Response to Literature: Tell-Tale Heart

Alex Soto
Per. ¾
11/7/10

Response to Literature

Insanity, morbidity, mysterious describe the gruesome story by Edgar Allen Poe called Tell-Tale Heart. The deranged narrator explains that the man’s Evil Eye is driving him mad; the Evil Eye is the old man‘s pale blue eye. He waits until the right time to make his move to end the life of the innocent man. As the story goes on, the narrator is faced with a challenge that may uncover his dark secret. This agonizing story intrigued me by showing an unusual plot, astonishing imagery, and eerie mood.
Tell-Tale Heart had a vehement plot that kept me interested throughout the entire story by expressing foreshadow and suspense. “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man” (Poe. 626). This quote goes to show that he was very disturbed by the Evil Eye. This creates a more interesting plot because it foreshadows what the caretaker is going to do to the old man. In addition, the plot is not only engaging because of the foreshadow but also of the suspense. Another quote said by Poe was “He was stone dead, his eye would trouble me no more” (Poe. 629). The Evil Eye had harassed him so much that he officially went insane and took the life of the old man. There is a feel of suspense at the moment when he kills the old man because he has to hide the body. The plot is complimented by morbid imagery.
The imagery throughout the story gave details that allowed the reader to picture the scene and have a sense of being in it. “He had the eye of a vulture-a pale blue eye, with a film over it” (Poe. 625). The description of the eye generates a clear image of what it looks like in the story. The narrator is subtly saying that he feels that he is being closely watched by the Evil Eye. The caretaker is being visited by three policemen and he suddenly hears “…a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when involved in cotton” (Poe. 629). This description appeals greatly to the sense of hearing as well as vision because it describes the sound and what the sound could be made by. The simile applied to describe the sound gives it better imagery of the sound. Throughout the story the imagery is used as a tool to give a specific mood for readers to connect to emotionally.
In the entirety of the story a mood is produced through the authors emotionally charged language. “He was stone dead, his eye would trouble me no more” (Poe. 629). The caretaker has already killed the old man and he feels relieved. A sense of relief manifests in the reader also as the problem has been dealt with, but there is a feeling of shock at the act that has been committed. Then in front of the police, the caretaker loses what little sanity he has left and cries, “I admit the deed!-tear up the planks-” (Poe. 630). At this point there is a release of tension and generates a mood of relief. This explosion of emotion is probably due to his infinite guilt of committing murder. The mood that is created by the story had made it that much more thrilling to read.
The unusual plot, astonishing imagery, and eerie mood has made reading Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe more interesting to read. The use of these literary tools are essential to creating enjoyable and interesting stories. The perfection of these tools will lead to successful authors, such as Edgar Allen Poe.