Literary Analysis Tell-Tale Heart

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Guilt and Conscience in “Tell-Tale Heart”
“Tell-Tale Heart” is a famous short story by American writer in the 19th century, Edgar Allan
Poe. The story is about an unnamed narrator who claims to be sane after murdering an old man
with a “vulture eye”, an eye he became so obsessed with, carefully planning the murder of the
old man, and hiding the body by cutting it into pieces and hiding it under the floorboards without
leaving any evidence on the scene. The short story Tell Tale Heart portrays the effect of guilt and
how the conscience can take control of one’s sanity.
The unnamed narrator conscience leads him to have this madness for the blue evil vulture
eye, developing an obsession of needing to get rid of it.
“True! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say
that I am mad?”(Poe1), notice how the narrators repeats this line so calmly throughout the story
“How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the
whole story.” (Poe1), his own conscience trying to convince him and the reader that he is not
crazy. Telling himself that it’s okay to be nervous on what’s about to happen. Before narrating
the story to the reader his conscience almost encourages him to reassure the reader that he is not
crazy and has a reason for killing the old man.
His obsession on wanting to get rid of the eye is what drove his conscience crazy. “I think it
was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it.
Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my
mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.” (Poe2). The way he
described the eye, emphasizing his hatred towards the eye. The unnamed narrator conscience
effects his mental health by thinking that its okay to take the old man’s life because of the
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torment the eye has caused, his conscience is motivating him just to free himself from the
thought of the eye.
The narrator lost his sanity when his mind became all about the eye and wanting to get rid of
it. “But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what
caution --with what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the
old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” (Poe3). The narrator would not admit
the fact that he had an obsession towards the evil eye. Clearly, the narrator had an obsession,
who would take the time to plan in the middle of the night to stare at an eye.
The climax is when the patience of the narrator runs out and ends up killing the old man, as
he stated, “Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and
louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I
say, louder every moment!”, as he waited his guilt started developing as his head was hearing
noises of a heartbeat, patience and adrenaline rushed as he was closer to getting rid of the old
man. “The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into
the room... I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done... The old man was dead.... He was
stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.” (Poe7). The narrator reveals his insanity on how
he reacts to towards the deed being done, that satisfies his conscience as he is relieved, he no
more will be troubled by the eye.
The unnamed narrator is finally calm on getting rid of the eye, in addition to this, police
officers showed up when neighbors claimed to hear a shriek, he confidently went along with the
investigation, “In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired
them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph,
placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.”(Poe8).
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This action reveals how insane the narrator is being self-assured during a situation like this, most
likely in this type of situation people would be showing signs of panic or guilt.
The guilt started increasing,” I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued
and gained definiteness --until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears. No doubt
I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice.” (Poe9)
obviously these are signs of guilt, but to the narrator the “feeling” he is responding to is
unknown. His feeling of guilt have increased when his conscience is convinced that the ringing is
not coming from his mind , now panicking that the officers might hear it and that they have
caught on to his strange behavior. ” Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! –no, no!
They heard! –they suspected! –they knew!” (Poe9) His conscience is convincing the narrator that
the officers too heard the noise and now they were playing with him. Eventually he could not
bear with the heartbeat; as it symbolizes truth or guilt.” "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no
more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!"”
(Poe 10) with the pressure of his guilt, finally confessing on the murder of the old man.
The Tell-Tale Heart represents what happens to the mind of the humankind when being
troubled by their conscience and guilt. The author Edgar Allen Poe transformed the genre of
horror by showing the psychological insight, in this case the Tell-Tale Heart showed that the
narrator perception that his guilt and conscience created lead to signs of schizophrenia.
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Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Tell-Tale Heart - Poe's Works | Edgar Allan Poe
Museum, 1843, www.poemuseum.org/the-tell-tale-heart.
S, Professor. “Edgar Allan Poe's ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’: A Literary Analysis - Owlcation -
Education.” Owlcation, 23 Apr. 2019, owlcation.com/humanities/Edgar-Allan-Poes-the-Tell-
Tale-Heart-A-Literary-Analysis.

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Guilt and Conscience in “Tell-Tale Heart”

how the conscience can take control of one’s sanity.

eye, developing an obsession of needing to get rid of it.

crazy and has a reason for killing the old man.

thought of the eye.

more will be troubled by the eye.

Museum, 1843, www.poemuseum.org/the-tell-tale-heart.

Education.” Owlcation, 23 Apr. 2019, owlcation.com/humanities/Edgar-Allan-Poes-the-Tell-

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