Blog Response #4 - Online Learning Session 2 (Fear Unit)
COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS - Watch the TEDEd Why is being scared so fun? and read Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Tell Tale Heart. Then, respond to the following prompts in a clear and concise blog comment.
Please post BOTH Part A and Part B in ONE POST.
Part A: The focus of this unit is on fear and how it can shape human’s behavior. After viewing the TEDEd and reading EAP’s short story, what conclusions can you draw as to why The Tell Tale Heart is so popular? What is it about the story that triggers the reader to experience FUN and enjoy reading it? Be sure to include text evidence from the story to support your conclusions.
Part B: Think about times that you have felt afraid and enjoyed it. Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? Why did you find this fearful experience enjoyable? Do you still feel the same way today?
Please post BOTH Part A and Part B in ONE POST.
Part A: The focus of this unit is on fear and how it can shape human’s behavior. After viewing the TEDEd and reading EAP’s short story, what conclusions can you draw as to why The Tell Tale Heart is so popular? What is it about the story that triggers the reader to experience FUN and enjoy reading it? Be sure to include text evidence from the story to support your conclusions.
Part B: Think about times that you have felt afraid and enjoyed it. Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? Why did you find this fearful experience enjoyable? Do you still feel the same way today?
REPLY INSTRUCTIONS - Read through the COMMENTS made by your classmates and choose a minimum of TWO to REPLY to.
- Be sure that each reply:
- Identifies a specific aspect of a comment that you are responding to.
- Do you agree or disagree?
- Can you relate to their thoughts?
- Why or why not?
- Provides additional insight... What are your own thoughts on the topic
- Incorporates EVIDENCE to support your opinion.
- This evidence can come from a text OR your own, personal experience.
- Be sure to include identifying information and quotes if taken from a text.
I think that reading this could be fun because it can be informative. Reading the short story helps people understand why the human body acts the way it does when it comes to fear and how each person helps themselves deal with the fear. “His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself — “It is nothing but the wind in the chimney — it is only a mouse crossing the floor,” or “it is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp.”
ReplyDeleteOne time I felt fear and enjoyed it was when I went on a roller coaster for the first time. The only reason I think I enjoyed it was because I saw my friends enjoying it as well. I do not feel the same today because I dislike the dizziness and sickness it brings after the experience.
I agree with you. Fear can be really informative. In order to understand what you fear, you need to understand fear in general and what makes people scared and do the things they do when they are scared. It was said on the first page, “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me an insult. For his gold I had no desire.”
DeleteI agree that it helps people understand why the human body acts the way it does when it comes to fear. Such as when it was said in the Ted Ed talk that "Our body releases chemicals that changes how our brain and body functions which makes our body and brains behave in ways we usually wouldn't if we weren't scared" (Kerr 47 sec). This proves why the narrator in the Tell Tale Heart acted the way he did after having the fear after he killed the old man.
DeleteI agree with you that with deeper thinking, the reading was informative. The reading was just a story, but with deeper thinking and looking beyond the story you can find the message that Edgar Allen Poe was trying to teach; “I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat and still chatted.The ringing became more distinct: — it continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness — until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears.”(pg 4) This quote helps the reading learn that fear can get the best of anyone. He was in the clear until he started hearing noises and confessed to his crime to get the awful noise to go away. Fear can make many people do many different things.
DeleteI agree with you that this story really shows the way people react to fear while trying to calm their nervous mind.
DeleteI agree with you that fear makes our bodies act different
DeleteI agree that fear can make us act different but it also depends on the situation.
DeleteI agree with you on how fear makes our bodies feel different and act different yet i do not believe fun fear and real fear are totally related. For example when you go on a roller coaster or in a haunted house you know its all fake fear. yet we would go into survival mode if the fear was real.
DeleteReading horror stories and novels are fun experiences. This is because they explore different ways of writing that explore how humans think and act. Horror stories like Edgar Allen Poe are also fun to read because they can make you feel as if you are apart of the story or that you can't trust the narrator. "You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. 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." Parts like this make it feel as if the narrator is talking directly to you.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can really think of would be going to a haunted house with my cousin. We never got truly scared but one jump scare got us pretty good. I remember liking the experience of getting scared.
I can agree with you that I have a hard time being scared at a haunted house. But to talk about how reading horror stories can be a fun ride I can agree because I sometimes feel like I'm in the story with the other characters.
