Tell Tale Heart Characteristics

The Characteristics of the Narrator: Tell-Tale Heart “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, uses a very interesting narrative perspective, which he tries to prove himself that he is sane, but he isn’t, by the context of the words in this short story. Poe’s experience with many other creepy and interesting stories develop with this sort of suspense, as it reaches the heightening point, the climax. The importance of this first-person narrator perspective is the clockwork which synchronizes to the suspense and mystery of the plot, displaying the character’s irony. The setting, the introduction of characters, the conflict, and the resulting end brings an interesting sight to the plot. The narrator introduces himself as the main character, neither the protagonist or the antagonist. He brings up the conflict, which is the reaction to the old man’s “evil eye”, leading to killing this old man.

This context presents that the character is losing his sanity, as the pressures of his guilt cause this conflict. The main character is dynamic because he was unable to escape his crimes. His heart symbolizes his morality, of which it questions his own actions. This turning point can be considered his epiphany, as he confesses to the murder of the old man. If he were to not overreact, he would’ve gone away with it. Nevertheless, this is the crucial life-changing action he decided to take, only in a negative way. A first-person narrator is vital to the plot of “Tell-Tale Heart”, and its perspective is as if the author is the main character of the story. Understanding the author’s deliberate structure of suspense helps understand the story in depth, and the internal conflict synchronizes well with the author’s clockwork. The narrator’s sanity is questioned, as the irony takes over until the end of the story. His dynamic play throughout the plot becomes his epiphany at the end, as his own mind questions his