McConnell 1

Maggie McConnell
Ms. Dockus
1st Hour American Literature
19 February 2016
Response to The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe
The Tell Tale Heart is notable most commonly for its uniquely robust discussion of the
gruesome themes of murder and madness. However, most would not consider one of Edgar Allen
Poes most well known stories as a commentary on the discovery, or self-awareness, of ones
own mental illness. Both the thoughts and actions of the speaker in the The Tell Tale Heart are
so alarming to the reader that he or she hardly stop to think about the most disturbing aspect of it
all: he knows hes mad.
Before the events of the story are thoroughly recounted, the speaker seems to be
preparing his audience for the tale of a great triumph. He reminds the reader continually of the
caution.... foresight [and] dissimulation he exercised in his deeds (Poe). However, he is also
quite aware of how others may view him. He comments on how they most likely fancy him
mad, even going so far as to question the reader himself, will you say that I am mad?(Poe).
Despite this, he seems to deny these notions with lines such as, Madmen know nothing. You
should have seen me (Poe). Following these claims, though, the speaker appears to have
discovered, without explicitly admitting it, his own insanity. Once he begins to hear the heartbeat
of the old man, he can no longer withstand the beating of his hideous heart (Poe). He
attempted to deny the discovery of his own mental state, but the noise steadily increased (Poe).
The most difficult discoveries are often the ones we dont want to make. Poes image of a
man in denial of his madness perfectly conveys this. That we accept and interpret these

McConnell 2
potentially unwanted ideas is important to our progress as humans. Whether it be a
groundbreaking discovery in a scientific field, or simply the acknowledgement of a personal
notion, one must always take into account new ideas regardless of their appeal.