In the popular short story The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allen Poe reveals the horrid theme that each person has a vicious wicked side or a dark side that can provoke the person into committing unthinkable sins for no apparent reason. Poe was an expert in writing thrillers which the psyche of the main character would be challenged. After reading a story by Poe, the reader often asks whether he/she could possibly do such an evil act. The Tell-Tale Heart is a perfect example of how a person could be driven to commit the most horrendous act of murder for just a simple everyday object. A human being has a perverse, wicked side–another self–that can goad him into doing evil things that have no apparent motive. (Cummins)
John Greenleaf Whittier first published the short story The Tell Tale Heart in The Pioneer in 1843. We can assume that the setting of the story is approximately the same time because there is no evidence that it took place in any other time period as many other Poe stories do. Poe was going through an immense amount of personal struggle at this time. Virginia, his wife and the love of his life, had just one year earlier broken a blood vessel while singing. This was the “tell tale” sign of tuberculosis during that time of limited medical technology. He was also suffering from severe financial problems as he did for most of his short life. It was enough to provoke an individual into actions that one would never have thought he would do. He knows that all people, when in an adverse situation, have momentarily thought of some disgusting action to get rid of the situation that is at hand. This was surely the situation with Poe at the time.
He wanted so badly to help his young wife and make her life as comfortable as possible, but had limited means to do so. The tuberculosis that lived daily in the house with Poe was like the evil eye of the narrator’s companion. Just as the eye was a part of the companion’s body, tuberculosis was a part of Virginia’s own body. It was staring at the author daily and would even haunt him when he was not with Virginia. The narrator could only be free from the evil eye through the death of its owner and the death of his beloved wife was the only way to rid Poe of the tragic disease that inhabited his house.
The story takes place over the span of eight days. This is a relevantly short time when one is looking back at a situation that has occurred, but it can seem like an eternity when the person is enduring a negative circumstance. A short amount of time is needed to set up the situation where the narrator can plan and carry out his awful deed of murder. He thinks of his plan in one day and then he spends a week making sure that his strategy is accurate. He tests the waters every night by slipping into his companion’s bedroom as quietly as he can. He cannot complete the act until the large eye with the film over it is open. Which means that even with his silence, the narrator must slip into the room unnoticed while his companion is awake. This seems like an impossible task; however, the narrator is so fixed on his motive that he cannot allow himself to believe that it cannot be done.
The Tell-Tale Heart, like most of Poe’s stories, is told in first person point of view with an unnamed narrator. The narrator is left with no name so that it can be assumed that he could be anyone. He could be the reader’s neighbor, citizen in the community, spouse, brother, father, servant, or even the reader. As Poe stated through the narrator in The Black Cat,
“Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?” (Poe, Black Cat)
Using first person point of view allows Poe to take the reader inside the mind of the criminal. There was not much information in the field of psychology in Poe’s day, but Poe clearly had an inclination that delving into the mind of the criminal could explain to society how a perfectly ordinary individual could commit a horrific crime. He attended West Point after a tumultuous military career and it is quite possible that Poe learned about the forensic science that was known during that day. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to believe that when training military leaders, that one would have to go inside the mind of the enemy and learn what makes him think like he does.
The narrator of this tale at first seems as normal as anyone. It is not revealed at first, but he is actually relating the narrative from jail. The gender of the narrator is not specified, but it is likely that it is a male because:
The narrator of “A Tell-Tale Heart” exhibits male characteristics, including (1) A more pronounced tendency than females to commit violent acts. Statistics demonstrate overwhelmingly that murder is a male crime. (2) Physical strength that would be unusual in a female. The narrator drags the old man onto the floor and pulls the bed on top of him, then tears up floorboards and deposits the body between joists. (3) The narrator performs a man’s chore by bringing four chairs into the old man’s bedroom, one for the narrator and three for the policemen. If the narrator were a woman, the policemen probably would have fetched the chairs. But they did not. (Cummins)
In the first paragraph the narrator tells us his objective in telling his story and that is that he is not mad or insane. He states that he will prove that he can prove that he is not mad because he knows full well what he has done, he can relate the incident in complete calmness, and that he intricately planned the crime and none of that would be possible if he was mad.
