Edgar Allen Poe has explored three different themes: His own life, the nameless narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and the literary criticism on “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The Tell-Tale Heart, is a story, although, not revealed, about father-son incest (Kachur). Throughout the story, the old man was the “eye”, or “vulture’s eye” as the narrator calls it. The “eye” is what kept the narrator unnerved, and was the main reason that drove him to kill the man (Madi and Shadi). In the beginning of the story, the narrator said, “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 forever” (Poe). That could also be a sign of the incest that is implied in the story. What that passage is saying is, the narrator loved the old man, but a small part of him always unnerved him. His eye, which he believed resembled a vulture’s eye, always kept him on edge, and frightened him. It was then he made up his mind to take the man’s life (Poe). Throughout the story, you would believe the narrator to be mad, or insane. A passage The narrator thought to himself, “Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it...
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... Ray That Fell upon the Vulture Eye': systemic grammar and its use in Edgar A. Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart." Studies in Literature and Language 6.3 (2013): 28+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Chua, John. "An overview of 'The Tell-Tale Heart,'." Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "Edgar Allan Poe." Scribner's Monthly 20 (May-Oct. 1880): 107-124. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jay Parini and Janet Mullane. Vol. 16. Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Gargano, James W. "The Question of Poe's Narrators." College English 25.3 (Dec. 1963): 177-181. Rpt. in Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson and Marie Lazzari. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
Poe, Edgar A. “The Tell-Tale Heart”. American Literature: Volume One. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 809-813. Print
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Tell-Tale Heart." Skwire, David and Harvey S Wiener. Student's Book of College English: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide and Handbook. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2012. 402-405. Print.
Howarth, W. L. (1971). Twentieth century interpretations of Poe's tales; a collection of critical essays.. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” murders an elderly man because he is fearful of the man’s “evil eye.” “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 37). The narrator explains that he is haunted by the man’s eye and the only way to
Poe uses the protagonist in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ to show how an unstable and disturbed mind can lead to evil. “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” (Poe 885). The protagonist focuses on the old man’s flawed eye, and he believed that it gave him a reason to murder him. This shows that he is not a sane or rational person because he wants to kill an innocent man over a problem that he cannot fix. This signifies broken human nature. “Never before that night, had I felt the extent of my own powers-- of my sagacity” (885). This quote suggests that sinning makes the protagonist feel powerful. This shows that humans can find satisfaction in
Frye, Steven. Critical Insights: The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2010. Print.
The Tale Tell Heart” is a short story in which Edgar Allen Poe, the author, illustrates the madness and complexity of an individual. The unnamed narrator, who is Poe’s main character, is sharing his story of him murdering an old man on the sole reason of his dislike for his filmy blue eye, which reminds him of a vulture. He meticulously plans the murder of this old man, and attempts to cover up the act through his twister persona. In the "Tell-Tale Heart", Poe uses satire, imagery, and symbolism to portray how startlingly perverted the mind of the narrator is and how guilt always prevails.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.
Sova, Dawn B. "Poe, Edgar Allan." Bloom's Literature. Ed. Facts on File, Inc. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Bloom's Literature. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 37-40. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan, Andrew Barger, Harry Clarke and Gustave Dore´. Edgar Allan Poe. [Memphis, Tenn.]: BottleTree Books, 2008. Print.
Ingram, John Henry. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters, and Opinions. New York: AMS Press, Inc., 1965.
The Tell-Tale Heart is a story about a man whom, plagued by mental disorder, takes the life of a man. The narrator claims to have love for the old man and insist that it is the old man 's vulture eye that he cannot stand. He watches the old man for seven nights before killing him, dismembering the body, and hiding the evidence. The narrator ends up confessing to his crime to police officers after he is driven mad by the beating of the, now dead, old man 's heart.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.