DeleteI agree that the haunted house is a big one for the both of us, I would get scared then laugh it off 5 seconds later. Also I agree with the whole "immersion" factor of reading scary stories, or any good story as a matter of fact. You feel like you are part of the situation.
DeleteI agree with you. Horror movies and novels are very interesting and fun to read, they show suspense and detail and it keeps you on your toes to what’s coming next. Hence why people loved Edgars horror stories so much.
DeleteI never thought of how the story made you feel like you were apart of it but I can see how that would make it all the more fun to read. Also, I agree with how not trusting the narrator can add to someone enjoying the experience of reading the story.
DeleteI agree that hunted houses are enjoyable while you're being scared. You aren't in any real danger so you can have fun while being scared and not worry about getting hurt in the process
DeleteHaving the perspective of seeing yourself in the story was exactly what I had said when it comes to why people like reading scary stories. The “You should have seen me.” from the quote made me also think that the narrator was talking directly to me.
DeleteI agree that reading these explains to us how fear can effect our brains this and how our bodys act. For example in the Tell tale heart, the narrator started hearing the heartbeat of the old man which shows fear got in his head. "I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man’s heart." (Poe pg3).
DeleteI agree with you that reading horror stories and novels are very interesting to read. On top of that, doing scary things makes you feel alive and like you can do anything. I used to go see almost any scary movie that came out in the theater because I love the thrill of watching new, exciting, and scary movies on the big screen. Even if scary movies terrify me, with the right group of people, the movies are amazing.
DeleteI agree with you when you say you feel like the character in the story was talking directly to you. You feel like you're in suspense with them thinking what's going to happen next? Like when they said “But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless.”
DeleteI agree with you on liking the feeling of fear. when i get scared i feel the adrenaline rushing through my body and for some reason it boost my body and give me a weird crazy feeling.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the reason people got so excited about reading the story was because of the detail and how people imagine how the story takes place as if they were watching everything happen. “No doubt I now grew very pale; — but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased — and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound — much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath — and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly — more vehemently;6 but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations, but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone?” Paragraph 17 show the suspense the killer goes through as he hears his heartbeat creating that wonder if he will get caught or not
ReplyDeleteI feel that kind of fear when I'm at the tip of a roller coaster. I’ll use my most recent experience with roller coasters, Six flags. I start to get scared when I’m just about to start tipping down into an almost straight down track. I'm scared at first but by the end, I’m laughing. I was with my boyfriend at the time so I wasn’t as scared as if I were to go by myself. Most were enjoyable except when I went on Vertical Velocity, as long as I live I will never go on that again. I do like roller coasters, it’s certain ones where i can feel like I can fall, those ones i’m scared for my life
I disagree with you, people don't read it to know the detail, they read it because they want to know more about the book and they cant stop reading it because they are so invested in finding out if the character survives or not.
DeleteI agree with your idea of the story being very detailed at that making it more exciting to read. I had not even thought about this, but looking back on it it is very true. I also really enjoyed the quote you used, it explained your point perfectly. I also had the same experience with roller coasters. I enjoy roller coasters and always find it much more scary near the top but usually end up laughing the whole way down.
DeleteI do agree that the detail of a story may play a large role in what makes it more exciting, however; I believe there is still a lot more to it than just the detail. “If you still think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” It’s informative and very mysterious as well.
DeleteWhile I read The Tell Tale Heart I pictured it in my head as if it were a movie, so I agree that a story can be a lot more interesting if you imagine watching it happen. However, I had been thinking more along the lines of how the story made the reader feel. To create a great story, there must be a mix of both an emotional reaction the story produces as well as the visuals making it seem more realistic.
DeleteI believe that The Tell Tale Heart is so fun to read because it’s suspenseful. The beginning of it seems brief, people are unsure what is happening and why there is so much fear. As the story goes on, the readers become more engrossed in the suspense that continues to build. Much of the beginning of the story is just waiting, and watching. An example of this states, “I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening.” Both characters remain silent and still. This makes the reader excited to continue reading, to see what happens next. Readers like being left on the edge of their seat to find out what is going to happen next, and this story pulls the readers through that.
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I went on a roller coaster that went upside down. I was very scared of doing so, but also very excited. I was at Six Flags in Illinois for a school trip, in 7th grade. I was with my choir class, but a specific group of students, I don’t quite remember who though. I did thoroughly enjoy it, and I would do it again, and have. Roller Coasters were always something that scared me, especially the ones that go upside down. But once I finally took a step and tried it, I actually enjoyed it.
