Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” is a psychological thriller that peers into the psyche of a madman attempting to convey sanity after the murder of an old man. Presumably superstitious, the murderer is driven into madness with the obsession of the old man’s “evil eye” and must kill him to be rid of it. For seven nights, the murderer goes through an exhausting ritual waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill the old man. It is on the eighth night, when the murderer finally sees the eye open, that he can kill the old man. So demented is the murderer, that even after committing a would be “perfect crime,” the murderer confesses due to the imagined sound of the victim’s still beating heart beneath the floorboards. To convey this short …show more content…
The narrator describes an elaborate routine performed for seven nights as the old man slept before killing him on the eighth night. It is only when he sees the “Evil Eye” on the eighth night that he can finally kill the old man. He then goes on to describe how he concealed the body beneath the floor. The narrator boasts stating, “I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye—not even his—could have detected anything wrong.” So sure of the disposal of the body, when the police arrive at the door inquiring about a shriek the neighbors heard, they are welcomed in. Ultimately, the narrator confesses to the murder because of the imagined heartbeat of the old man beneath the floorboards where the dismembered body …show more content…
Most of the story focuses on the doorway of the old man’s chamber. Leaving out the details of where and when makes this murder more universal. It can happen in any time period, location, or social setting. As a reader, you become suspicious, questioning; how well do you really know your neighbor? In this story, Poe writes in the first-person point of view. This pulls readers into the story as if the narrator is speaking directly to them. It also effectively communicates the tone and voice of the narrator. The tone varies throughout the story. At times it is nervous, frantic, paranoid, even exited. Here the narrator starts off hubristically while recounting the painstaking precautions taken in stalking the old man as he sleeps. “Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. 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!...Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust [my head] in! I moved it slowly—very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep.” As evidenced in the text, the voice of the narrator is often irregular and choppy. Short sentences, frequent pauses, and word repetition reinforces the theme of