Perceived as a state of mental illness, insanity defines the physiological fight between sanity and madness. Similarly, on the brink of insanity, the protagonist in Edgar Allan Poe’s a “Tell-Tale Heart” struggles to accept his plight of madness and eventually enters a state of no return. Therefore, in Poe’s short story a “Tell-Tale Heart”, a man declares himself guilty of murdering another, who had been nothing but kind to him. According to the man, the atrocity occurred due to the victim’s possession of an “Evil Eye.” After murdering the victim, an elderly man, in cold blood, he chopped up his limbs in a tub and buried them beneath the flood boards of the victim’s bed chamber. Self-confident with his procedure to hide the body, the man was sure he would evade arrest. When the police arrived due to a noise complaint from a neighbor the morning after, he assured them that the noise simply occurred due to the result of a terrible nightmare he had had the previous night. Later, when the police asked for the old man’s whereabouts, he responded by saying that the old man was merely vacationing in the country. Then, in order to further persuade the police of his innocence, he invites them into his home to take a look around. However, shortly after the police’s arrival, the man begins to hear a shrill sound, which continues gradually increase. Panicked by the disease ringing in his ears, the man finds himself slowly going mad and on the verge of paranoia. However, the man soon finds that the sound is no ordinary sound, but the beat of the heart which belonged to the man he slaughtered in cold blood. Plagued by fear and guilt, the man wretchedly confesses his sins, in an attempt to cleanse himself of his despair and anguish. In the “Tell-Tale Heart”, the recurring themes of time and death represent the central image of a heart’s connection to a watch; however, the notion of the protagonist’s self-deprivation is displayed through the double meaning of “eye” and “I”, which additionally introduce the inexorable concept of the narrator’s physiological insanity.
To start, the use of personification, loaded language, symbols, and metaphors help emphasize the recurring themes of time and death, which further demonstrate the connection between a heart and a watch. Lurking in the shadows of the old man’s room, the man states “All in vain; because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel… to feel the presence of my head within the room” (Poe 2). As “Death” approached the old man, it became apparent that… The author personifies “Death”, in an attempt to highlight the concept that death is constantly lurking in every corner waiting to capture its next victim. The personification of “Death”, provides evidence towards the idea that death’s shadow allowed the old man to sense his time was near and additionally help him prepare for his demise. Further, the use of loaded language attempts to shed light on the idea that death’s shadow is what ultimately caused the old man to feel. The feelings given to the old man by the shadow of death, allowed the victim to sense the presence of his killer before he was taken from the land of the living. Furthermore after robbing the old man of his life, the killer begins to find himself developing the disease of hearing acute; however, in an attempt to deny his state of madness, the man tries to create the illusion of sanity by saying “And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses?—now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton” (Poe 3). Shortly after the death of the old man, the slayer hears a “quick sound” come to his ears. Poe uses the “quick sound” to symbolize the heartbeat of the elderly man that was killed. The author’s use of symbolism indicates a connection between the man’s newfound “disease” and the crime he committed. To continue, the author’s use of a metaphor compares the beat of a heart to the sound a watch makes as the minute hand slowly inches forward, like a caterpillar climbing up a tree. The comparison between the noise a watch makes and the beat of a dead man’s heart, indicates a connection between time and death. Additionally, the critic Charles E. May, elaborates on the recurring themes of time and death. May states that “The meaning of time for the narrator is suggested by the title, for the tale that every heart tells is the tale of time—time inevitably passing, with every beat of the heart bringing one closer to death” (1). The connection between the recurring themes of time and death, emphasize that death is an inevitable part of life and he who tries to outwit death solely outwits himself. May emphasizes that as time passes, one is only brought closer to death; therefore, demonstrating the connection between the noise of a watch’s minute hand and a heartbeat. Therefore, the recurring themes of time and death help introduce the concept of double meaning between “I” and “eye”.
Additionally, the use of loaded language, symbolism, exclamatory syntax, and dialogue help generate the idea that the object of the protagonist’s desire, is masked by the murder of the old man, which further demonstrates the double-meaning of “I” and “eye”. The old man’s possession of a “vulture-like” eye, is what the killer claims triggered him to end the life of the old man, saying “Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degree—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (Poe 1). In an attempt to free himself from the captivity of the evil eye, the man decides he will take the life of the old man in order to “rid” himself of the eye forever. Poe uses loaded language to describe how the stone cold glance of the demonic eye heavily influenced the man’s decision to free himself from the. The gelid feeling the man receives from the eye’s stone cold glance upon him, acts as the catalyst that solidifies the man’s decision to “rid” himself eye for good. In addition, Poe symbolizes the killer and the old man’s eye in an attempt to demonstrate the double meaning between “eye” and “I”. The double meaning between “eye” and “I” help illustrate the idea that the old man’s murder is a facade for the man’s true object of destruction, himself. Furthermore, overrun by the guilt of his conscience, the man declares that the old man is not on vacation in the country but dead, for he was the one who killed him. In an act of outrage, the man screamed “‘ Villains!’ I shrieked, ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks! here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!’” (Poe 4). The man’s admission to the “deed” of killing the elderly victim, marked the beginning of his downward spiral. The author’s use of exclamatory syntax, provides emphasis to the interpretation of the paranoia that the killer begins to feel after killing the old man. The man’s developing paranoia The author’s use of dialogue helps to provide further support towards the idea of the old man’s death leading the killer one step closer to insanity. The use of dialogue erases the man’s previous attempt at proving he is sane, for the “disease” he caught from killing the old man resulted in him hearing the his heart beat. In an attempt to rid himself of the sound, he confesses his crime and destroys himself unknowingly in the process. In addition, the critic John Chua discusses May’s concept of the double meaning of “I” and an “eye”, by saying “Critic Charles E. May, however, interprets the “eye” not as an organ of vision but as a homonym of “I.” Thus, what the narrator ultimately wants to destroy is the self, and he succumbs to this urge when he could not loner contain his overwhelming sense of guilt” (1). The double meaning of “eye” and “I”, provides insight towards the idea that by denying himself, he is also destroying himself. Chua provides insight onto May’s concept, to further emphasize how the narrator’s ultimate doom was created solely by himself because of his overwhelming guilt of killing the old man. Additionally the use of “eye” and “I” help generate the idea that the narrator is indeed insane and his attempt to deny his insanity is really him denying himself.
