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Exposition/Introduction
This is the opening of the story which introduces us to the narrator and the elderly man he cares for. The narrator begins to describe how crazy the old man is driving him with the "eye of a vulture" (Poe). -
Rising Action
The rising action is the part where things begin to escalate in the plot. The narrator decides to kill the old man to rid himself of having to look into that filmy blue eye and "rid myself of the eye forever" (Poe). -
Climax
The pinnacle of all action in the story, the moment that the biggest event occurs. This is the moment that the narrator acts upon his musings and kills the old man and dismembers him to hide the body under the floor boards. -
Falling Action
The result of the climax, beginning of the end of the story. This is the moment in the story when the police officers arrive after being called about a scream, the narrator lets them in and allows them to walk and search the premises to find nothing. -
Resolution/The End
The conclusion/closing of the story. In the resolution of the story, the narrator begins to panic because he can hear the beating heart of the old man under the floor boards. IHe becomes guilt ridden and the beating gets louder and louder within his head and in a rush he screams and confesses his awful deed.
