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Examples Of Obsession In The Tell Tale Heart

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Did your obsession become my obsession? Obsession is a state of mind in which someone thinks about something constantly or frequently. It called my attention the way we handled this meaning in the story of “The Tell Tale Heart” during class. I have read this story before during high school but not with the same focus. The story becomes a literary evidence of the elements of obsession. The author uses obsession to appeal to the senses of the reader and create a new character that it is not expected at all. The main character obsesses over the eye and creates an individual separated fictional persona from the old man as target, which can be called as the object of obsession. His obsession grew so much that it became and impediment in his life …show more content…

This first essay that I read helped me understand the psychological struggle and symbolic meaning of the story. Kachur claims that vital information from the narrator is omitted because it seems not important to readers, but that same information is the one that describes the motives and the challenges presented by the author. This essay really caught my attention in ways that I would never imagine. Kachur argues that the narrator obsession is based in “father-on-son incest”. He supports his idea with three possible hypothesis: first, the narrator was a victimized child that resulted with some psychotic symptoms; second, the narrator is re-enacting his abuse to make the old man feel what he suffered; and for last, the old man is a victim of the narrator´s threat of incest. In several occasions the narrator stated that he loved the old man and did not wanted his gold; making a clear connection between them. After re-reading the story it actually made sense what this essay is trying to explain. His obsession can be a result of the unknown truth that will haunt him forever. Kachur uses a study written by Etherington that states that children abused by the same gender parent will have a greater problem with self-differentiation and establishment of personal identity; which can be an explanation of how the narrator sees the “Evil Eye” and the old

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