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Introduction to Edgar Allan Poe’s Exploration of the Human Psyche
Wh5n som5on5 kills a man, would th5y h5ar th5 constant b5ating of his h5art? Would it driv5 th5m insan5? In 5dgar Allan Po5s short story, Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art, th5 narrator is fac5d with a probl5m. This is not a common, 5v5ryday ord5al. This is th5 probl5m of m5ntal instability, t5rror and paranoia driving th5 narrator to kill som5on5. Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art is fill5d with comp5lling id5as, claims and th5m5s to mak5 som5on5 think about th5 story as a whol5. 5dgar Allan Po5 us5s many diff5r5nt typ5s of lit5rary d5vic5s, motifs, and us5s his languag5 in many diff5r5nt, y5t cl5v5r ways. Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art is full of symbolism and almost 5v5rything has an und5rlying m5aning. It is a story that t5ach5s th5 r5ad5r but 5nt5rtains th5m at th5 sam5 tim5. Most of Po5s works turn out that way, but Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art is on5 of th5 most w5ll known of his works as w5ll as th5 most full of hidd5n m5anings and cont5xts. In my The Tell-Tale Heart essay example, I delve into a narrative that skillfully balances both education and entertainment for the reader.
Edgar All5n Po5 (Po5) was on5 of th5 most influ5ntial Am5rican writ5rs of th5 nin5t55nth c5ntury. Po5 was an Am5rican po5t, writ5r, critic and 5ditor and was b5st known for his writing, and was famous for his ability to writ5 gripping and 5xciting tal5s and po5ms. Po5s works hav5 b55n r5ad all ov5r th5 world and ar5 still b5ing r5ad to this day. Som5 of Po5s b5st known works includ5 th5 po5ms: To H5l5n, (1831) and Annab5l L55 (1849), th5 short stori5s about 5vil and crim5, Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art (1843) and Th5 Cask of Amontillado (1846), and th5 paranormal horror story Th5 Fall of th5 Hous5 of Ush5r. (1839)
Som5 of th5 p5opl5 and 5v5nts that influ5nc5d Po5 b5cam5 th5 inspiration b5hind futur5 stori5s and po5ms, and som5 ar5 cl5arly abl5 to b5 s55n throughout c5rtain works. In fact, som5 different real-life murders have been cited as th5 inspiration behind Poes stories and poems, and among these is th5 murder of Joseph White of Salem, Massachus5ts in 1830.
Po5 k5pt a common motif throughout his short stori5s and po5ms, but h5 had many diff5r5nt motifs. A larg5 amount of his works includ5d r5fl5cting on th5 natur5 of d5ath and qu5stioning th5 aft5rlif5. For 5xampl5, in th5 po5m Eldorado, th5 protagonist is only abl5 to g5t to his lif5 goals in d5ath. Po5 do5s not com5 to th5 sam5 conclusion about d5ath in 5ach po5m. Som5 of th5 oth5r motifs us5d w5r5 love, impermanence or uncertainty, and nature. Th5 narrator of Annab5l L55 sl5pt 5v5ry night n5xt to h5r futur5 grav5 by th5 s5a, giving a som5what morbid und5rton5 to what app5ars to at first b5 faithful lov5.
As m5ntion5d abov5, anoth5r on5 of his motifs w5r5 imp5rman5nc5 or unc5rtainty. An 5xampl5 of this is in th5 po5m A Dr5am Within a Dr5am. This po5m is about th5 id5a that r5ality is not p5rman5nt and it is nothing mor5 than a dr5am . Po5 mak5s this cl5ar in the poem by writing that he is saying goodbye to this girl, and he do5s not know wh5r5 h5 is going, and h5 also shows this by writing on5 of his famous quot5s: All that w5 s55 or s55m, / is but a dr5am within a dr5am .
Not all of Po5s motifs ar5 blood, guts and d5ath, though. Po5 also us5d lov5 and natur5 in his stori5s and po5ms. Po5 oft5n associat5s natur5 with good sinc5 h5 was around during th5 tim5 wh5n authors look5d to r5turn to natur5 in ord5r to get to a cleaner state away from the influences of society. In the poem Tamerlane, Tamerlane and his childhood friend find happiness and love in nature, until he leaves to be with other men and falls prey to pride and ambition .
The Motifs of Death, Terror, Guilt, and Madness in Poe’s Works
The Cask of Amontillado, Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art and Th5 Pit and th5 P5ndulum, th5m5s ar5 not all sugar and spic5 and 5v5rything nic5. Po5 us5s four similar motifs; d5ath, t5rror, guilt and madn5ss. In Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art, Po5 us5s madn5ss, guilt and d5ath th5 most. In th5 b5ginning of th5 story, th5 r5ad5r can s55 that th5 narrator liv5s with and car5s for an old man who has a cloud5d, vultur5-lik5 5y5. Th5 narrator b5gins to focus hims5lf 5ntir5ly on th5 old mans 5y5, but starts g5tting f55lings of paranoia, and b5com5s afraid. Th5 narrator wants to s5parat5 th5 man from this 5vil 5y5 of his. At this point, it is cl5ar that th5 narrator do5s not s55 that th5 old mans 5y5 is basically th5 I of th5 old man , a part of him that cannot b5 s5parat5d lik5 th5 narrator thinks. This obs5ssion and hatr5d towards such a small obj5ct is what driv5s th5 narrator to ruthl5ssly kill this old man.
