The Most Intriguing Mood of the Short Story - Essay Example

Task: The Tell-Tale Heart This is a narration that opens with a significant expectation. It places the reader on an anxious platform as one waits to understand the real character of the narrator. It is notable that the narrator gives meager introductions about himself. The most intriguing mood of this short story relates to anxiety. It is crucial to highlight that both the protagonist and the reader are in the state of anxiety. Anxiety relates to fear and strong expectation of the future. They strive towards understanding the protagonist.

In this case, the narrator is the protagonist of whom the reader aims at understanding. The anxiety begins from the introduction of the story. The narrator offers few details about oneself as he tries to emphasize the view that he is sane. He strives to convince an equally anxious reader that he is only nervous. This is different from the speculation that he could be insane. It seems that the narrator is convinced of the view that the reader is likely to attain a different perspective of the story.

In this sense, he fears for his reputation. The threat against his reputation relates to the view that the reader could perceive his actions to have emanated from a supposed insanity. The character is led by anxiety to murder his housemate. The narrator does not accord a clear account on his relationship with the old man. This opens many speculations. To begin with, the old man might be the father of the killer. On the other hand, the killer might be the servant of the old man. It is arguable that the old man might be a Good Samaritan that had housed the old man.

In the end, one is anxious that the killer might have had malicious intentions. It is also arguable that the murderer might have had other intentions rather than his claims. In spite of the fact that he claims that the vulture-like eyes were responsible for his killing of the old man, there could be other perspectives of why he murdered the old man. These perspectives relate to his possible motives for murdering the old man. The narrator is offering perspectives that the anxious reader should not think of the same.

The narrator seems to offer the reasons for which he might have not killed the man for. To begin with, the narrator explains that he had no previous point of dispute with the old man. He also clarifies that he is not a passionate killer. This is the point that seeks to emphasize the innocence of the killer. This is because passionate killers are individuals who are mostly likely to possess psychological dysfunctions. In order to counter such thinking, he emphasizes that he is a sane individual.

However, further explanation creates anxiety in the reader as pertains to the real intention of the killer. He reinstates that he did not carry the motive of acquiring the old man’s wealth (Poe 8). The core of anxiety relates to feelings of uncertainty. It is discernible that the old man might be an individual of great wealth. However, the young man seems to be an unstable individual who is still ambitious. In this ambition, he might have murdered the old man for wealth. Since the core of anxiety seems to prop on uncertainty, the younger murderer is unsure of himself.

This is because a deeper conscience may expose him as a maliciously oriented person. There seems to be a mysterious dark force that can propel the individual to extreme lengths. If one draws back the flashback, it is arguable that the narrator might have placed the old man in anxious position due to his extraordinary senses. Such senses could only point to a form of insanity. Perhaps the old man might have not had the vulture eyes. The narration describes the old man to have held a pale blue and vulture like eyes (Poe 2).

This served to place the narrator in a nervous and anxious position as the nights, of the sleeping with the old man, progressed. The night held several possibilities as the protagonist thought over the respective outcomes. The uncertain outcomes pushed the narrator into a murderous nervousness that reflects as a phobia for the future. In this sense, anxiety reveals as a detriment of the future. The narrator is a coward since he fails to face his future. The vulture-like eyes might be representative of a challenge that the narrator fears to tackle.

In addition, he is an impatient character who does not wait for evolution of events. In the end, the narrator anxiety seems to have accorded him an illusion of life. On his eighth day, he reports of a lantern illumination that revealed a widely open eye of the old man. Besides, he senses an oddly and loudly beating heart that leads him to strike and murder the old man. In the developing narration, the protagonist confesses out of a lone voice ringing on his ears. It is discernible that anxiety is an intriguing mood in this short story.

It is notable that both the narrator and reader are in different forms of anxiety. The narrator seems to be unsure of reasons towards his murderous act. The anxiety had led him to end the life of the old man. The anxiety continues to haunt him of the consequences that will arise in the future. In the end, the anxiety reveals the protagonists’ character as an impatient individual who fears to tackle the challenges towards his future. Works Cited Poe, Edgar. The Tell-Tale Heart. New York, NY: United Holdings Group, 2001. Print.