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DeleteI agree with the story being suspenseful when I read the story back when I was in seventh grade. I remember when I read the story back then some of the kids got a bit crazy because of the suspense and fear that they had because of the man with the "vulture eye" and the narrator. Also to comment about your story of roller coasters I can agree with you being scared of going on them when I went to Six Flags in Massachusetts. I still don't like them but am willing to ride them.
DeleteI agree with the idea that the story is very suspenseful. I had also noticed that it was very subtle at first and then gradually got to the point where they had sat there for an hour just not making a sound. The way the story was written had me on edge to see what was going to happen next as well.
DeleteI agree with the story being suspenseful. I think that the guy was very unpredictable which made the story a lot more interesting to read.
DeleteI agree about it being suspenseful, But you didn't know what the guys next move was so it made it more interesting.
DeletePart A: People like scary things and like suspense because they won’t know what is going to happen when they read/watch their favorite characters get scared by something so grotesque and horrid that it scares the viewer/reader. For example the Ted-Ed speaker explains emotions are contagious. If we see someone laugh or scream it’ll eventually cause us to copy their emotions but it happens rapidly. This is why Edgar Allen Poe’s works became famous after his death. They contain material that makes people filled with fear. Once they finish the horror story that they were reading they feel accomplished that they survived the experience. (Even though, they were not in any real danger.)
ReplyDeletePart B: One time I was feeling afraid and I enjoyed it was when I watched the original 1990’s Steven King’s It. I was watching the movie by myself and it was around midnight when I watched the first part. I genuinely got freaked out when the character Georgie gets murdered by the demon disguised as a friendly clown named Pennywise. I found this enjoyable because I know it wasn’t real and found it funny because a kid really thought it was funny that a kid “befriended” a clown that’s in the sewers. I don’t find the movie scary anymore because of how horribly aged it is. (No pun intended.)
*Stephen King*
DeleteI agree with you, people copy other peoples emotions because it is contagious. People read horror books and watch horror movies because of the fact that they want to get scared and keep watching because it is entertaining to them.
DeleteI agree with the whole "clueless" factor of fear, not knowing what will happen will add suspense and more a more scary factor to being there. Especially when watching a horror movie, in the dark, by yourself.
DeleteI agree with you that everyone watches movies or reads scary stuff just to get scared or when people go to haunted houses more than once is because they like getting scared.
DeleteThe “Tell Tale Heart” is a story that creates tension and suspense because you don't know what's going to come next makes you want to read more. In the beginning of the story, he says he is going to kill someone, “One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture — a pale blue eye, with a film over it. 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.” (2nd paragraph). The narrator uses sound descriptive words to make the reader more worried. “But the beating grew louder and louder, I thought his heart might burst” (3rd paragraph).
ReplyDeleteThe time I was afraid but enjoyed it was when I was at my friends house playing a scary vr game. I realized that I was not in the actual game and that I was safe in the real world. If I knew that I was in the actual game I would have been more cared but I knew that it was just a game.
I agree with your first statement that the story creates suspense. I had the same thoughts in my blog post. When you read something suspenseful it makes people want to continue reading, t o see what is going to happen next. This creates excitement within fear. I haven’t had quite the same experience with scary VR games, but I can kind of relate while watching scary movies late at night. I usually feel very wrapped up in them, especially when it’s late and dark. And it feels like it is very real even when I know that it isn’t.
DeleteI disagree with you. I think not only the suspense is important but the suspense comes from imagining what might happen and hoping he makes it out alive. So both are important but you need to imagine before you gain suspense for the scene
DeleteI agree that the story creates tension and suspense since he uses descriptive words and he drags things out to put you on your seat waiting for what he will do next. I think it's interesting that you mentioned how he describes sounds in a way that would make the reader more worried because it makes sense since that does make a story more enjoyable,
DeleteI agree that The Tell Tale Heart creates suspension and tension because for a couple of paragraphs it only talks about how both of them are in the pitch black room staying perfectly still just looking at each other and it makes you wonder when something will happen.
