Tell-Tale Heart

Point of view:
The Tell-Tale Heart was written through the eyes of a first person narrator.

Style:

Imagery:
"His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. "
This is an imagery that helps the reader understand that the room was not only dark, but pitch black.

Metaphor:
"He had the eye of a vulture."
This metaphor describes to us that his eyes ressemble those of a vulture

Simile:
"So I opened it --you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye."

Personnification:
"All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim."
This is a personnification of death, it gives Death the form of a human being who is projecting a shadow.

Irony:
Although the narrator says that he loved the old man and that the old man had never wronged him, he still decides to kill him.


Vocabulary:
1. hearken: to give heed or attention to what is said; listen
2. healthily: pertaining to or characteristic of good health, or a sound and vigorous mind
3. foresight: care or provision for the future
4. dissimulation: the act of dissimulating; feigning; hypocrisy
5. latch: a device for holding a door, gate, or the like, closed, consisting basically of a bar falling or sliding into a catch, groove, hole, etc.
6. cunningly: skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving; craftiness; guile
7. fastening: something that fastens, as a lock or clasp
8. groan: a low, mournful sound uttered in pain or grief
9. merely: only as specified and nothing more; simply: merely a matter of form.
10. crevice: a crack forming an opening; cleft; rift; fissure

Learning Express Library (LEL)

Course 1: Grammar Skills 4: Adjectives, Adverbs, & Confusing Words:

1. Interest Level: I found this course very interesting, although it was not very difficult. It cleared up a long of things for me, especially the confusing words. And even though it was not too difficult, it was not at all boring.
   
   
2. Difficulty: I did not find this course very difficult; it was quite easy. The instructions and explanations were all very precise which made it much easier to do.
   
   
3. What I learned:
   I learned that in English, adjectives can be found by asking the questions: "which one?", "what kind?" and "how many?" As for the adverbs, the questions used in order to find them are: "where?", "when?", "how?" and, "to what extent?"
   
   I learned that there is a difference between altogether and all together.
   
   I also learned that modifiers describing nouns or pronouns have to be placed as closely as possible to the words they describe.
   
   
   
4. My Score: There was no score for this course. However it did show me that I had no mistakes for the first part, two for the second part and four for the third part. For every mistake I made, there was a correction, which made it easy to understand why the answer I chose was wrong.
   
   
5. Course Rating: I would give this course a 8.5/10. The instructions and the explanations were all very clear and precise. Although it was not very difficult, it was very instructive as well as very interesting.
   

Course 2: Grammar Skills for Writing 2: Fine-tuning punctuation :

1. Interest Level: I found this course very interesting because I learned a lot from it. Punctuation has always been one of my biggest diffulties in English (I have a tendency to write run-on sentences). It gave me a chance to see different ways of varying the punctuation in my sentences and hopefully I will remember everything that I have learned!
   
   
2. Difficulty: I did not find that the course itself was very difficult, mainly because I did the course after having reviewed punctuation in class with Mr. B. I know that I made a couple mistakes every now and again but I was able to realize it right after having made them. The instructions for the course were very clear and precise.
   
   
3. What I learned:
   I learned when to use hyphens to relate words (depending on whether it is a noun or an adjective).
   
   I learned when to use brackets in quotation marks (to show that we modified the original text).
   
   I also learned that the dash is used to emphasize on an explanation and it is also used to connect the beginning of the phrase to the rest of the sentence.
   
   
4. My Score: Once again, I did not get a score for this course. I know I made a couple mistakes in the text, although I understand why I made my mistakes.
   
   
5. Course Rating: I would give this course a 8/10. Personally, it helped me a lot since I have trouble with punctuation. It was very well explained and was not at all hard to understand. However, I would not recommend this course if punctuation is not your weakness; it may seem a little useless.
   

Course 3: Grammar Skills 3: Practice with Subjects, Verbs and Pronouns

1. Interest: I found this course very interesting. It helped me clarify certain things that I use at times but without really knowing it (or without knowing why). Even for the the material I already knew, I found the lessons very interesting and worth putting into practice.
   
   
2. Difficulty: The exercises in this lesson were not too difficult, however they were not as easy as the ones I had done previously. The instructions were very clear and the information was easy to understand, which made it easier for me to do the exercises without too much difficulty.
   
