining how he murdered an old man. That in itself should prove that this man is not mentally stable. We don't find out for sure if the narrator is a man or a woman, but there is one clue that makes me think it's a man. When the police come and don't find anything they sit and talk casually with the narrator. During this time period (1830s or 40s) I don't think they would stay to talk and joke with a woman. The story might be the narrator's confession or statement to a court. Maybe they're trying to put him in a mental institution.
     Then there is the problem of the source of the beating heart. One good guess-at least as to part of it- is that there was an infestation of death-watch beetles at this time. These beetles burrow in walls or woodwork and make a noise that sounds like the ticking of a watch and was "supposed to predict the death of some one of the family in the house in which it is heard." The narrator would have been able to hear the sound clearly because he said that he had very acute hearing. So it's possible that when he admitted to the murder at the end because he thought he heard the man's heart, it was actually the death-watch. The beetle could have even been in the floor, or maybe it was attracted to the body, so the sound would have come from that direction. This, mixed with the narrator's guilt, could have caused him to believe it was the sound of the heart. 

Short Story Draft

     When Hopie woke up, the room was pitch black. She sat there for a minute, unsure of what to do. Then she felt around for the door, reached her hand out of her cage, and undid the latch. It was only around 2 in the morning at this time, on a warm night in early August. Of course, Hopie didn't know any of this. All she knew was that it was hot and boring inside the little apartment. She scampered over to the unlocked window and pushed it open, searching the clear night. She leaped off the windowsill and climbed down the thick vines on the side of the building. Walking on her knuckles and feet, Hopie made her way down the alley behind the building, as the streetlamps cast their yellow light down on her. She then crossed a virtually deserted Montrose Avenue and continued to a dark side street, looking for something tasty to eat. 
     Back in the apartment, Nick Potetti woke up to a strong breeze on his face. He noticed the open window, then saw the empty cage in the corner. His other rhesus monkey, named Marley, was still safely sleeping in her own cage. Nick was not very worried, though. He knew Hopie had gotten out before and found her way safely back home. He even let her sit out on the railing of the deck, despite complaints from neighbors. Nick was a well-meaning man, but he generally didn't think things through. He left the window open and went back to bed, believing Hopie would find her way back soon. He wasn't completely careless though, because he would never let anything happen to his monkeys. They were like his children.
     A few hours later, at around 8 a.m., Police Lt. Roger Bay received a complaint about a monkey wandering around in a backyard near Berteau and Lincoln. Lt. Bay hated these kinds of calls. First of all, he couldn't stand pets. To him they were just an annoyance. He also thought he had much more important things to do than catch a monkey. And he probably did.
     As Hopie continued wandering around Ravenswood she took in all the strange new sights, sounds, and smells. She loved the sunny morning, which was getting warm, but not too hot yet. Birds and squirrels were all over, and there were plenty of ants to pick off the trees to eat. By this time, Hopie was in the middle of Welles Park. She looked around and realized she was in huge expanse of grass. She had never seen such a big open area before and it scared her a little. She began to think of home and headed off in that direction.
     By now, though she didn't know it, this little "escaped" monkey had created a lot of confusion and excitement. Lt. Bay had had to call in Animal Control to aid him in his search, and there was a full scale team with nets and tranquilizers. It was almost like they were on the hunt for Al Capone. On Hopie's Winchester block, there was a flurry of activity. Reporters and cameramen from networks like ABC or the Chicago Tribune interviewed Mr. Potetti and neighbors. Kids from the block ran back and forth behind the cameras, trying to get whatever moment of TV time they could. When Hopie arrived to this scene she was frightened again, and tried to stay away from the commotion. To do this, she climbed up onto the houses, jumping from roof to roof and sometimes peeking into windows along the way. She decided it wasn't a good time to go home yet, and sneaked away along Sunnyside Ave. She attracted a lot of attention by that little feat, but the search team wasn't close enough to get there before she headed off again.
     The search team soon arrived on the block and people directed them east, in the direction Hopie ran off to. It was already early afternoon by this time, so Hopie was getting tired and starting to slow down. Finally, the team spotted her in an alley near Sunnyside and Clark. Within seconds, Hopie was surrounded and, understanably, very scared. One of the Animal Control officers reached out with her net and snatched up the little monkey, getting bitten in the process. No harm was done, and soon Hopie was back in the arms of her owner Nick. The three of them lived happily ever after.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Snow (Hey Oh) Lyrics

Come to decide that the things that I tried
Were in my life just to get high on
When I sit alone come get a little known
But I need more than myself this time

Step from the road to the sea to the sky
And I do believe it, we rely on
When I lay it on come get to play it on
All my life to sacrifice

Refrain:
Hey oh, listen what I say, oh
I got your hey oh, now listen what I say, oh

When will I know that I really can't go
To the well once more time to decide on
When it's killing me, when will I really see
All that I need to look inside

Come to believe that I better not leave
Before I get my chance to ride
When it's killing me, what do I really need
All that I need to look inside

Refrain:
Hey oh, listen what I say, oh
Come back and hey oh, look at what I say, oh

Stick:
The more I see, the less I know
The more I like to let it go
Hey oh, whoa

Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow
Privately divided by a world so undecided
And there's nowhere to go

In between the cover of another perfect wonder
And it's so white as snow
Running to the field where all my tracks will be concealed
And there's nowhere to go

When to descend to amend for a friend
All the channels that have broken down
Now you bring it up, I'm gonna ring it up
Just to hear you sing it out

Step from the road to the sea to the sky
And I do believe what we rely on
When I lay it on, come get to play it on
All my life to sacrifice