DeleteI agree that the suspense of what to come is why the story is still popular. To further expand on this thought Karen Thompson Walker from the Tedtalk video explains that fear is like unintended storytelling. She says that stories and fears have the same parts, such as a beginning, middle, and end. She specifically states, “Fears also have suspense. If I've done my job as a storyteller today, you should be wondering what happened to the men of the whaleship Essex. Our fears provoke in us a very similar form of suspense. Just like all great stories, our fears focus our attention on a question that is as important in life as it is in literature: What will happen next? In other words, our fears make us think about the future.” Thus further showing how the nature of suspense captures the reader’s attention making them want to continue reading.
DeleteI think that the reason it can be so “exciting” to read this is because it informs people on how the human body goes into “fight or flight” response and how adrenaline takes part in how the body reacts to fear. Also, when the narrator started talking like he was talking to you (the reader) it adds a eerie and chilling kind of effect to reading the story.
ReplyDeleteI felt fear when I went through a few haunted houses, I was with my friend and it started getting terrifying when we split up while in it. But I found it exciting and nerve racking to be “alone” in the haunted house. I would definitely do it again if I could.
I agree i have always found it interesting as to how the body triggers something you didn't know was there until it happens even though for some of us it happens later then other
DeleteI agree as well because it is interesting on how the body does trigger the "fight or flight". Even though for some people they still don't know on how "fight or flight" happens.
DeleteI agree, as a reader I got a chilly feeling reading this story. However the feeling made me want to keep reading more as the story grew more suspenseful.
Delete“The Tell Tale Heart” is really popular due to the fact that it makes you wonder. It makes you excited to find out what's going to happen next. It keeps you on the edge of your seat anticipating how it's going to end. One part that had me at the edge of my seat was this, “I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out — ‘Who’s there?’ I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; — just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.” This made me nervous that he was going to get caught if he moved. It felt like I was there with him like I was going to be caught alongside him, which is what makes the story so fun. You feel like you’re there as well.
ReplyDeleteI get scared easily. I’m really jumpy and I remember this one time I was in the bathroom upstairs brushing my teeth. When I was done I swung open the door at the same time my mom rounded the corner by the steps. She let out a small gasp, while I, being the more jumpy one, Jumped a good two feet in the air letting out a frightened scream. In the end we scared each other and laughed it off.
I agree that the story keeps you on the edge of your seat because it was intriguing and suspenseful as you read more of the story. Dragging the reader into finding out what is going to happen next.
DeleteI agree that it is popular because it makes you wonder and wait in anticipation for what’s to come next. For example, Karen Thompson Walker from the TedTalk video expanded on that thought and explained that Vladimir Nabokov said that the best reader’s have a mixture of different mentalities such as artistic and scientific. This variation acts to change and obscure the terrifying scenarios that our fear and minds come up with. She specifically talks about these men stranded in the ocean and states, “The problem was that they listened to the wrong story. Of all the narratives their fears wrote, they responded only to the most lurid, the most vivid, the one that was easiest for their imaginations to picture: cannibals.” Thus showing how our fear can lead our wandering minds to come up with the most bizarre scenarios, which in turn makes the story more intriguing to us.
DeleteI agree with Johannah with part A because I have read some books that are mystery. The author puts you into that roller coaster and you buckle yourself in and your going on a ride that will make you wonder what will happen next. Then you start make these theories on what will happen next within the book. I also, have another connection to the short story “The tell Tale Heart” with the show called Riverdale because It’s like that roller coaster where it puts you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next within the episodes.
DeleteI believe The Tell Tale Heart is so popular because it is intriguing and the reader goes on wondering what will happen next due to the character’s thoughts on fear and what it will lead them to do. The story shows how fear may make someone act a certain way. It also shows a person’s thoughts and feelings while in a nerve racking situation. “No doubt I now grew very pale; — but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased — and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound — much such a sound as a
ReplyDeletewatch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath — and yet the officers heard it not” (4). For example, this quote pulls a person’s interest in as the intensity of the story increases and they’ll wonder how it’ll unfold.
The times I feel afraid and enjoy it is when I’m watching horror movies and I typically watch them at night for a more scary feeling. I find this experience enjoyable because the stories are usually interesting and when you watch horror movies with other people, you can laugh with each other when someone gets scared. I still really enjoy watching horror movies.
I agree on the conclusion of the case The Tell Tale Heart popularity because it is intriguing to the reader. As myself felt intrigued on what is the next move for our “madman” and can lead to the case of the reader assuming what our characters next move is due to the emotion and like quotes “character’s thought on fear and what it will lead them to do.”