   
3. What I learned:
   I learned that we sometimes make up nouns from verbs, and that if we simply use the verb as it is (instead of the made up noun), it will help clarify our sentences.
   
   I learned that the words "there" and "it" are often unnecessary (especially at the beggining of a sentence).
   
   I also learned how to correctly write a verb when they are following a singular or plural pronoun.
   
   
4. Score: This course did not give me a score. It did, however, explain to me my mistakes when I made some.
   
   
5. Course Rating: I would give this course a 9/10. I thought it was very interesting and I learned things that will help me while writing texts in the future.
   

Course 4: Vocabulary and Spelling 2: Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes

1. Interest:I thought that this course was the most interesting of all the courses I have done on the Learning Express Library. The course helps understand the roots of different words and the different meanings of prefixes and suffixes and which words to use them on.
   
   
2. Difficulty: This course was not too difficult. However, without the explanations and definitions or certain words, I do not think I would have done as well as I did.
   
   
3. What I learned:
   I learned that adding a suffixe at the end of a word, can change the word's function (suffix: logy, meaning: study field of, words: biology, geology, etymology, cardiology)
   
   I learned that there are different types of prefixes (for example, there are negative ones: dis, un, non...)
   
   I also learned that the root of a word has a meaning and it is with the meaning that words are created. (root: aud, meaning: sound, words:auditorium, audible, audiologist, audiotape)
   
   
4. Score: 86/100.
   
   
5. Course Rating: I would give this course 9/10. It was very relevant and very well explained. I liked that it gave a lot of facts concerning the roots of certain words, although I know I will not be able to remember them all!
   

Wiki Quiz

1. What is the Learning Express Library (LEL)?
   Where you can do self-learning grammar exercises online through the site of the Grande Bibliotheque.
   
2. Where is Mr. B's office?
   C-150.
   
3. What percentage of the course is writing and speaking worth?
   Speaking is worth 50%, and writing is worth the other 50%.
   
4. How many items are on the "Writing Correction Code"?
   There are two: thesis statement and topic sentence.
   
5. What are Mr. B's office hours?
   They are on Mondays from 12:00 to 4:00, and on Thursdays from 4:00 to 5:00.
   
6. What is the 48 hour rule?
   If you miss an evaluation, you must reach the teacher by phone, e-mail or in person to let them know within the following 48 hours of the evaluation to be able to re-do it. If you do not do this, you will get a zero on the evaluation.
   
7. What is the first assignment?
   The first assignement was to write a composition about someone in the class after having interviewed them.
   
8. How many references are made to "thesis statement"?
   Seven references are made to "thesis statement".
   
9. How can I reach Mr. B through this Wiki?
   I can reach Mr. B through the discussions on this Wiki.
   
10. Do you have to go to the Grande Bibiliotheque to register?
    No, you have to go to the Grande Bibliotheque in order to do the formative work in writing and grammar.
    
11. How many short stories are we going to read?
    We will be reading seven short stories.
    
12. How many pages on the site refer to "grammar"?
    Six pages on the site refer to "grammar"
    
13. How many items are listed in the Student Agreement?
    There are ten items listed in the Student Agreement.
    
14. What are the summative writing assignments?
    Book Review, Mid-Term Test, LEL 1 (2 courses), LEL 2 (2 courses), and a final test.
    
15. Write down two questions you have about the course?
    1. I think you have mentioned this in the first class but I cannot remember... Which play would we be seeing at the Segal Theatre?
    I do not seem to think of another question, everything was very clear between the first class and the Wiki page!
    
    

Student Profile

Alex Nesbitt is an Irish French Canadian girl with a very adventurous spirit. As a new CEGEP student, some of her goals for this school year would be to put as much effort as she can in her work in order to achieve with great success, as well as to meet interesting new people with whom she can socialize with. Alex is a girl of many talents: she can draw and write, as well as cook very well (she attended a culinary school for a year in the past). She is a girl who loves music and art, as well as traveling.


As it happens, one of Alex’s biggest achievements was when she took the ambitious decision to go live in Wales for six months after she graduated from high school. She left on her own to go live there with several families she found on the internet. Now that Alex has traveled overseas, one of her goals for her future would be to go backpacking across Western Canada, somewhere a little closer to home. She would also love to travel, perhaps to Ireland or France (where she has family) or to Germany (where her best friends lives), as traveling is something she is very interested in. Finally, one of Alex’s long term goals would be to live abroad.