BACKGROUND OF THE STORY

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1843. It is about
a murderer who tries to persuade his readers of his mental stability while telling
the tale of the brutish act. He denies that he suffers from some mental illness
and openly boasts of his cleverness and cunning behavior. He kills an old man
though he loves him. He holds no grudges against him and murders him without
any motive.
The old man’s “vulture-eye” makes the narrator angry and he decides to kill
him. He attends to every minute detail in the process of murder; carefully kills
him, disjoints every part of his body, and then buries the body parts
underground in the room. He also receives the policemen with utmost comfort
but, slowly and gradually, his anxiety increases. His guilty conscience
constantly pricks him and reminds him of his brutal act. Eventually, he cannot
bear the secret anymore and confesses his crime to the policemen.
The untrustworthy narrator does not have a solid reason to murder the old man
(apart from his hatred for the old man’s eye). Furthermore, Poe has not given us
detail about the narrator’s relationship with the old man. We do not know, as
readers, whether the narrator is a male or a female. Poe only focuses on the
events and situations which lead to the killing rather than focusing on
individuals.
The story is one of the classics of Poe’s short stories and of its genre. The
setting and diction used in the story make it a classic Poe story. The story is a
proof of human being’s inherently evil nature. The unreliable narrator in the
story brutally murders the old man irrationally and without any reason. The
story also explores the paranoiac state of mind of the narrator.
THE TELL TALE HEART SUMMARY
At the start of the story, the narrator is answering an imaginary listener. He
confesses that he has been ill but denies the fact that he is insane. Furthermore,
he announces that the illness has given him more strength especially to his
“sense of hearing”. He tells the imaginary listener that he is more vigilant now
and is able to hear everything. Then he tells the listener to listen carefully as he
narrates the story.
He confesses that there was no motive for what he did. He loved the old man
who never harmed him. The motive behind the murder was not his wealth and
gold, however, one of his eyes made him kill the old man. He hated his vulture-
like eye and it persuaded him to murder the old man. The narrator says that the
old man’s eye angered him so he made up his mind to kill him to shut that eye
once and for all.
Again he tries to prove his sanity by admitting that he planned carefully to
murder the old man making us aware that an insane person cannot plan. He
informs his readers that for seven continuous nights he would go into the old
man’s room, quietly, and would wait for the exact moment to commit the crime.
He would examine the old man’s eye with the help of his lantern and would find
it close. He would return annoyingly as it is his “Evil Eye” which motivates him
to murder him. Ironically, in the morning he would ask the old man how he
spent the night.
He continues with the story and tells us that on the night of the murder he went
to the old man’s room with more caution. He wonders at his cunning plan and
laughs at the old man’s lack of awareness. Out of nowhere, the old man sensed
something and moved. The narrator tells us that he did not feel afraid as he
knew the old man could not see him in the darkness. He, quietly, entered the
room. The old man suspected something and asked who was in the room.
The narrator informs us that he did not move an inch for an hour knowing that
the old man is alert. Then he hears a frightening cry from the old man sitting
alert in his bed. He tells us that the old man knows not of his presence but he
can assume his death impending upon him. Afterwards, he gradually puts light
on the old man and realizes that his hateful eye is open. It makes him angry. He
does not notice his face because he is not interested in it rather it is his eye that
troubles him. The sight of his eye fills him with rage.
Furthermore, as he boasts of his increased hearing sense, he hears the beating of
the victim’s heart. He tries to stay calm but the beating of the old man’s heart
increases his anger. The narrator becomes anxious and is unable to bear his
heartbeat anymore. The narrator takes the help of the bedsheets and holds it
firmly “over his head”. The old man, slowly and gradually, suffocates and his
heartbeat stops. The narrator takes a sigh of relief knowing that his eye will
never trouble him again.
He again challenges those who question his sanity and tells them that they
should consider how he hid the dead body so as no one can find it. He disjoints
every part of the dead body carefully. Then he removes the planks and hides the
pieces there cautiously making sure nothing is left behind. Afterwards, he puts
the planks down again, with great care, so that no one can get a clue of their
removal.