Delete“The Tell-tale Heart” is about the thrill of exploring through the thoughts of a man driven mad from an illness that allowed his hearing sense to be sharpened which allowed him to hear things from all around him. Driven into fear from the eyes of an old man, he decided to take the old man’s life. As the reader goes through the tale of the man, they could feel the anxiety and nervousness of the man as he proceeds in a deed that will change his life. A piece of text to show this is, “I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out — “Who’s there?” I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down” (Page 2, Allan Poe). This scene was nerve-wracking because he could’ve been caught.
ReplyDeleteThe one time I was about 11 years old, I went to a haunted house with my family at an amusement park. I was scared that I clung onto one of my family members, and most of the time I closed my eyes. In the end, I was satisfied with the haunted house experience being over. I was glad that was over as I never wanted to go back into another haunted house ever again.
I agree that the statement of the reader is “exploring through the thoughts of a man driven mad from an illness.” As it’s conclusion did end up with the murder of the old man as stated “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night” fearing the reader could only happen to convulse that he indeed murder the old man.
Delete
ReplyDeleteWith the idea that any reader is safe and often applies themselves to the story when reading needs to be kept in mind when trying to understand why it was so popular. The narrator in the story starts off with giving the reader the information that a murder is to take place. Any person would find this interesting and would want to understand as to why it happened. Although, I think the most agonizing part of the story is the idea of having someone creep their head and a lantern into your room to undo the lantern just enough to shine a crack of light over your eye, “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.”( Paragraph 3) While reading I found this very intense. Thinking to myself what if the man wakes up during one of these lantern creaking moments.
The first time I went to a haunted house was definitely the scariest experience I've had and still had fun. I was a freshman in highschool and went with my twin brother and a friend Caleb S. Because it was my first time, I was very frightened. It was enjoyable because I knew I was safe while still getting extremely scared. Looking back on it now, I could not be scared going into a haunted house again. If I were to go to a haunted house today, i might still jump from a few scares, but I wouldn’t be able to get that “high” from it again.
I think people like to read The Tell Tale Heart because it offers all of the symptoms of fear without actually being in danger and in the TEDEd video on fear it said that people “Can enjoy the high of being scared while being safe still”. Reading The Tell Tale Heart makes people feel the fear, but they’re still safe so they enjoy it
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember when or where I have felt afraid and enjoyed it. I usually feel afraid because there’s a good reason to be afraid and when there isn’t, I’m not afraid. Scary movies or roller coasters don’t get me to feel afraid.
I agree that people need to feel fear every once in a while so after they get done they have that feeling of wow i did it and survived
DeleteThe conclusions I can draw out as to why The Tell Tale Heart is so popular is because there is a very big twist at the end of the story that really grabs the readers attention. That also is the trigger for the reader that makes it so fun and exciting. It explains the behavior of fear and how it can impact what you do and how you see things. Such as how in the beginning the narrator felt no fear planning to kill the old man but then he starts hearing the heart beat of the man he killed. As a end result, he turned himself in out of guilt which is to show how fear impacts your brain and your behavior. “Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!”(Allen 15).
ReplyDeleteA time I felt afraid and enjoyed it was the time when I was at a haunted house. I was doing a buried alive coffin simulation in one of the houses where it felt like you were getting buried alive, you were locked in as the procedure went on. I was with a close group of friends during this time. I found this experiment enjoyable because it was a scary experience but I knew it was fake and I would be okay. I'm not sure if I would feel the same way today because as I have gotten older, I feel more claustrophobic.
I agree with the idea of the story explaining the behavior of fear. I feel like the narrator felt very confident in himself when he tried to kill the older man but as he got closer to actually killing him, he started second guessing himself and fearing for the worse
DeleteI remember being there and doing the buried alive simulation with you! I was quite scared because I had no clue just how realistic it would feel. Although I knew it was fake, I was still scared of the unknown which triggered my bodies fight or flight response, and “when we make it through to the end we feel a sense of accomplishment” (Kerr). This is why I enjoyed the experience so much.
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ReplyDeleteThe reason people feel like having fun while reading his books or going threw a haunted maze is because of the chemicals in the brain as stated in the ted video. Edger gives his readers the fear feeling threw the suspence but also threw the horror that came before then. “But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded — with what caution — with what foresight — with what dissimulation1 I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” In this sentence it shows the horror because he mentions he killed someone but he built up to it by talking about how people thought he was mad.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest feer that I feel i've had go threw me was when i went on a roller coster that hits 70 or 80 mph for the first time with my sister in mount olympus at wisconsin dells. I was mainly scared because of the drop but after I felt great because I felt like I conquered one of my fears.
