The Tell Tale Heart Analysis Essay Example

Although it has been one hundred and seventy-two years since Edgar Allan Poe’s passing, his memory still lives on to this day through his work. During his lifetime, Poe wrote around seventy tales and fifty poems. One of his most notable works is “The Tell-Tale Heart'' which was originally published in January 1843. Poe utilizes many examples of symbolism such as an “Evil Eye,” a beating heart, and a lantern in this short story to represent the protagonist's psychological state. 

For example, Poe uses the old man’s diseased eye as a symbol of the protagonist’s inner evil. On page forty-one, the narrator states:

“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!” 

The narrator clearly states that there are no logical or rational reasons for them to kill the old man beside his cloudy, blue, diseased eye. The narrator’s description of the old man’s “evil” or “vulture” eye better suits the narrator themself. They become corrupted or evil when they ultimately decide to kill the old man without any motive, and they act like a vulture stalking their prey the seven nights leading up to the massacre. Just as a vulture would, the narrator targets an injured animal, but in this case, the injured animal is the old man they are caring for. 

Secondarily, Poe uses a beating heart to symbolize the narrator’s consciousness. On page forty-three, the narrator states, ". . . the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder. . ." This heartbeat directly correlates with the narrator’s psychological burden of decision to take the old man’s life. The beating heart started once more when the police came to check on a call made by a neighbor. On page forty-four, the narrator states “It grew louder—louder—louder! . . . anything was better than this agony!” They also go on to state, “I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart” (44). The police make no inclinations that they detect this supposed heartbeat of the deceased man that the narrator claims to hear, making one assume that the beating is the narrator’s own consciousness admitting to the deed because of overwhelming guilt.  

Lastly, Poe uses a lantern to represent the protagonist’s lack of insight. Typically, a lantern provides light, and they are primarily associated with uncovering truths in literature. In this tale, the lantern acts as a window into the narrator’s worldview, allowing us to uncover the truth of our narrator’s psychological state. This “window” allows them to see what they perceive to be true, and not what necessarily is true. For example, the narrator intrudes into the old man’s bedroom, pushes the “. . .dark lantern, all closed, closed, so no light shone out. . .” through the doorway first, and then they “. . . undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. ” (41). The emitting light from the lantern does not show the old man as the decent human being the narrator describes at the beginning of the tale, but shows him as only being the “evil eye” the narrator portrays him to be. 

In conclusion, Poe utilizes symbols throughout the tale to represent the psychological disposition of the protagonist. Whether it is an “Evil Eye” that represents the narrator’s own inner evil, a lantern that demonstrates to the reader how the narrator views the universe, or a beating heart that symbolizes the narrator’s own inner consciousness. All these symbols that Poe uses creates a remarkable telling of an unreliable character.