When he finishes, the clock strikes four in the morning. Someone knocks at the
door. He calmly opens the door and realizes that three policemen have arrived.
They have been called upon by one of the neighbors who heard the shriek of the
old man. They are here to investigate any mishap. He receives them calmly and
tells them that he shrieked because of a nightmare. He escorts them all over the
house and tells them to do their search. He even leads them to the old man’s
room and offers them chairs to sit there and rest.
He confesses that his calm demeanor made the cops believe his explanation and
they sat calmly there. They chat continuously and after a while, the narrator
wishes they should depart. Slowly and gradually, he becomes anxious and his
calmness fades away. In the meantime, he hears some sound. At first, he
perceives it to be inside his head but then he realizes that the sound is not
internal rather it is in the room. He talks louder and causes commotion in the
room to cover it up but it gets louder with the passage of time.
He walks to and fro in the room to make some noise but its intensity increases.
However, the policemen seem not to hear it and they are busy chatting and
smiling as usual. The narrator thinks the policemen know and they are laughing
at his stupidity. He says he constantly suffered because of their smiles and
hearing that sound. Eventually, he cannot stand it anymore and confesses his
crime. He tells the policemen to uncover the planks and they will find the
mutilated body of the old man and his pumping heart.
THEMES
MENTAL HEALTH
Poe’s story shows its readers the importance of mental health. The story
demonstrates that mental illness can drive a person to the vilest acts. The
narrator, in the story, suffers from some mental problems which lead to his
destruction.
He, time and again, denies the fact that he suffers from mental illness but his
awkward actions prove that he suffers from some psychological problem. He is
obsessed with killing the old man for no apparent reason. The narrator, being
paranoiac, kills the old man out of fear but that is not an acceptable reason.
Furthermore, he also enjoys the moment when he suffocates the old man,
holding the bed sheets tightly over his face. This event also shows that he has
some psychological problems. Through these events, Poe demonstrates the idea
that an individual’s psychological health is as important as his physical health.
GUILT
Guilt is another significant theme in the story. Although the narrator does not
feel guilty of his crime openly, however, it is his guilty conscience which leads
him to confess his crime. At first, he murders the old man in his room and
calmly hides his dead body underground. Then he calmly receives the
policemen and leads them across the house. However, in the hearts of his heart,
he feels nervous with the passage of time. Slowly and gradually, he hears
sounds which he did not hear previously. He becomes anxious and tries to evade
the sounds by making a commotion. However, his guilt does not leave him until
he confesses his crime. He is of the opinion that the heartbeat is that of the old
man’s heart but actually it is his own heart pumping with guilt. Externally, he
enjoys killing the old man but his guilty conscience does not let him enjoy the
brutal act.
CONFINEMENT
The theme of confinement is central to the story. The actions in the story are
confined to a house only. Neither the narrator nor the old man go outside the
house throughout the story. The narrator wants to break this confinement by
murdering the old man but is unsuccessful. He murders the old man but never
breaks his confinement.
The narrator thinks he will escape the life of confinement by killing the old man
who is a threat to his freedom, according to him, but never succeeds. Instead,
after killing he becomes more confined to the old man’s room. First, he would
roam around the house but after killing him, he sits with the policemen in the
old man’s room. He does not leave the room until he confesses his crime.
This confinement can imply that the narrator’s own psych has imprisoned him
and he is unable to escape it. He thought he would gain freedom by killing the
old man unaware of the fact that it is his mental confinement rather than his
physical which never lets him free.
THE TITLE
The title of the story is significant. It points to the hearts of both the old man
and the narrator. The old man’s heart beats rapidly when he perceives someone
in his room. His heart awakens him to the danger in the room. However, the
narrator gets furious and murders the old man. The next time, the pounding of
the heart comes from the underground. This assumption is false because
underground lies the mutilated body of the old man. This actually is the
pounding of the narrator’s own heart. The narrator is nervous and his pumping
heart reminds him of his guilty act. The heart “tells tales”, one of fear and the
other of guilt.
SETTING
The story is set in a house we, as readers know little of. Poe does not describe
the house fully to his readers. The murder takes place in the bedroom of the old
man which is dark and horrific.