The Tell Tale Heart is so popular because it causes the reader to experience fun through the exhilarating excitement of fear presented in the story. Leaving the reader on the edge of their seat wondering what is going to happen next, fear can be thrilling or cause consternation in people: “they were making a mockery of my horror! … anything was better than this agony!” (Poe 4). One time that I remember being afraid and enjoying it is when I went to Bay Beach with my boyfriend and a couple friends and we rode the Zippin Pippin roller coaster. After watching “Why Is Being Scared So Fun?” by Dr. Margee Kerr, I believe I found this fearful experience fun because of a high arousal response triggering the “natural high” of being scared which can be enjoyed when it happens in a safe place. As well as this, Kerr explains, “Doing things that we’re afraid of can give us a nice boost of self esteem … when we make it through to the end we feel a sense of accomplishment”. Because I feel a sense of victory and relief when the ride is over, I still enjoy the courageous thrill of roller coasters to this day.
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ReplyDeleteThe Tell Tale Heart is popular because it contains many hooks that drive the reader to continue reading. For example Edgar Allen Poe states, “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this!” This quote makes the reader want to continue reading because it creates suspense. From the beginning we learn the narrator has a disease and he acts different compared to “normal” people. He likes to watch the old man sleep every night and to reader’s this seems strange, but also shows that the narrator’s fear is driving him to act out these bizarre actions. Furthermore, the story also has reader’s at the edge of their seats because they want to find out what the narrator is going to do next and explains why the story is still read today.
ReplyDeleteA few times I have felt afraid but enjoyed it were at the fair. For instance, the ferris wheel is super scary but fun to me. I don’t necessarily enjoy heights but the adrenaline rush I get from being so far off the ground pumps me up. Usually afterwards I feel like I can do anything and I continue to go on rides like roller coasters.
The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is so popular because of the sense of mystery behind the whole story. The reader is getting brought into a story that only has one motive and doesn’t end in the way you think it would. The reason he wanted the old man dead was not because he didn’t like the old man, but because the eye the old man had was like a vulture’s eye. The eye scared the narrator so he set out a plan to murder the old man. On the eighth night of watching the old man sleep, his plan finally succeeded. The fun and exciting part is getting to read about how the narrator got rid of the body with no evidence left behind. How he was so confident that he let the police sit in the room where the body was hidden, but his quilt and sanity got in the way of getting away with the murder, “They heard! — they suspected! — they knew! — they were making a mockery of my horror! — this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! — and now — again! — hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! —
ReplyDelete“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!”(pg 4) In the end, the narrator felt so guilty for killing the old man that he confessed to the police where the body was. The noise he heard was his guilt reminding him of what he did to the innocent old man. The fear of guilt he felt caused the narrator's behavior to skyrocket and confess his crime.
A time where I have felt fear and enjoyed it is everytime I go on a roller coaster. I love going on roller coasters, but the thought of riding them is scary. When I went to Mount Olympus with my friend one summer, we went on every single roller coaster there except Hades 360. Not only was the ride super long, but the coaster goes super high and then underground and neither of us could ever endure something like that. The waiting in line, anticipating what the roller coaster is going to be like is the scary part, but once I am on the coaster, I am having the time of my life.
The Tell Tale Heart is a fun short story to read because horror and mystery stories are very suspenseful and you never know what's about to happen next. A lot of the story you're waiting for questions to be answered as they build up the suspense. For example as she was waiting in the door frame for an hour I was thinking will she get caught? Will he stop her? Why is she trying to kill him? “I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out — ‘Who’s there?’ I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; — just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall.” During these stories we feel many emotions such as nervousness or excitement.
ReplyDeleteA time I was scared but enjoyed it was at a haunted house. As the masked person jumped out of nowhere catching me off guard I was scared but also excited.
I think reading this will be interesting because we can learn how our bodies act when we have fear.
ReplyDeleteI felt fear and enjoyed it when I went to a haunted house with my friends. I was scared because i didn't know what to expect but i was enjoying it because i was with my friends and i wasn't by myself experiencing.
I think The Tell Tale Heart could be considered “fun” for some people to read because your put in the narrators head. He is very excited and sure of himself. “Oh you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust in.” It Gives the reader a sense of boldness but yet fear he might get caught.
