Abstract
In this assignment, an attempt has been
made to give an analytical view of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. Most of his
short stories are known as tales of macabre and tales of ratiocination. This
assignment focuses on Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a story of a ruthless
killing of an old man, and the confession of the crime.
Keywords:
macabre, poe, short story
Introduction
Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century
American poet, short story writer and literary critic. He is best known for his
poem "The Raven" and a short story "The Black Cat". He has
contributed in the genre of crime and horror. His collection of short stories
are divided into two parts, tales of ratiocination and tales of macabre. The
core elements of his stories are crime, murder, horror and investigation.
"The Purloined Letter" is an example of detective fiction.
The Tell-Tale Heart is a story of a criminal who
skillfully kills an old man for a silly reason. The story shows the inner
recesses of human psyche. Published in 1843, the story is still very relevant
in today’s time. There are several murders brutal killings happen in today’s
society. The aftermath of the killing is unbearable to the killer that he
himself confesses the crime.
At the very beginning of the story Poe
gives the indication that the narrator or a protagonist is having acute sense
of hearing. He could listen the voice from heaven and hell also.
The disease had sharpened my senses --
not destroyed -- not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute.
I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.
(Poe)
The reason behind narrator’s hatred
towards an old man is his blue eye, the eye of the vulture. That was the only reason
to kill the old man. This can be read in the psychological ways that how small reasons
and trivial things can disturb the disordered person.
It is impossible to say how first the
idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object
there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never
wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think
it was his eye! Yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue
eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so
by degrees -- very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old
man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. (Poe)
The narrator describes how much he
hated the eyes of the old man and then how he made rehearsals of killing. But
on one midnight, he was determined to make the killing happen.
In an instant I dragged him to the
floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed
so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound.
This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At
length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the
corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held
it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would
trouble me no more. (Poe)
One can see the sight of relief is making a prefect mixture with the heavy atmosphere of killing. Readers often connect themselves with the narrator as he was suffering from a disease that caused him an acute senses of hearing.
After killing the old man the narrator
hides the dead body of an old man under the wooden planks of the floor. Here
again the keenness in adjusting the corpse under the planks is showing the gory
brutality of the killer. He cuts off his arms and head and legs to fix the
body.
If still you think me mad, you will
think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the
concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence.
First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the
legs. (Poe)
When the three policemen enter the
house then a sudden change in his behavior is changing as if nothing has
happened in the house. He becomes so suave and polite that the cops was getting
satisfactory remarks about him.
But as the easy talk went on with the
cops, the narrator grew pale and vehement. He behaved so anxiously that cops
suspected him again.
Poe creates the environment of suspense
and mystery throughout the story. And at the end, he reveals the inner agony of
the killer. The narrator feels that the heartbeats are much louder that the
police cops can also hear them.
“But anything was better than this
agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear
those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or
die! --and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! –” (Poe)
At last, he couldn’t bear the inner
illusion of heartbeats of the old man and he yelled.
"Villains!" I shrieked,
"dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! --here,
here! --it is the beating of his hideous heart!" (Poe)
To conclude, one can say that Poe has
thrown some light on dark recesses on the mind. This story can also be read in
a psychological symptoms of the narrator.
Hyperacusis is a hearing disorder that leads a patient to the uncomfortable state, resulting in pain an anxiety. This can be at peak by hearing the daily sounds like phone ringing, people talking, and running faucet and so on. The acute hearing Poe mentions is indicating to this particular disease.
Reference: Poe, Edgar A. The Tell-Tale Heart. PDF, Elegant Books, 1843.
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