The Tell-Tale Heart Analysis.
The Tell-Tale Heart Analysis.
In the story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, an unnamed narrator opens the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is a nervous person with heightened senses, but he is not mad. He explains that he is going to tell a story in which he is going to defend his sanity and justify how he killed an old man, not out of hatred but of obsession. In the story he goes on to say that he loved this old man dearly, he had no desire for his gold, or hatred for him, it was his eye. “His eyes resembled that of a culture- a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold” (Poe 83). The narrator explains that over time he makes up his mind to take the life of the older man so that he can rid himself of the eye. In the mind of the narrator, he doesn’t differentiate between real world problems, like the crime of murder, and just the simple aspect of wanting to get rid of the eye that was haunting him. Edgar Allen Poe uses many symbols in this short story to get across hidden meanings of the character. For example, he uses the eye, the watch, the lantern, and the beating heart. When Poe introduces the eye into the story he plainly describes the eye as what it looks like, and says that is the reason he wants to kill the man. If you take a look further into what Poe is saying you will realize that the eye symbolizes much more than just a vulture. How he compares it to a vulture is the first hint that it means something more. A vulture is a bird that preys on the dead. This leads the reader to conclude that the eye represent death. The narrator sees that the old man is nearing the age of death and this scares him. The narrator is afraid of death and wants to get the “eye” away from his as soon as possible so that he can avoid the fear of awaiting to die. The eye also symbolizes freedom. He wanted to get rid of the eye so that he was free of the fear of death and morality, but once he was free he couldn’t
In the story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, an unnamed narrator opens the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is a nervous person with heightened senses, but he is not mad. He explains that he is going to tell a story in which he is going to defend his sanity and justify how he killed an old man, not out of hatred but of obsession. In the story he goes on to say that he loved this old man dearly, he had no desire for his gold, or hatred for him, it was his eye. “His eyes resembled that of a culture- a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold” (Poe 83). The narrator explains that over time he makes up his mind to take the life of the older man so that he can rid himself of the eye. In the mind of the narrator, he doesn’t differentiate between real world problems, like the crime of murder, and just the simple aspect of wanting to get rid of the eye that was haunting him. Edgar Allen Poe uses many symbols in this short story to get across hidden meanings of the character. For example, he uses the eye, the watch, the lantern, and the beating heart. When Poe introduces the eye into the story he plainly describes the eye as what it looks like, and says that is the reason he wants to kill the man. If you take a look further into what Poe is saying you will realize that the eye symbolizes much more than just a vulture. How he compares it to a vulture is the first hint that it means something more. A vulture is a bird that preys on the dead. This leads the reader to conclude that the eye represent death. The narrator sees that the old man is nearing the age of death and this scares him. The narrator is afraid of death and wants to get the “eye” away from his as soon as possible so that he can avoid the fear of awaiting to die. The eye also symbolizes freedom. He wanted to get rid of the eye so that he was free of the fear of death and morality, but once he was free he couldn’t