Human nature is a delicate balance of light and dark or good and evil. Most of the time this precarious balance is maintained; however, when there is a shift, for whatever reason, the dark or perverse side surfaces. How and why this “dark side” emerges differs from person to person. What may push one individual “over the edge” will only cause a raised eyebrow in another. In this case, it is the “vulture eye” of the old man that makes the narrator’s blood run cold. It is this irrational fear which evokes the dark side, and eventually leads to murder. The narrator plans, executes and conceals the crime; however, “[w]hat has been hidden within the self will not stay concealed….” (Silverman 208)
Poe is revealing to the public that it is not just those who are not lucid who can have mental problems. There are people who seem normal and are functioning in society who have a tendency that would make them insane. In fact he makes the point that quite possibly everyone has a tendency that in the wrong circumstance could allow that person to lapse into the area of their brain that would allow the person to commit an act as cruel as the one committed in the story.
There is no reason that the narrator should want to kill the unnamed old man with the offending eye. Poe narrates that he was kind and generous. These are two qualities that usually endear a person to another and in this case it makes the crime even worse. In most of Poe’s other works there is at least a minor infraction performed by the victim that leads the murderer to commit the crime, but not in this story.
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! One of his eyes resembled that 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 for ever. (Poe, Tell-Tale Heart)
Here the offense is the eye of the old man. This eye is large, bulging, light blue, is covered with a film, and resembles the eye of a vulture. Perhaps the eye was just such a focal point that it made the narrator uncomfortable or it could have through its resemblance to the eye of a vulture, reminded him of his own impending death. Whatever the reason, the old man certainly could not help his condition. Changing a person’s appearance is a billion dollar industry in the world today, but there was literally no plastic surgery in the 1840’s and there was nothing the old man could do, but live with his eye. There is also no reason that the eye should push the narrator to his crime. It was not something that could harm him in any way. It was just uncomfortable to view. Many times individuals are faced with viewing another’s person’s handicap or infirmity, but with time, it becomes less and less noticeable to the viewer. The narrator deliberately focused on this eye instead of trying to adjust. Even though this seems mad, this is something that others have dealt with.
The narrator speaks of an illness that has heightened the senses: “Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heavens and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.” The narrator repeatedly insists that he is not mad; however the reader soon realizes that the fear of the vulture eye has consumed the narrator, who has now become a victim to the madness which he had hoped to elude. (Womack)
The narrator never quite achieves his goal of proving he is not mad. In fact, he completely proves that he is insane, but he is also on the line of being considered normal. That is where the true terror lies. Poe wanted others to look at everyone around them and to wonder if that person who is acting perfectly normal could really be one who could murder in the blink of an eye. He also wanted people to examine themselves and be terror stricken at what they too may have the capability of committing. The narrator not only smothers his victim, but he also cuts him up so that he can get rid of the body. The Tell-Tale Heart’ concerns the murder of an old man, the careful, almost ritualistic dismembering of his corpse, and its concealment between the floor boards. (Giddings p 48) He takes great care to practice each night on just how quiet he can maneuver in the room of his companion, but on the night of the murder, he makes a serious mistake which awakens the old man. It is easy to contemplate the idea that if the old man had not wakened, would he ever have killed him.
The manner in which the narrator kills his companion is equally gruesome. Once the narrator has been heard by the old man, he could still act as if he had come into his room for something else. Instead, he stands completely still for a long time while his victim is left in terror at the thought of an intruder violating the privacy of his room. He is extremely still so that his head is hidden in the shadows of the door. This would have taken quite a bit of skill to be still and quiet for that amount of time. When he is finally able to see what he perceives as the evil eye, he smothers his victim as the old man fights for his life in innocence. This seems like the perfect example of madness and perverseness. After he reassures the servants in the house that everything is fine, he jumps to the process of concealing 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.
I took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly so cunningly, that no human eye — not even his — could have detected anything wrong. There was nothing to wash out — no stain of any kind — no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. (Poe, Tell-Tale Heart)
This also points to the theme of an individual being goaded to do unspeakable things in the event of something quite simple. The narrator very quickly comes up with a plan to conceal his dastardly deed. Poe wants to make the readers think about the times between their actions and their being caught. He wants them to remember the kinds of things that occurred to them before they were faced with punishment for their actions. He wants to prove his point that everyone is capable of doing what it takes to conceal their wrongdoings.
