Critical Analysis of Poes The Tell Tale Heart Essay...

Critical Analysis of Poes The Tell Tale Heart The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the most basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself (assuming the narrator is male). Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is described as an obsession (with the old mans eye), which in turn leads to loss of control and eventually results in violence. Ultimately, the narrator tells his story of killing his housemate. Although the narrator seems to be blatantly insane, and thinks he has freedom from guilt, the feeling of guilt over the murder is too overwhelming to bear. The narrator cannot tolerate it and eventually†¦show more content†¦One statement by the narrator sums up his mental state: You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me; (777). What he is actually saying is: There are madmen who are clumsy in their actions, but not this madman!; This is as close to a self-admission of insanity as possible. The mental setting is put into place by the narrators own statements. This setting is pure chaos starting in the head of the killer and spilling out into the physical world around him resulting in an unnecessary death. When the narrator is explaining the end of his tale to the unnamed listener (presumably a jailor, or a mental health practitioner), he states the beating of the heart was unbearable on his conscious: I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited by the observations of the men-but the noise steadily increased?I foamed- I raved-I swore!?the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder-louder-louder!?They heard!-they suspected!-they knew!?I felt I must scream or die!;(780). The narrator proceeded to admit his killing of the old man. Obviously, his mental state was one of pure fear and disillusion. An auditory hallucination of a dead heart beating caused so much mental anguish in the narrator that it made him confess to the crime. This indeed shows insanity. Yet this insanity was not as strong as the guilt pushing through it. Another element that supports the theme isShow MoreRelatedThe Tell Tale Heart And The Premature Burial915 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tell-Tale Heart and The Premature Burial are two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The Tell-Tale Heart is about the narrator killing an old man. The Premature Burial is about a mans fear of being buried alive. The theme of the two works are closely related to fear and guilt. Poe’s stories have terrifying plots, solid themes and literary criticism. The Tell-Tale heart starts as An unknown narrator says he is nervous but not mad. 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(Edwards 162) Those important differences both connect and individualize the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Imp of the Perverse, The Tell Tale Heart, and William Wilson all demonstrate Poes fascination and exploration with inner conflict and torturer. These short stories deal with the same issue but present it in different ways by making the characters vary when describing their will and their morality. Hawthorne