Furthermore, the use of allusion, loaded language, connotation, and symbolism to help introduce the narrator’s physiological insanity. The murder of the old man, resulted in the hyper sensitivity of the killer’s senses. After killing the old man, he said “The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in heaven and in earth. I heard many things in hell” (Poe 1). The “disease”, is a burden the man received as a result of killing the old man, and the “disease” was the main cause of the man’s declaration to the police of his crime of killing the old man. Using allusion, the author references a Shakespearean quote from Hamlet, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth Horatio, then are dreamt in your Philosophy”. The author uses allusion refer to the man’s claim to hear what lies beyond, while contrasting it with Horatio’s Philosophy. The author also symbolizes the “disease” the man gets after killing the old man. The author uses the “disease” to symbolize the beating heart of the old man that was killed, as well as to introduce the man’s fight for sanity. Additionally, in an attempt get away with murder, the man describes his process of hiding the body, saying “If you still think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for concealment of the body…First of all, I dismembered the corpse. I cut of the head and the arms and the legs” (Poe 3). The man’s process of concealing the “body”, provides further evidence towards his insanity, as well as his self-assurance of getting away with murder. Through the use of loaded language, the author highlights how the man’s precautions of sealing the body, indicate his self-confidence of not getting caught. The author also uses literal language, to describe the man’s process in concealing the body. In addition, sure of not being caught for murder, the man invites the policemen into his home to search the premises; however, he ultimately finds himself in a serious situation, when he begins to hear the heart beat of the man he killed. After inviting them in, according to the man, “They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but they still sat and chatted” (Poe 4). By inviting them into his home, the man tried to tempt fate and in result found himself hearing a “ringing” in his ears. The “ringing” that the man heard, is a prime example of the guilt he began to feel as a result of killing the man. The author uses the connotation of “ringing”, in order to demonstrate its resemblance to a heartbeat. The author also uses loaded language, in an attempt to emphasize that the “ringing” appeared as a result of the guilt the man began to feel for killing the old man. In addition, the critic Daniel Hoffman states that the internal conflict of Man vs Himself is prominent in many of Poe’s works; however, it is commonly hidden by something, such as insanity. Hoffman states that “Desire and hatred are alike insatiable and unallayed. But the terrible war of superego upon the id, the endless battle between conscience and impulse, the unsleeping enmity of the self…these struggles are enacted and re-enacted in Poe’s work, but always in disguise” (1). Hoffman’s theory is demonstrated, when the man begins to hear the ringing in his ears and is forced to confront his guilt. The struggles the man faces mask his true struggle, as well as prevent him from facing his insanity head on. The narrator’s insanity provides an explanation for the murder of the old man; however, the narrator’s insanity also masks his self-deprivation and provides evidence towards the concept that by killing the old man he is also killing himself.
In a “Tell-Tell Heart”, the recurring themes of time and death help emphasize the central image of how a beating heart is connected to the ticking of a clock. The relationship between the ticking of a clock and a heartbeat, further help introduce the concept of how every heart tells the tale of time, which brings every person one step closer to death. In addition, the double meaning of “eye” and “I” also help explain that by killing the old man, the narrator is actually killing himself as well. Through this double meaning, the idea that in order to defeat time, he must first destroy himself. However, the double meaning of “eye” and “I”, further result in the idea the narrator is by no doubt insane. The narrator’s physiological insanity, is used to mask the idea that old man’s murder represents the man’s self-denial. By murdering the old man, the man successfully achieves his goal of destroying himself as well. The importance of the text is provided by evidence of the argument. The evidence of the argument supports the idea that the themes of time and death, as well as the double meaning of “eye” and “I” are connected and present the larger central idea which is the narrator’s physiological insanity. Therefore, the overall idea that by killing the old man, the man is actually killing himself be interpreted as a situation where the killer is not self-aware. In a similar fashion, by killing the old man, the narrator is not self-aware because it was the result of his own actions that led to his demise.