Ha! -would a madman have been so wise as this? And then, when my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously -oh, so cautiously -cautiously (for the hinges creaked) -I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly -very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it -oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded -with what caution -with what foresight -with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold and so by degrees - very gradually -I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture -a pale blue eye, with a film over it. It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily - how calmly I can tell you the whole story. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. Concerned primarily with convincing his listener of his level-headedness and sanity and the reasonableness of his actions, the story’s narrator circles around the main event, emphasizing not so much what happened but how it happened.TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses - not destroyed - not dulled them. While the reader is likely to be caught up in the horrific tale being revealed to him, the narrator’s focus seems to be very different, and the pace and structure of the narrative reflect that focus.
When the tale begins, the main action - that is, the murder and dismemberment of the old man - has already taken place. Narrator's Obsession Determines Narrative Structure The emotionally charged narrative hints to the reader that the narrator’s version of events may not be wholly reliable. From the very first paragraph, in fact, it is apparent that the voice in which the story is told is an unusual one, characterized by stops and starts, direct addresses to the reader, and an exaggerated and highly wrought style. The tale is told in the first person by the confessed murderer of an old man, and as the tale progresses, the reader quickly notices that all may not be as it seems with the narrator.
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