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Literary Analysis: The Tell-Tale Heart Story

Categories: Literary Genres

  • Words: 1813

Published: Jul 29, 2024

The Tell-Tale Heart is an 1843 story by Edgar Allan Poe in the horror genre. In the story, a psychotic narrator who cannot be identified describes his life and his ongoing efforts to demonstrate his sanity. Poe gives viewers a peek into the protagonist's mind as he fights nervousness and anxiety by writing it in the first person perspective. The story's premise advances as the narrator focus on the old man's "vulture-like" eye that hatches a scheme to expel this evil from his body (Poe). Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart is a triumphant work of literary fiction not only because of its excellent plot but also due to concealed literary devices that enable the reader to reflect on and comprehend the richness of this horror story. The author's use of plot, settings, point of view, and literary devices, such as figures of speech, descriptive imagery, and symbols with opposing meanings, enable the reader to comprehend the speaker's insanity, characterize the speaker's intentions and actions, and visualize the story's scene.

The tale is divided into three distinct sections, with the first section focusing on the narrator's attempt to demonstrate his sanity by sharing a former experience. He spends seven of the eight nights in the role sneaking into the older man's bedroom while he sleeps. In the story's second act, the older man is killed, dismembered, and his body is hidden (Poe). In the third section, the narrator confesses his crime to the police after they arrive. The Tell-Tale Heart's plot, which includes all essential elements, the opening situation, the conflict, the complications, the peak, the suspense, the denouement, and eventually the conclusion, make the story worthwhile. Poe's economical writing and incisive language add to the story's subject, and maybe this connection between form and content most characterizes paranoia. The narrative sheds light on the psychological inconsistencies contributing to a criminal profile. The narrator's separation of the old man's identity from his physical eye is demonstrated by the murder of the older man. The story highlights how psychological issues, such as anxiety, distress, and past traumatic experiences, can result in tragic encounters, such as killing an innocent person (Brady 307). Therefore, the story is still relevant due to its focus on crime and punishment for a crime in contemporary society.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a Gothic horror tale expressed using the 1st person's point of view. Furthermore, it is a dramatic monologue presented from the viewpoint of a murderer. Poe gives the reader a sneak peek inside the criminal's head by recounting the story in the first person, which adds tension and suspense to the narrative. Readers may tell from his storytelling style that he is an untrustworthy, insane person. He may not have a name because Poe wanted to demonstrate that he stood in for all people, particularly those who had acted impulsively. The narrator is attempting to establish his sanity. The evidence he offers is his capacity to act and speak in a way that conceals his affection for the older man and his desire to murder him. He additionally acknowledges that he has been hearing and that he can "hear all things in the heaven and the earth [and] many things in hell" (Poe). Because of this, employing the first-person point of view makes it possible for readers to connect the story to their own experiences and become more interested. In this case, the author uses the first person's point of view to indicate that anyone can be in such a situation when one acts impulsively, resulting in horrific actions. The narrator failed to control his thoughts and lived in isolation and denial, increasing his chances of becoming a victim of his thoughts and psychological trauma. Therefore, the story teaches us that socialization and mental health are vital in making sensible decisions and becoming more accountable to the thoughts and emotions that run people's minds.

Authors can provide their audience with multiple interpretations by using literary devices. In The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe alternately employs imagery and figures of speech to help the reader understand the tone and plot of the story. Similes and Poe's descriptive imagery work together to assist the reader grasp the seeming craziness of the main character through his creepy and unsettling acts and motive. At the same time, parenthesis and ellipses help the reader realize what is happening in the story and what feeling should be felt (Poe). On the other hand, Poe's story is widely regarded as a successful work of literary fiction due to the numerous symbolic events that occur throughout the narrative. Poe employs the speaker's descriptions of the older man's blue vulture eye, the light that hits the eye, and the infamous heartbeat as sly metaphors for the speaker's insanity. A blue eye, light, and heartbeats are literary constructs employed to express relaxing, tranquil situations. However, these distinct elements add a different way to the speaker's rage and desire to murder the older man.

Additionally, Poe uses irony and paradox in his story. The paradox is an observation that defies logic and consistency yet may still be authentic and valid (Amir 23). This idea is used throughout The Tell-Tale Heart, including the line, "I was never gentler to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him" (Poe). Since the readers connect concepts and feelings that are unusually connected, the contradiction increases the scenery's shock value in this instance. Irony also refers to instances in which the reverse of what is expected happens.

After The Tell-Tale Heart, the author effectively uses iron. He shouts, "Villains!" when greatly agitated by the sound of the clock ticking. A clear instance of irony is present when he is highly agitated by the clock's ticking noise; he cries, "Villains... Dissemble no more!" (Poe). The irony in the phrase is that the sounds he hears emanate from a clock. Therefore, literary devices are crucial in helping the authors pass essential information to readers.

Overall, Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Tell Tale-Heart explores the extreme deeds that a madman may take. By telling the story from the narrator's point of view, the author allows readers to see how the narrator changed and how his severe anxiety manifested in various ways that led to his fixation with the older man's physical anomaly. The author's exemplary use of literary devices makes the story more exciting and informative. Themes of crime and punishment of crime are vivid throughout the story, making it relevant to the contemporary generation.

Moroever, it addresses the need to consider psychological aspects, such as distress, anxiety, nervousness, loneliness, isolation, and past traumatic experiences, which can significantly affect a person's ration decision-making. For these reasons, The Tell Tale-Heart is a significant story that can address contemporary issues of crime, mental illnesses, and criminal punishment.

 

Works Cited

  • Amir, Shamaila. "Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe." Angloamericanae Journal 3.1 (2018): 18-28.
  • Brady, Patrick Q. "Crimes against caring: Exploring the risk of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among child exploitation investigators." Journal of police and criminal psychology 32.4 (2017): 305-318.
  • Poe, E. A. "The tell-tale heart." The Poe Museum, 28 Dec. 2021, poemuseum.org/thetell-tale­ heart/.

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In addition to visual imagery, Cisneros also employs sensory imagery to enhance the reader's experience of the novel. Throughout the story

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