The Tell Tale Heart: A Gothic Essay

The short story The Tell-Tale Heart is a gothic fiction, which was written by Edgar Allan Poe, one of the major American writers, and first published in 1843. In the story, the narrator first tells about eight days in a house with a vulture eyed old man, how he killed him and cut him in pieces at the eighth night, and was visited by the police right after the murder. The name of the story gives an important clue about the strange heart beat of the old man after death, as its says tell-tale heart.

The story is written in the 1st person narrative, however, it is not clear, whether the narrator is a man or a woman. This main character is so confident about himself and his madness, moreover, he is completely sure that he has done the right thing by killing the strange eyed old man. He tries to explain that this murder wasnt without reason, he says that the old mans one eye was evil (lines 9-10-11) and this mainly caused him to plan the crime. The narrator explains in detail, how carefully he visits the old man every midnight and how mad he gets and reacts when he sees that vulture eye. The narrator has a quite strange relationship with the old man, since he visits him also every morning and asks how he passed the night. This shows the changeable psychology of the murderer, most probably because of the mental disease he mentioned in the beginning of the story (line 2). However, it is clear that he denies and/or ignores this disease in every aspect and tries to proof that it is a positive part of him. (Line 2: the disease had sharpened my senses, Line 21: would a madman have been so wise as this?, Line 31: the extent of my own powers, my sagacity)

The eighth night was the time, when the narrator sees the old mans evil eye wide open, and decides to go into action. That night is described in long and detailed paragraphs in the story, and the narrator explains mostly about the old mans and his own feelings and senses before and during the murder. It is clear from his sarcastic phrases that the murderer doesnt mercy, but pity the old man, since this had to be the unpreventable end for him. (Line 43: it was the groan of mortal terror, Line 47: I pitied him, Line: 71 The old mans terror must have been extreme! ) The old man was dead, and his vulture eye wouldnt cause trouble anymore. The murderer put the parts of the corpse under the floor, However, while he is explaining the precautions he took for the concealment of the body, he again tries to persuade the reader that he is totally sane; but, although he mentions that the old mans shriek would be heard by a neighbor, he totally missed out that possibility. Finally his door is knocked by the police officers, and the narrator explains how cool, fearless and confident he reacted and let them search everywhere without any doubt. They sit together in the old mans room, and the narrator claims the shriek was his own in a dream. In this part, he again uses some exaggerated statements about his victory, in order to proof his sanity one more time (Line 100: In the enthusiasm of my confidence,.., Line 102: ..in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, Line 104: My manner had convinced them.) All of a sudden, the narrator starts to hear a strange sound, which steadily increases. As it gets louder, he thinks that the noise is the old mans heart beat coming from under the floor. Although the police officers are not aware of the sound, the narrator suddenly confesses commiting the crime, and says he is ready to remove the planks and show them the old mans body. In spite of all the effort the narrator made in order to proof his sanity, the claim that he hears the old mans heart beat under the floor is a great argument that he is totally mad.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a perfect example of a gothic fiction genre, which includes the features terror (both physical and psychological), madness, fear, death, darkness and secrets. The story has quite ironic elements in it, the more the narrator tries to proof his sanity, the more we see evidences that he is truly insane. No sane person would commit a murder like this, acts so calm right after it and then suddenly become more and more panicked and hear some nonexisting sounds which lead him to confess the crime.