Thursday, May 30, 2019

Critical Analysis of Poes The Tell Tale Heart Essay -- Poe Tell Tale

Critical Analysis of Poes The Tell Tale Heart The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the about basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself (as brotherhooding the narrator is male). Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is draw as an obsession (with the archaic mans eye), which in turn leads to loss of control and dismantletually results in violence. Ultimately, the narrator tells his story of killing his signmate. Although the narrator seems to be blatantly insane, and conjectures he has freedom from guilt, the feeling of guilt over the murder is too overwhelming to bear. The narrator offernot tolerate it and eventually confesses his supposed perfect crime. People tend to think that insane persons are beyond the normal realm of reason shared by those who are in their right mind. This is not so guilt is an feeling shared by all humans. The most demented i ndividuals are not above the feeling of guilt and the havoc it causes to the psyche. Poes use of setting, character, and language reveal that even an insane person feels guilt. Therein lies the theme to The Tell Tale Heart The emotion of guilt easily, if not eventually, crashes through the seemingly unbreakable walls of insanity. On the surface, the corporeal setting of The Tell Tale Heart is typical of the period and exceedingly typical of Poe. The narrator and the old man live in an old, dark house (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers) (Poe 778). Most of the story takes place at night And this I did for seven long nights-every night just at midnight? (778). The carnal aspect is not the most important component of setting for this analysis. More important are the mental and emotional settings. This clearly explains the personality of the narrator. One can assume the narrator is insane. He freely admits to his listener that he is ?-nervous-very, very drea dfully nervous? (777). But he then asks, ?but why pull up stakes you say that I am mad? (777). He also admits that, The disease had sharpened my senses? (777). If not insanity, what disease does he speak of? The reason for his actions was one of the old mans eyes ?-a pale blue eye, with a film over it (777). This is easily recognizable to the reader as an eye with cataract on it. This is nothin... ...ust scream or plump -and now-again -hark louder louder louder louder-? Villains I shrieked, dissemble no more I admit the deed - tear up the planks -here, here- it is the beating of his hideous heart(780). These final two lines in the story beautifully demonstrate how language was used to show insanity being overturned by guilt. Three elements of literary work that truly sum up the theme of The Tell Tale Heart are setting, character, and language. Through these elements we can easily see how guilt, an emotion, can be more powerful than insanity. charge the most demented criminal has feelings of guilt, if not remorse, for what he has done. This is shown exquisitely in Poes writing. All three elements were used to their extreme to convey the theme. The balance of the elements is such that both(prenominal) flow into others. It is sometimes hard to distinguish one from another. Poes usage of these elements shows his mastery not only over the pen, but over the mind as well. work CitedPoe, Edgar Allan. The Tell-Tale Heart. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York Longman, 1999. 33-37.

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