ReplyDeleteI was scared to death to ride a roller coaster. Scared it might go off the rail and I would die. After going on I loved it! It wasn't so much fear as adrenaline, And looking at my cousins laughing made me like them more because I was the only one that was scared and had the fear instead of adrenaline.
I believe in the case of EAP The Tell Tale Heart popularity with the small snippet we get from the book, the reader is in the eyes of a murderer or “madman” the other characters seem to call our protagonist. He provides an antediluvian description of this scene from what our character is thinking of the old man’s evil eye to the point of how his attempts of overseeing the man’s sleep. It triggers the feeling of experiencing a feeling of fear but this fear is not to be correlation to an fear of an unsettling object but an experience of the same fear our character is receiving from the old man’s “evil eye.” Our character is afraid of the eye as stated “For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture — a pale blue eye, with a film over it. 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 for ever.” Edgar wants the reader to have to seem fear that the character is receiving in this case to rid himself from the vulture's eye.
ReplyDeleteOf an time that I had felt fear and enjoyed it was me and a group of friends decided to ring the cities bell outside their town hall, this bell was in the palace in the middle of downtown although it was late and night and the street laid bare with no notion of any lawful enforcers in sight. We clanked the bell as soon we heard the chime all four of us sprinted from the area in the general direction, I had no notion of what my friends were feeling during the mile track but I had a feeling of fear of being caught yet a feeling of excitement of doing something that shouldn't be done. Do I have the same feeling as I had on the day? No, but I still have that memory of us laughing overjoyed the thought of feeling like we could do anything we placed our minds to.
PART A:The “Tell Tale Heart” story creates tension and builds questions in its readers. An example that supports this is found in the beginning when he states “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man”.meaning the reader knows that someone will die yet builds question in the reader's mind because they don't know why someone is going to die nor how someone will die which reels the reader into the story. I believe the “Tell Tale Heart” is so popular because of the way it is presented with different types of dialogue for example at the beginning of the story they make the reader feel as if they had just walked into a conversation which builds confusion and confusion build questions which makes the reader more intrigued in the reading. Another reason the story is so attention grabbing is due to the different word choices the author uses for example when they explain sound they used repetition for “louder, louder,louder” with a small pause in between each word hooking the reader Evan more.
ReplyDeletePART B: I feel that my type of fear is different from others. For example when I go to haunted houses I never go alone, not due to the fact that i'm scared but because i'm not frightened and do not find entertainment by myself so I bring friends along and laugh at their screams. Same goes for when i'm on a roller coaster i don't ride roller coasters for the fear if not the feeling for example in the video it mention a sense of feeling when your going down hill which I also have that feeling when i right a roller coaster or the raising my hand and laughing then screaming and doing it all over again which this all gets my adrenaline going witch for some reason feels good. Then again I do believe this is all fun because at the end of the day I know its all fake now if it were to be real danger I’d act and feel different.
To be honest I do not really know. I have never been afraid and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThe TedEd video and The Tell Tale Heart is so popular because the suspense of fear. “...but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye.” (paragraph 3) “I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! — and now — again! — hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! —
ReplyDelete“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!”” (paragraph 17-18)
The time I was afraid had to be when I went to the burial chambers. It was going to a haunted house and people scare you. I was with my sister Zoey and another friend at the time. I find this kind of fearful experience enjoyable because to me at the time I haven’t went to a haunted house like that in my life, but after we got out of the house we laughed on how scared we were even though the people were wearing customs. Every time my sister and me go back we always end up laughing again and again, I do feel the same way today because I am still not used to getting scared like that.
In the TEDed we learn that the only real difference between fear and fun is the context that which our brain perceives “The difference lies in context. If we’re in real danger, we’re focused on survival not fun. But when we trigger this high arousal response in a safe place, we can switch over to enjoying this natural high of being scared”(1:25). With that being said, Edgar Allen Poe’s story puts the reader on edge, and gives the reader a sense of fear with his detail and description “I think it was his eye! Yes, t was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture — a pale blue eye, with a film over it. (Poe.1)” As a reader you can feel the fear of the man as if you are watching a horror movie.
ReplyDeleteOne of many times I found fear enjoyable was at a carnival. I was on a ride with my sister called the zipper where you are placed in a steel cage that spins right after being rotated about 30 feet in the air. The first time on this ride I was sure I was going to die, but after so many times on it, I no longer even ride it because it’s not fun anymore.