Tell Tale Heart (2260 words) Essay Example For Students

Tell Tale Heart (2260 words) Essay Tell Tale HeartTell tale heartTrue!nervousvery, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my sensesnot destroyednot dulled them. 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. How, then, am I mad? .. .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 proceededwith what cautionwith what foresightwith what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. It is impossible to say how the idea of murdering the old man first entered the mind of the narrator. There was no real motive as stated by the narrator: Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me.. ..For his gold I had no desire. I think that it was his eye! The narrator states that one of the old mans eyes was a pale blue color with a film over it, which resembled the eye of a vulture. Just the sight of that eye made the narrators blood run cold, and as a result, the eye (and with it the old man) must be destroyed. Every night at midnight, the narrator went to the old mans room. Carefully, he turned the latch to the door, and opened it without making a sound. When a sufficient opening had been made, a covered lantern was thrust inside. I undid the lantern cautiously(for the hindges creaked)I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nightsbut I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye. The old man suspected nothing. During the day, the narrator continued to perform his usual duties, and even dared to ask each morning how the old man had passed the night; however, at midnight, the nightly ritual continued. Upon the eighth night, the narrator proceeded to the old mans room as usual; however, on this night, something was different. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my powersof my sagacity. To think that I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew backbut no. His room was as black as pitch.. .so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door .I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening the old man sprang up in bed, crying outWhos there? The narrator kept quiet, and did not move for an entire hour. The old man did not lie back down; he was sitting up. Even in that darkness, I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise.. ..His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. When I had waited a long time, very patientlyI resolved to open a littlea very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened ityou cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthilyuntil, at length, a single dim ray, like the thread of a spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye. The eye was wide open. I saw it with perfect distinctnessall a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones.. ..othing else of the old mans face or person . And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses? For at that moment, the narrator heard the sound such as a watch would make when it is enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old mans heart .It increased my fury .But even yet I refrained and kept still. The heartbeat grew .. .quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old mans terror must have been extreme. The time had come. Homelessness Essay The narrator, in this particular story, adds to the overall effect of horror by continually stressing to the reader that he or she is not mad, and tries to convince us of that fact by how carefully this brutal crime was planned and executed. Style and InterpretationPoes story is a case of domestic violence that occurs as the result of an irrational fear. To the narrator that fear is represented by the old mans eye. Through the narrator, Poe describes this eye as being pale blue with a film over it, and resembling that of a vulture. Does the narrator have any reason to fear the old man or his eye? Is it this phobia that evokes the dark side, and eventually drives the narrator to madness? Or could Poe be referring to a belief whose origins could be traced back to Greece and Rome? 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. References are made to it in Jewish, Islamic, Buddist and Hindu faiths. 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. Wherever this belief exists, it is common to assign the evil eye as the cause of unexplainable illnesses and misfortunes of any kind. 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 some locations, certain phrases, such as as God will or God bless it are uttered to protect the individual from harm. In extreme cases, the eye, whether voluntarily or not, must be destroyed. One Slavic folktale relates the story of the father who blinded himself for fear of harming his own children with his evil eye. 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 mans evil eye! ThemeHuman 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 narrators 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, hat has been hidden within the self will not stay concealed. (Silverman 208) 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(she) 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. Book Reports