The Tell Tale Heart Symbolism Analysis

Criminals have a propensity to believe that they will never be caught for their actions but that is certainly an understatement; guilt sitting in your brain for hours on end is like a bomb waiting to explode. This feeling is undoubtedly a driving factor that causes many criminals to confess to their wrongdoings. This is present in the mystery short story titled, “A Tell - Tale Heart” written by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is told from a killers perspective, and throughout the entire story a murder is plotted and committed for no valid reason other than the look of the old man's eye. If it weren’t for the old man's eye in that acts like an engine and drives the whole murder forward, this ludicrous crime would have not taken place at all. Through

Symbolism uses the technique of “show don’t tell” which just makes the story more realistic for the reader. The symbolism present in this short story is the beating of the old man's heart and it symbolizes the fear that the narrator has after he kills the old man. He knew what he did was incredibly wrong, and he felt all the pain after the fact, when the old man's heart continued to ring so loud. It was this ringing that eventually made him give up and he told the police because he couldn't handle what he was hearing. The text says, “I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt I must scream or die! And now ─ again! Hark! Louder! Louder! Louder!” The symbolism portrayed is what sparks a lot of the action that takes place at the end of the story. It shows the way that the killer is feeling rather than saying it which adds severity and importance of this idea to the story. The beating of the heart is what ultimately causes the narrator to tell the police that he committed a crime despite the fact that he could have gotten away with it. This symbolism helps to build the suspense throughout the story and this keeps the readers engaged until the very end. Further, the text says, “Villains! I shrieked;dissemble no more! I admit the deed! -- tear up the planks! here, here! -- It is the beating of his hideous heart! This evidence shows the effects of the

The suspense is very crucial in this story because it keeps readers on the edge of their seat. It is seen that the killer did in fact sink under all of the pressure and admit the deed solely because of the beating of the old man's heart. However, we are left to figure out one idea for our self. We are left to wonder whether it was his guilt or that he may have just been agitated at the thought of this heatbeat continuing in his head that was the driving factor that made him confess to the inhumane crime he had just