The TellTale Heart
In Edgar Allan Poe's short-story, "The Tell-Tale Heart," the speaker of the storytries to convince the reader that he is not mad. But by the speaker telling the story as hedoes, he answers his own question that he asks the reader at the start of the story, "...whywill you say I am mad?" ( Introduction to Literature, page 415). He attempts to tell hisstory in a calm manner, but as he describes various parts, he begins ranting with a great The speaker pays particular attention to emphasize specific parts of his story. Heis sure to highlight that he is simply nervous, and that he could not possibly be madbecause as he says, "the disease had sharpened my senses" (415). Rather the disease, ashe refers to his madness, only allowed him to hear more clearly those sounds of hisimagination, to see what his mind wanted him to see. He kills the old man because theold man had an evil eye of that of a vulture which would make the speaker's blood runcold when he was looked upon. He even says he loved the old man, never does thespeaker refer to him as anything else, but because of how the old man's eye looked thespeaker needed to destroy it. This is the start of the speaker's madness, and as
Sitting and talking in the very room the body ishidden, the speaker once again shows the reader his madness. For eight nights in a row, the speaker went to the old man's chamber and cast ashred of light upon his eye that the speaker so hated. After cutting off the head and limbs, the speaker puts the body underneath afew planks of wood, replacing the planks so that it is not noticeable that there has beenany change. Throughout most of thestory the speaker keeps his description calm except for a few parts. Fearing nothing and trusting to his skills of hiding the body, the speaker invitesthe police officers into the house. The speaker tells the reader that he cannot bemad because he describes "the wise precautions I took for the concealment of thebody"(417). Finally the reader can do nothing but break down and confess tohis deed of death he has committed upon the old man. The speaker goes to great lengths to conceal the act he has committed. He believes he hears theold man's heart beating louder and louder and that the police officers "they heard!- theysuspected!- they knew!- they were making a mockery of my horror!"(418). Hearing hisown heart and believing it is that of the old man, and killing the old man simply becausehe had the eye of a vulture is the physical proof.
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