Final answer:
The essay question requires a comparison between the character analysis in 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' focusing on the themes of mental instability and unreliable narration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The literary analysis essay question asks for a comparison of character analysis between 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe and 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Both are short stories that explore themes of mental instability and unreliable narration.
In 'The Tell-Tale Heart', the narrator insists on their sanity while describing the meticulous murder of an old man. The narrator's obsession with the old man's eye and the eventual confession to the murder demonstrate a deep psychological conflict and an unreliable character.
'The Yellow Wallpaper', on the other hand, presents a female protagonist who is confined by her husband for her mental health. As the story progresses, the woman becomes increasingly fixated on the wallpaper in her room, which reflects her deteriorating mental state and the oppressive forces acting upon her.
Comparing these characters reveals insights into how mental illness is depicted and the roles of power dynamics in their respective stories. The characters' descent into madness is portrayed through their obsessions—an old man's eye and a room's wallpaper—highlighting the authors' critique of societal views on mental health.