Refrain:
Hey oh, listen what I say, oh
I got your hey oh, listen what I say, oh

Stick:
The more I see, the less I know
The more I like to let it go
Hey oh, whoa

Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow
Privately divided by a world so undecided
And there's nowhere to go

In between the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow
Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed
And there's nowhere to go

I said hey, hey yeah, oh yeah, tell my Love now
Hey, hey yeah, oh yeah, tell my Love now
Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow

Privately divided by a world so undecided
And there's nowhere to go
Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder
Where it's so white as snow

Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed
And there's nowhere to go
I said hey, oh yeah, oh yeah, tell my love now
Hey, hey yeah, oh yeah

      This song is about starting over, getting a fresh take on life. Snow is white and clean, and can represent purity. Some of the themes I noticed in the lyrics were isolation and confusion. Isolation is shown in lines like "when I sit alone," "deep beneath the cover", "privately divided", and "tracks will be concealed." Confusion is found in lines like "The more I see, the less I know The more I like to let it go," "a world so undecided," and "there's nowhere to go." Putting this all together, I think that the speaker wants to start over, but doesn't have the help he needs and/or doesn't know how to do it. 

"When to descend to amend for a friend
All the channels that have broken down
Now you bring it up, I'm gonna ring it up
Just to hear you sing it out"

These lines are asking, "When do you decide to help a friend?", with the channels meant to be parts of his life. Then it's saying, "Now that you mention it, I'll take the help, just to see you try to do it." It seems like he wants help but has trouble accepting it. It's hard to tell exactly why he wants to start over or what he wants to change, so you might need to know more about the author personally to figure that out.

Life on the Reservation

     Today, Native Americans are stereotyped as being drunks and lazy; but alcoholism is actually a big problem on reservations throughout the country, as is depression and poverty. But this really isn't their fault. Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans had rich cultures and unique ways of life, living in harmony with nature and the land. Then they suffered a blow that they still haven't recovered from. Around 90% of the native population died of European diseases because they had no immunity to them. Settlers also used force to take over the land, which resulted in more deaths. As Native Americans were pushed farther and farther from the land they had lived on for generations, many ended up in areas completely foreign to them or were brought there by force. With much smaller populations, new land, and living in an industrial European society, they couldn't carry on their old ways of life. So it would seem good that they were given there own land where they could do what they want, right? Not really. Most of them still had no good way to make a living. The land of the reservations was usually unwanted by anyone else; it wasn't good for farming, or for much else. So it's understandable that Native Americans have so many problems today. Hopefully over time their communities will grow stronger and they'll be able to lead better lives.

Propaganda All Around

    Most people don't realize that propaganda is all around us. It might not be in the classic form of Uncle Sam, but it's there. If you turn on the tv, use the web, or maybe even just walk down the street, you'll probably see it. The most common form of propaganda today would be advertisements. They promise you something that will make you happier, cooler, skinnier, or they just bend the truth to make something look better than it is. Maybe they give you the idea that you NEED something, for example a new cell phone or a laptop. Verizon has the slogan "new every two"- a new phone every two years. This is extremely wasteful and unnecessary, but people are made to believe that they need the newest, best technology, even if its almost the same as what they're replacing.

    The media is another big source of propaganda, because they're the only ones that control what they report. Stations like Fox News use bias or even create rumors to promote their conservative views. But the rest of the media can be just as bad. The Iraq war has been said to be under-reported and facts are changed or left out to make a positive image of the U.S.  All this propaganda is wrong, especially in a country like the U.S. where the people deserve to know what is really happening.

Black Boy

     Richard Wright grew up in the South, mostly in Mississippi, during the teens and twenties. Richard had a rough life from the very beginning, dealing with poverty, his father leaving the family, constant moving, and his mother's paralysis. Richard always had a curious mind and asked a lot of questions- sometimes too many. He was often beaten by his family whenever he spoke up. He often asked about whites and blacks, but never really got any answers. He had to learn about this through stories and experiences, which left him unready to work for whites under the Jim Crow laws. He never wanted to cooperate with the goal of the white south, which was basically to make African-Americans believe what the whites said to them - that they were inferior, they would never amount to anything. Most people he knew had already succumbed to that. When Richard told his friends he wanted to be a writer they couldn't understand it. To them, that just wasn't something African-Americans did.
     Richard could never go along with the expectations of the whites and because of that he couldn't hold a job. He would make one wrong comment, use the wrong tone, make the wrong face, and he'd be back on the street looking for a new job. Richard's ideas of breaking free from the mold whites put blacks in would be similar to the ones driving the Civil Rights Movement, that eventually did just that.

Hungry for Attention

     In Black Boy, Richard Wright seems to be always hungry- for food and for attention. In just the first chapter he has done a lot of things that seem outrageous, like setting his house on fire, killing a kitten, going into the saloon and doing whatever he's told to do, and runnung away from an orphanage. Wright gave explanations for all these things, and they are probably true, but part of his motivation was also probably to get attention. His parents, especially his dad, often seemed to ignore him. His dad worked at night so he slept during the day, and eventually he left the family.  When he asked his mom things, like about reading or race, she didn't answer or gave vague answers. He had to learn to count from a coal delivery man.

     Richard isn't alone in his craving for attention. A lot of people want to be noticed and don't care what they have to do to get it. There are a lot of people who are shyer too, and even if they don't do things like this they can still want some attention. At the very least, nobody wants to be ignored. I think this is natural for all people, especially for a young kid like Richard who didn't get enough attention from his parents.