The theme of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," is Human nature. And that it is a delicate balance between good and evil. Most of the time this balance is maintained; however, when there is a shift, the evil side or dark side surfaces. How and why this "dark side" emerges differs from person to person. What may push one individual "over the edge" will only cause a raised eyebrow in another. This story consists of a monologue in which the character committees a murderer of an old man. It is the "vulture eye" of the old man that makes the narrator's blood run cold. It is this irrational fear which evokes the dark side, and eventually leads to murder. The narrator plans, executes and conceals the crime; however, he cannot hide from himself what he has done. Through out the story he protests his insanity rather than his guilt. By the narrator insisting that he is sane, the reader is assured that he is in fact insane. By using this irony the narrator creates a feeling of hysteria, and the turmoil resulting from this hysteria is what makes the "The Tell-Tale Heart" so interesting and unique. The short story reveals many different aspects concerning the main character's personality and psychological state. In the first line of the story the killer tells us that the murder has changed nothing as to his mental state, "...dreadfully nervous I had been and am." He sets out to prove his sanity by explaining to us how he planed and executed the perfect murder.
             I chose this story because it is one of my favorite short stories. Poe's writing is so unique and extremely dark. His wild tales pull in the reader and keep them wanting more. He talks of death, murder and insanity in a great deal of his work. This is dramatically different from what is normally found in short stories.
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