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The Tell-Tale Heart Essay

Decent Essays

“Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting.” -John Russell. Ah, how true that is. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, the main character is much more than just mad. He’s obsessed, and in the end, guilty. Like the aforementioned quote, the narrator could have chosen to stay sane, to just ignore the old man’s eye, but he decided to make things a little more fun by killing the old man. He became so obsessed with this eye, and later on, the heart. Later on, after the murder, while the police are occupying his home, he begins to feel guilty for what he’s done, and the guilt makes him so mad that he eventually confesses. Poe, in “The Tell-Tale Heart”, develops the central ideas by repetition, examples of impossibility, and pacing.
With the central idea of madness, Poe develops this theme by first showing things that are impossible to hear, such as the sounds from heaven, earth, and hell. “I heard all things in heaven …show more content…

He uses repetition during the movements in the night, showing how slow and careful and cautious the narrator was when checking on the old man every night. The narrator was so obsessed with the eye, so traumatized, that he decided to take the old man’s life for it, instead of just ignoring it or covering it. So, the repetition puts emphasis on the movements and his obsession with the eye, much like makeup can bring definition and emphasis to one’s face. Later on, the narrator becomes obsessed with the heart, when he hears its so called “beating.” He fears the sound would be heard by a neighbor, and becomes so obsessed with its little pitter-patter that he kills the old man. Later, he begins to hear a ringing sound, and another heartbeat. At this point, he thinks he’s gotten away, and when he hears these sounds, he becomes so obsessed with these sounds, and wanting both the sounds and the police officers to leave, he admits to the crime, just wanting a little

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