WRITING STYLE
The structure and style of the story are very compact. It can be read in one
sitting. The language is simple and there are seemingly no archaic words. There
is a mixture of long and short sentences. The choice of words completely fits
the subject matter in the story. Poe uses very authentic words to convey his idea
in the best possible manner. It makes a powerful impact on the reader.
All the events and situations comfortably lead to the climax in the story and
then pass that intent into the befitting ending. The sentences are well connected
and they fittingly play their role in taking the story to the desired ending. There
is not a single loose thread. The sentences contribute to the overall effect of the
story. The writer very tactfully makes this story powerful by the authentic use of
language.
POINT OF VIEW
The story is told by an untrustworthy narrator in the first person. For the most
part of the story, he tries to prove that he does not suffer from some mental
problems. Throughout the story, he tries to justify his irrational actions
logically.
TONE
The tone of the story is gloomy and anxious. Though the narrator is a murderer
yet the readers feel sympathy for him as he suffers from severe psychological
problems. After the murder, he suffers from nervousness and feels guilty of his
crime. The melancholic tone of the story is intermixed with the nervous feelings
of the narrator.
SYMBOLS
THE EYE
The old man’s eye is the sole object of hatred for the narrator. He wants to shut
it forever. If we assume that the relationship between the two is that of a master
and slave then the eye represents the authoritative gaze of the master. The
narrator shuts it to free himself from the dominance of the master. However, if
the narrator is a female then the eye represents the authoritative gaze of a
dominant male. The narrator then wanted to free herself of male dominance and
murdered the old man.
On the other hand, the narrator refers to the eye of the old man as ‘vulture-like’.
Vultures like to eat sick or dead animals. As a paranoiac, the narrator fears the
old man will harm him so he acts to counter his fear and murders him to protect
himself from being devoured.
THE BED AND BEDROOM
The bed and bedroom are the places of comfort and warmth generally.
However, Edgar Allan Poe negates all the comfort associated with the bed and
bedroom. The narrator openly spies on the old man when he sleeps in his room.
He breaches all the norms of one’s bedroom and does not consider the privacy
of the old man. Ironically, the bedroom becomes a place of agony for the old
man. The narrator uses bed sheets as murder weapons to suffocate the old man
and hides his body underground.
THE HOUSE
The house represents the subconscious of the narrator. When he hides the
mutilated body of the old man underground, he symbolically hides his crime in
his subconscious. Nonetheless, we can retrieve the information hidden in our
subconscious mind. Same is the case with the narrator. His pounding heart
reminds him of his own guilt and never stops until he confesses his crime to the
policemen.
IRONY
Poe uses irony to great effect in the story. Firstly, the narrator murders the old
man because he hates his “vulture eye” and he deems it a flaw in his character.
However, the narrator negates the fact that he also suffers from paranoia which
is a severe flaw than the “vulture eye” of the old man. A person with severe
illness murders a person with less severe physical flaws is ironic.
Secondly, the narrator boasts of his sanity and leaves no stone unturned to
provide details that will prove his sanity to the readers. On the other hand, he
gives a detailed analysis of how he murdered the old man without any reason. It
is ironic because a healthy and sound person will never kill another person. He
also confesses that he loves the old man who has never harmed him yet he
brutally kills him. This is ironic because how can a person brutally kill a person
he loves and who has never harmed him.
A person’s bedroom is a place of privacy and comfort for an individual. Poe
makes the bedroom of the old man his death place, which is ironic. The narrator
breaches all norms of the old man’s privacy and kills him in his own bedroom.
Ironically, he uses his bed as a murdering weapon. He suffocates the old man
using his bedsheets and hides his disjointed body underground in his bedroom.
The old man’s bedroom, a place of warmth and comfort, becomes his
graveyard.
In a nutshell, Edgar Allan Poe very tactfully conveys his message in this short
story. He gives his readers an insight into the paranoiac mind of a person.
Through this story, he enables his readers to not be deceived by outward
expressions of an individual as he may be harmful to them inwardly. He also
throws light on the significance of the mental health of an individual. He opines
that psychological health is more important than physical health because it can
lead individuals to their own destruction.