The_Tell-Tale_Heart

The Tell-Tale Heart “The Tell-Tale Heart” This chilling tale of madness and murder penned by American horror genius Edgar Allan Poe revolves around the irrational acts of one poor tormented soul. Because Poe chose to allow the reader to experience the events of “The Tell-Tale Heart” through the main character’s own perspective, the narrator is never even given a name; however it is still this use of the first-person that most dramatically contributes to the character’s development. Right off the bat, Poe gives the reader an indication that the narrator is unstable. In the first sentence of the story, the narrator admits, enthusiastically even, that he is “nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous,” (36) then he is quick to add, “[. . .] why will you say that I am mad” (36)' By giving the reader the narrator’s first-hand account of his feelings and his fears, Poe allows the reader to deduce for himself that the narrator is very possibly paranoid. His admission of nervousness immediately followed by such a defensive question shows the narrator’s suspicion of his audience. He seems compelled to convince the reader of his justification for committing a crime of passion, and his first-person appeal to the reader’s good judgment makes narrator, reader, 36, himself, story, old, narrator’s, makes, poe, first, very, things, tell-tale, man’s, heart, first-person, even, about, time, through, though, sound, say, room, murderer, murder, mind, man, eye, describes, 39, 38, without, waits