Once the body is concealed, the narrator must deal with the police. He thought he had been so careful to be quiet, but at this he was unsuccessful. A neighbor has heard the suspicious noises that had come from the house. Those noises would have had to have been quite loud, if a neighbor had heard them through the walls of two houses. The neighbor had apparently not trusted the narrator because the neighbor did not feel comfortable to go to the house and check on its occupants. This neighbor had obviously seen or heard enough from the narrator to make him/her believe that he needed reporting to the police even though the narrator believes that he acts completely normal. This was another way that Poe wanted readers to examine themselves. One perhaps thinks that his/her behavior is perceived as normal when in reality it is not. Hence anyone walking around thinking that he/she is normal, may not really be.
Once the narrator receives a visit from the police, it is seen how he was not a complete evil person. The police arrive, and the narrator does not flinch at first. He knows that he has taken the greatest of care to conceal his horrendous act and of that he is confident. He invites the police, who are apparently suspicious of the narrator already, to have a seat in the very room in which the murder has taken place and the narrator places his chair over the exact spot where the body is concealed. Poe was brilliant to use this technique in 1843. It has been learned in modern psychology that a killer, arsonist, and etc. get an absolute thrill when he returns to the scene of his crime. It is a rush of adrenaline that is intoxicating to them and drives them to do more of the same. However, the serial criminal will feel an ultimate satisfaction in this concealment, but the narrator is filled with an incredible sense of guilt instead. He possibly did have a little bit of a sense of decency. He starts to hear the heart beat of his companion. It grows louder and louder as the conversation with the police continued. The expression on the face of the narrator can only be imagined as he was convinced that the sounds of the heart beat were echoing in through the room. He grew furious at the police because he thought that they mocked him.
Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! – no, no? They heard! – they suspected! – they KNEW! – they were making a mockery of my horror! – this I thought, and this I think. 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! – “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 Tell-Tale Heart)
The narrator told on himself. The heart beat that he had heard was his own. He was struggling with the guilt over committing what he knew was a senseless crime. Now he was sitting over the dismembered corpse of a man who had not deserved the violation that was done to him. Poe leaves the readers with the thoughts of the times that they have unjustly done a mean or cruel act to another. He even knew that the old man deserved kindness and in the last week of the gentleman’s life for his own benefit the narrator was kind back. “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart) The heart that had told on the narrator was his own. All of this happened because of the dreaded evil eye of the old man.
The belief in the evil eye dates back to ancient times, and even today, is fairly common in India and the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The belief centers around the idea that those who possess the evil eye have the power to harm people or their possessions by merely looking at them. To protect oneself from the power of the eye, certain measures can be taken. In Muslim areas, the color blue is painted on the shutters of the houses, and found on beads worn by both children and animals. There is also a specific hand gesture named the “Hand of Fatima,” named after the daughter of Mohammed. This name is also given to an amulet in the shape of hand that is worn around the neck for protection In extreme cases, the eye, whether voluntarily or not, must be destroyed. Would Poe have had knowledge of this rather strange belief? It is altogether possible that he would have, which creates another interesting twist to this story. Maybe the narrator who tries to convince us that madness is not really the issue, is telling the truth. Maybe this vile act is necessary in order to destroy the power of the old man’s evil eye! (Womack)
Over the years many have enjoyed the short story The Tell-Tale Heart for its spooky terrifying sensations as entertainment. Edgar Allan Poe did not intend for this to be the soul purpose of the story. He was happy when he could make enough money to make Virginia’s life a little more tolerable, so it was just fine with him that people purchased it. However, he left to society a work that would not only excite and thrill it, but one that would leave it with questions about the sanity of others and ourselves.
Works Cited
Cummins, Michael J. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. 2005. 12, July 2007,
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Telltale.html
Giddings, Robert. “Poe: Rituals of Life and Death.” Ed. Brian Docherty.
American Horror Fiction: From Brockden Brown to Stephen King. New York: St.
Martins Press, 1990. 46-56.
Poe, Edgar Allen. The Black Cat. Poe Stories.Com. 1845. 12, July 2007,
http://www.poestories.com/text.php?file=blackcat
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Tell-Tale Heart. 1843. University of Virginia. 11, July 2007,
http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccernew2?id=PoeTell.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance. New York:
Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.
Womack, Martha. Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. 11, July 2007,
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/ttheart/#theme
