Literary Analysis of The Tell-Tale Heart of Edgar Poe - Essay Example

of the Literary Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart” of Edgar Poe The short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a revealing story about the psychological condition of the protagonist. He is the narrator of the story and continuously informs that he is not mad. He narrates his actions and planning related to a murder that was not essentially required. The protagonist lacks an authentic motive for the murder. He wants to kill the old man on the basis of his eye that makes the protagonist uneasy. He regards the old man’s eye as evil due to which, he decides that he will take away his life. This paper scrutinizes the character development of the protagonist in the whole story. In the very start of the story, the narrator accepts that he has grown nervous and oversensitive to the environment around him. He considers it a disease but is happy that it has made his senses more responsive. He says, “Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth” (Poe). The narrator explains that his hearing is too much sharp. He uses elaborative remarks to express the sharpness of his hearing. He further informs that this proves that he is not mad. However, being sharp in hearing does not prove him to be not mad as there is no association between being mad or excellent hearing power. He is not mad, but he has some kind of psyche issue, which encourages him to kill an innocent person. He is disturbed by the stare of the old man and starts considering himself in danger due to which, he decides to eradicate this threat (Ki 30). He regards himself witty but he is bothered by the staring eye of the old man. He considers him strong because of his eye. He narrates the whole story as to how he visits the old man at midnight and moves so slowly and cautiously that he makes no noise at all. However, he continuously monitors the sleeping routine of the old man but every time, he gets disappointed and is unable to attack because he is unable to see the old man’s eye opened (Ki 31). Eighth day when he was judging the old man sleeping, he made a slight noise unintentionally that made the old man frightened. He was unable to sleep again. The narrator enjoyed the threat felt by the old man and acted as a wild beast waiting for the victim to be fully terrorized. The old man was aware of his coming death, which intimidated him. The narrator took a long time analyzing the old man’s situation. He only allowed a minute beam of lamp light directed towards the old man’s eye. During his noticing the old man’s eye, he started hearing intense heart beat and according to his perception, it was of the old man. He murdered the old man finally by the help of bed mattress. After murdering, he did an insane act that was tearing the body parts of the old man limb from limb (Pritchard 145). The act as whole appears gruesome. After dissecting the whole body, he hid the body parts in the old man’s room. His act of concealment was error free as nobody was supposed to find out his violent act because the body was not to be revealed. He appreciated his diligence in killing and hiding the old man dismembered as he says, “no human eye --not even his --could have detected anything wrong” (Poe). He did a flawless work, but he was unable to retain his sanity. Three police officers came for investigation about the shriek that some neighbor listened to during the murder. He made the officers satisfied with the statement that it was he who shrieked because of some unpleasant dream. The officers stayed there just to do some chat with the protagonist and their overstaying made him doubtful. He thought that they know something or are just trying to find the truth. He again started to listen to the pounding heart, and he thought it to be of the old man. The voice of pounding heart started to make him mental. He tried to stop the throbbing but considering it uncontrollable, he accepted his crime before the officers and also tell them the spot where he hid the dismembered body of the old man. The narrator seems psychologically disturbed as all his actions support the notion that he is not fully sane. He tries to find sanity in his irrational actions. Certain irrational doings that he tries to prove as rational are not rational but just violent and insane actions and motives. Pritchard (2003) suggests that the narrator may have some sort of psychosomatic disorder as he seeks delight in doing brutal and malicious actions (p. 144). Pritchard further explains that the narrator is a sadist character who feels satisfaction in murdering. While reading the narration of the protagonist and his planned action along with seven days exercise, all point towards the fact that the narrator has a certain kind of disorder that instigates him to commit a gruesome crime. The narrator is not only the murderer but also a victim (Witherington 472). The narrator tells his story by continuously claiming his absolute sanity. In his told tale, he also appears a victim as he is oversensitive and kills the old man on the basis of his psychosis as he has no enmity with the man as he says that he loved him. He is a victim of his own doing (Witherington 472). Considering himself diseased but still able to live normally, he regards his senses to be heightened in responding to day to day activities. He listens what is not required; he does what is motiveless, and he proves what he is not. He is unable to comprehend his own condition and mental state. He doubts himself to be mad due to which, he constantly asks people to accept him as a sane man. The man starts to plan the old man and visits his room daily at the same time and no one notices him. However, when he kills the old man, the officers appear quite soon. He has just finished with his work and is unable to stand their communication. Very soon, he bursts and informs the officers of his doing. All of the facts point towards the narrator’s development as an insensible person. The setting of the story suits his plans and actions. His narration informs about his mental instability. Works Cited Ki, Wing-chi M. Ego-Evil and "The Tell-Tale Heart". Renascence 61.1 (Fall 2008). pp. 25-38. Web.. Accessed February 12, 2013. Poe, Allen E. The Tell-Tale Heart. 1843. Web. Accessed February 12, 2013. Pritchard, H. Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. Explicator, 2003. pp. 144-147. Web. . Accessed February 12, 2013. Witherington, P. The Accomplice in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. EBSCO, 2003. pp. 471-475. 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