The Psychological Depth of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’
Th5 murd5r of th5 old man shows th5 amount that th5 narrator s5parat5s th5 id5ntity of th5 old man from his actual 5y5. He perceives the old man in two completely different ways because of his eye, yet claims to see the old man in one way. The result of this is that the narrator is able to savagely murder the old man while still saying that he loves him. Even though this is the incentive to kill the man, the narrator does not acknowledge that this will end the old mans life. By mutilating the old man, the narrator strips the old man of his humanity even more than h5 alr5ady has.
Symbolism and the Struggle with Guilt and Madness
Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art is Po5s short5st story, but it is on5 of his b5st and w5ll-known works. As m5ntion5d pr5viously, guilt was on5 of th5 major th5m5s us5d in Th5 T5ll-Tal5 H5art. Th5 narrator is cl5arly unabl5 to d5al with th5 guilt h5 f55ls aft5r murd5ring th5 old man, 5sp5cially aft5r h5 starts to h5ar a h5artb5at, which 5v5ntually drowns out all oth5r nois5s. This ti5s back into th5 actual titl5 of th5 story. Th5 storys titl5 is saying that th5 h5art is a t5ll-tal5 sign. It r5f5rs to th5 h5artb5at that acc5l5rat5d th5 narrators d5sc5nt into madn5ss and forc5d him to conf5ss his crim5. Th5 r5ad5r is l5d to b5li5v5 that th5 h5artb5at in th5 story is th5 old mans h5art which th5 narrator h5ars, which is logically impossibl5 sinc5 th5 man is d5ad and cut to pi5c5s..
The Heartbeat: A Symbol of Conscience and Unraveling Sanity
Po5 us5d his words to giv5 a look at paranoia and th5 d5t5rioration of th5 human mind. H5 do5s not us5 a ton of d5tail, and this is to int5nsify th5 narrators obsession and devotion to certain things, such as the old mans eye, the relentless thumping of the heart, and the narrator’s own claim to sanity. Poes writing and how the language was used gave rise to the narrative way the story was written. The narrator is a morally insane man, and Poes use of language hints that he would hav5 lik5d th5 r5ad5r to find th5 symptoms of th5 narrators condition in th5 languag5 of th5 storys narration. Som5 p5opl5 hav5 thought this form and cont5nt gav5 a cl5ar 5xampl5 of paranoia. Po5 hims5lf, lik5 th5 b5ating of th5 old mans h5art, almost s55ms to b5 guilty in th5 plot to catch th5 narrator in his fi5ndish plot.
Th5 main m5ssage of The Tell-Tale Heart Poe tries to get across is revealed little by little throughout the book. Poe tries to show that the human heart knows the truth and it will always have a louder voice than the lies someone tells to cover it up. This means that someone will know deep down in their heart what is true and what is not, and this sense of knowing the difference will always be stronger than the lies someone tells to convince us otherwise. This also tells us that we should not commit crimes because we cannot escape the weight of our own guilt.
Every story has its fair share of problems, though. The main conflict in this story is between the narrator and his own mind. These problems clash with each other since the narrator knew that he could not kill someone and get away with it, even though he wants to convince himself that he can. He knows he will be punished for this once it is found that the old man was dead, but he just cannot seem to stop himself from trying to separate the old man from his evil eye .
There is also some symbolism throughout this tale. The eye symbolizes many different things. The eye is, in a way, a sort of window into the mind and into the soul. It also symbolizes how death is rooted in the center of the story. The narrator calls the old mans eye his vulture-eye , which is mentioned multiple times throughout the story. A vulture is a hideous, carnivorous bird that feeds on dead flesh, so the eye also represents death and preying on one another. The old mans eye is described as blue, which is a color that usually symbolizes coldness. It seems to be watching the narrator, and this is specifically what the narrator wants to terminate. The eye is also a symbol of wisdom, light and intellect, so while the narrator portrays it in an evil light, it is hard to see why he kills it and the old man.
The heart and its beating also symbolize multiple things. The heart represents the emotions and the conscience, and the narrator obviously has a very guilty heart. The heartbeat symbolizes the narrators guilt in the old mans murder. The narrator believes that the beating is the old mans heart, and becomes more and more flustered, and the heartbeat eventually drives him to confess. This symbolizes the lack of closure that murder brings and the way our crimes can haunt us even when we believe they are dead and buried . The heartbeat would be from the narrators own heart, not the old man’s heart because the narrator just killed a man which would then make him feel overwhelmed with guilt. The old man was murdered, dismembered, and stuffed under the floorboards, so, logically speaking, the heartbeat would not and could not be from a dead man.
Conclusion: The Enduring Legacy of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’
Overall, it may be said that The Tell-Tale Heart is a gripping story that draws the reader in and refuses to let go. It is full of symbolism, underlying messages, and it is a superbly written story. This story teaches anyone who dares pick it up a valuable lesson: to not commit crimes because eventually they will be driven to give themselves away in the end, and that their crimes will always come back around to them. Edgar Allan Poe was truly a fantastic, creative and very innovative author and contributed much to the literature world.
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