The tell tale heart

The Tell-Tale Heart is a famous short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. The story is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator who attempts to convince the reader of their sanity while simultaneously describing their descent into madness and the murder they have committed.

The story begins with the narrator proclaiming their sanity, and that they have an acute sense of hearing which allows them to hear things in heaven, hell, and on earth. The narrator then begins to describe their relationship with an old man who they live with. The narrator claims to have no issue with the old man, but that they are plagued by the old man's "vulture eye" which they describe as "pale blue, with a film over it".

The narrator explains that they decided to kill the old man to rid themselves of the vulture eye. For a week, the narrator would enter the old man's room each night, carefully opening the door to avoid waking the old man, and watch him sleep. On the eighth night, however, the old man wakes up and the narrator is forced to hide in the darkness. After waiting for an hour, the narrator decides to slowly open the door, but the old man's heart begins to beat so loudly that the narrator fears the old man will hear it. The narrator then lunges at the old man and kills him, dismembering his body and hiding the parts under the floorboards.

The narrator is initially pleased with their success, but soon begins to hear the beating of the old man's heart from under the floorboards. The sound becomes louder and louder until the narrator can no longer take it and confesses to the murder, convinced that the police can also hear the heart beating. The story ends with the narrator being taken away by the police, still convinced that the beating heart can be heard.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a classic example of Gothic literature, characterized by dark themes, suspense, and an unreliable narrator. Poe uses various literary devices to build tension and create a sense of unease in the reader, such as the repetition of the phrase "I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth", the use of the first-person perspective, and the narrator's obsession with the old man's eye.

One interpretation of the story is that it is a metaphor for the human psyche, with the old man representing the narrator's subconscious mind and the vulture eye representing the parts of the self that the narrator dislikes or is afraid of. The beating of the heart can then be interpreted as a manifestation of the narrator's guilt and their inability to repress their dark desires.

Overall, The Tell-Tale Heart is a masterful example of Edgar Allan Poe's storytelling abilities. The story continues to captivate readers to this day, with its intricate use of language, its exploration of the human psyche, and its ability to elicit fear and suspense in the reader. It is a testament to Poe's status as one of the greatest writers of horror and suspense fiction in history.

The narrator explains that he is not mad, but rather that he is highly sensitive to the senses. He obsesses over the old man's eye, which he describes as a "vulture eye" and claims that it fills him with terror. The narrator becomes increasingly fixated on the eye, until he eventually decides to murder the old man in order to rid himself of the eye forever.

The narrator carefully plans the murder and executes it flawlessly, but his guilt begins to consume him. He begins to hear the old man's heartbeat, which he describes as growing louder and louder until he can no longer bear it. In a fit of madness, he confesses to the crime and reveals the old man's body to the police.

The story ends with the narrator claiming that he can still hear the old man's heart beating, even though he knows that it is impossible. The Tell-Tale Heart is a masterful exploration of the human psyche, and is considered to be one of Poe's greatest works.