The Descent towards Madness
In the short story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, repetition reveals how the protagonist does not have a grip on reality. As the guilt of taking a man’s life overwhelms the protagonist he descends towards madness. The narrator is a companion of the old man and says he “loved the old man” (Poe, 1). But, the old man’s eye was “vulture like” (1) and bothered the narrator to the extent that he lost control of his actions. The old man loses his life because of his “evil” eye which at first, the murderer thinks is a great accomplishment. But, his conscience and guilt lead him to madness and he begins imaging things that are not there. Soon after murdering the old man, the murderer begins hearing a “low, dull, …show more content…
The narrator begins hearing the heartbeat getting “louder-louder-louder!” (5). His conscience is telling him that he has done wrong through an imaginary heartbeat. The protagonist cannot bear the burden of guilt and is overwhelmed by his conscience and is convinced that the old man’s heartbeat is loud and everyone can hear it. Over confidence leads to the protagonist’s destruction. Every night, the protagonist snuck into his victim’s house “slowly-very, very slowly” (2). He would shine a light onto the old man’s eye through a “very, very little crevice” (3).When the old man feels unsafe in his own home, the protagonist is in joy. He loved when the old man’s heartbeat was “louder and louder every instant” out of fear (4). But, after killing the old man, he begins hearing the heartbeat from underneath the floorboards where the dead body lies. The heartbeat no longer inflicts joy onto the protagonist, it causes fear. Due to a call from a neighbour that heard the old man’s scream, police arrive for questioning. In his over-confidence during police questioning, the narrator leads the policemen into the old man’s room. In his “perfect triumph, [he] [places his] own seat above the very spot beneath which reposed
In the short story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, repetition reveals how the protagonist does not have a grip on reality. As the guilt of taking a man’s life overwhelms the protagonist he descends towards madness. The narrator is a companion of the old man and says he “loved the old man” (Poe, 1). But, the old man’s eye was “vulture like” (1) and bothered the narrator to the extent that he lost control of his actions. The old man loses his life because of his “evil” eye which at first, the murderer thinks is a great accomplishment. But, his conscience and guilt lead him to madness and he begins imaging things that are not there. Soon after murdering the old man, the murderer begins hearing a “low, dull, …show more content…
The narrator begins hearing the heartbeat getting “louder-louder-louder!” (5). His conscience is telling him that he has done wrong through an imaginary heartbeat. The protagonist cannot bear the burden of guilt and is overwhelmed by his conscience and is convinced that the old man’s heartbeat is loud and everyone can hear it. Over confidence leads to the protagonist’s destruction. Every night, the protagonist snuck into his victim’s house “slowly-very, very slowly” (2). He would shine a light onto the old man’s eye through a “very, very little crevice” (3).When the old man feels unsafe in his own home, the protagonist is in joy. He loved when the old man’s heartbeat was “louder and louder every instant” out of fear (4). But, after killing the old man, he begins hearing the heartbeat from underneath the floorboards where the dead body lies. The heartbeat no longer inflicts joy onto the protagonist, it causes fear. Due to a call from a neighbour that heard the old man’s scream, police arrive for questioning. In his over-confidence during police questioning, the narrator leads the policemen into the old man’s room. In his “perfect triumph, [he] [places his] own seat above the very spot beneath which reposed