Tell Tale Heart Analysis

Earlier for a period of one week, he had been observing the old man sleep and he could pretend and assumed that everything was in order. After his timed observation of the man, he somehow decides that it was the right time to end the old man’s life. The narrator says that he feared the old man’s blue eye which prompted him into the killing. Additionally, he claims that his actions were neither motivated by passion nor desire for money. Although his actions seemed like those of a madman, he is defensive (Gale, 8). To justify his crime, the narrator says that he was worried that the neighbors could hear the pounding of the heart, since it was loud enough, to prevent the neighbors hearing what was going on in that house, the narrator attacks the man and he kills him.

As soon as the man who had an evil eye kicks the bucket, the narrator dismembers the body and quickly but carefully hides the pieces of the body underneath the floorboards in the bedroom as he is sure o cover up evidence that can attach him to the crime he just committed (Foy, et al. Hiding the evidence which can be used against him implies that despite his triumph in his accomplishment, he could have wished that his action goes unnoted. At the hour of four, that’s when the narrator finishes his work and he is proud of having accomplished his goal successfully. To his dismay, the police arrived since a neighbor had heard a shriek from the old man and decided to call the police (Poe, 6).

The officers did not seem to hear the sound but the raconteur gasped for his breath (Poe, 6). In the efforts to counter the awkward situation and to assume that everything was cool, the chronicler talked more quickly and passionately. However, the sounds that he was hearing steadily increased in his ears. He was the only person hearing the noises which implicate him to the crime that he is guilty of committing. The tale-teller starts to act more intermittently from time to time which is a clear indication that he is at fault. He is guilty of murder but he insists that he is sane which may be a defensive measure to prevent him being detained in an asylum but rather be imprisoned for his crime.

Being sane is the main concern of the storyteller disregarding his deed. Indeed, Poe has succeeded in portraying the guilt after crime and rivalry between good and evil. The narrator sees nothing wrong in his act and he celebrates his achievements. His short-lived triumph is terminated by the policemen for he started feeling blameworthy over killing the old man (Foy, et al. This is evident where after the man is dead, he is turned to many parts before he is hidden justifying that the human is made from different parts which make the body. He is dreadfully nervous but he fails to find why people should justify him as a mad person. The narrator is only concerned with the old man’s eye which he terms as evil, the old man’s heartbeat and due to it pounding so heard in fear, to an extent it had to attract the neighbors attention is the reason for the storyteller to quickly take the action of killing and he is much concerned about his own sanity (Shen, 330).