The Tell-Tale Heart Central Theme

In the story The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, there is one central theme that connects to the setting, the character, and the plot. The theme to this story is that guilt leads to madness. This central idea connects to the setting, plot, and character because everything is told by the narrator’s perspective. This allows you to know their every decision, mistake, and consequence that happens throughout the story. The setting connects with the theme first because the narrator says that there is things that aren’t actually there. However, the narrator thinks that they are there as a result of his guilt. For example, the text states, “It was a low, dull, quick sound-much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton,” (Poe line # 172). This quote shows that the narrator was hearing the old man’s heartbeat. However, the old man is literally chopped up into pieces and hidden under the floorboard. This quote is significant because the narrator was hearing something that wasn’t actually there, due to his guilt of killing the old man. In reality, the setting is normal. It is in this way that the theme connects with the setting.

In other words, the guilt affects his character. The story says, “I could not bear those hypocritical smiles any longer! I felt that I must scream or die,” (Poe line # 129). This quote explains that the narrator was over exaggerating his thoughts. The smiles from the other people in the room weren’t hypocritical. They were genuine. The narrator only perceived them as hypocritical because of his madness which was a result of his guilt. All of the descriptive words of anxiety and worry that the narrator expressed in the story were all in his head. It was all just in the thoughts of his own