Examples Of Guilty Conscience In The Tell Tale Heart

A Guilty Conscience Speaks
The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe reveals the mental deterioration of the narrator. The narrator’s mental state is uncertain, it causes the story to have a mixture of emotions. The narrator is the main character in the story because it is being told from his/her point of view, which contributes to the rising action and climax. The narrator’s character is questionable and cannot be trusted. The narrator’s desire to kill an innocent man brings about excitement, terror and anxiety in the story, and a guilty conscience that eventually speaks. The story is told from the narrator’s point of view. He wants to get rid of the old mans’ evil eye and decides to come up with a plot to kill him. The narrator is actually

No sane person would commit to this horrible crime over an eye, he stated, “The disease had sharpened my senses” (37). The narrator is aiming to convince the audience that he is not crazed, but he contradicts himself, it is clear that he is indeed unstable. The narrator is confused because he states, “I loved the old man” (37). Yet, there is no hesitation or second thoughts about killing someone that he “loves”. The narrator also states, “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart” (38). Obviously, the narrator cannot be trusted because he fails to determine the difference between pitying or loving someone, but continues to make them suffer by causing pain and fear. The character is unbalanced, he stated that the old man never bothered him and that he loved him, yet his eye troubled him, which is unjustifiable. The character’s personality gives evidence that he is not trustworthy or believable. The conflict and the character of the story helps explain the meaning. The narrator, is the main character in the story, and the main problem is the man’s eye, the narrator stated, “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (37). His conscience made him feel guilty because the man never caused him any harm. The main character is also in conflict with himself. He confessed to the police that he murdered the