The Telltale Heart by Edger Allen Poe

The Telltale Heart by Edger Allen Poe

Summary

The story “The Tell-Tale Heart” throws light on the fact that a criminal cannot conceal his crime and the voice of one’s conscience cannot be subdued. It is impossible to ignore its pricking for long.

The narrator of the story decides to kill and old man just because of one of his eyes. That eye is very ugly. He also wants to prove that he is not mad, so he tells the reader how he killed the old man and why.

Whenever the old man’s eye fell on him he felt afraid, and so he decided to kill him. He kept on going to the old man’s room for seven nights. However, he did not kill him because his was always close.

On the eighth night, he was very careful. He found the eye open. He took a lot of time to kill the old man. He enjoyed the fears of the old man and laughed at him. Then he killed the old man. The old man screamed before dying. After killing him, he dismembered the dead body. He concealed the pieces under the flooring of the room.

Some neighbor had heard the screams and he had informed the police. Two police officers came to check the premises. He welcomed them and satisfied them that nothing wrong had happened. He took them to the old man’s rom.

Then suddenly he started hearing the heartbeat of the old man. This sound went on increasing. He tried to overcome it but failed. He thought that the police officers knew about his crime and they want him to confess to his crime. He could not bear this situation for long. At last, he confessed to his crime before the police officers.

1. Discuss the elements of horror in the story “The Telltale Heart”.

The story “The Telltale Heart” is a horror detective and crime story. Discuss.

The Story “The Telltale Heart” is full of elements of horror.   It also fulfils the requirements of a detective and crime story.

First, the motive of the murder creates horror. The killer did not want to kill the old man because of some object or passion. The killer loved the old man. The old man had never wronged him. He had not insulted him. The killer had no desire for the old man’s gold. The height of cruelty was that he wanted to kill the old man because he did not like one of his eyes. This motive of the killing creates horror.

The process of the killing also creates horror. When he went to kill the old man on the eighth night, he was very proud of his sagacity. Therefore, he laughed quietly and the old man heard him. He jumped on his bed with fear. It is very horrible that the killer enjoyed the fear of the old man. Then he yelled and jumped into the room the old man shrieked with terror. The killer dragged the old man to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. When the old man died, he removed the bed and tried to feel the heartbeat of the old man. When the reader reads about the fear of the old man and the process of killing, he feels afraid.

We find the most horrible situation when the killer dismembered the dead body to conceal it. He cut off the head, the arms, and the legs. It is very horrible. We feel near nausea. How cruel the killer is! After killing the old man his own condition is a very horrible. The way his conscience pricks him is also very horrible. (290)

2. Discuss the elements of suspense in the story.

Suspense starts from the start of the story. The start of the story is very sudden. The word ‘nervous’ and ‘mad’ create a lot of suspense.

The narrator of the story sets the reader to a task. He wants him to find out whether he is mad or not. He keeps talking to the reader. He asks our opinion repeatedly. He gives arguments in his favour and keeps the suspense alive until the end of the story. This suspense is not satisfied. The reader is left to guess whether the narrator is mad or not. This is first element of suspense.

When the narrator kills the old man, the reader wants to know whether he will be caught or not. When the police officers come, the suspense reaches the highest point. This is the second element of suspense.

This element of suspense is satisfied when the killer confesses to his crime. Therefore, the story is full of suspense. (158)

3. Was the killer a mad man?

Why did the killer kill the old man? Was he a mad man?

We can rightly say that the killer was not mad, although he was very nervous and sensitive. Perhaps he had some sort of disease. That disease had made him too sensitive.

When we read the story “The Telltale Heart” carefully, we find that he was not mad at all. In our daily life, sometimes we do not like certain things without any serious reason. Sometimes we express our dislike and sometimes we do not. Therefore, the killer’s dislike of the old man’s eye was not abnormal. Problem was that he was too sensitive and nervous. When he looked at the old man’s eye, his blood ran cold. Therefore, by degrees he made up his mind to get rid of the old man’s eye by killing him.

The process of killing also suggests that he was not mad. He kept on going to the old man’s room for seven nights. However, he did not kill the old man, because he found his eye open. It means he had full control over his nerves. The killer was right when he said that he was not mad because a mad man knows nothing. On the other hand, he knew the safest way of killing. He put the heavy bed over the old man. The way he concealed the dead body also proves that he was not mad.

The most important pint is that he told a lie to the police officers that the old man was not present and it was his own shriek. Now we do not expect that from a mad man. Besides, the way he handled the police officers also proves that he was not mad. Therefore, the killer was not mad. (282)

4. Discuss the title of the story. OR Why did the killer confess to his crime?

Justify the title of the story. OR How was the murderer caught?

Confession of the killer at the end of the story is very sudden and unexpected. However, the title of the story suggests that the killer will make this confession. In the title, “The Tell-Tale Heart” the word “heart” means the guilty conscience of the killer. That “heart” forced him to confess to his crime.

At the start of the story, the killer was very nervous. We find him sensitive too. We see that after committing the crime he was quite satisfied and proud at his work. He even laughed.

When the police officers came, he satisfied them with his lies and peaceful manners. Everything was all right for him. However, suddenly, he grew pale. Now he wanted to get rid of the police officers. His head ached. He imagined a ringing in his ears. This ringing became louder. He was so nervous that he said, “Oh God! What could I do?” He talked wildly. He swore, and grated the chair on the floor. He wanted to overcome the ringing, but could not. He feared that the police officers might hear the ringing.

He thought that it was old man’s heartbeat. Actually, it was his guilty conscience. Its pricking was unbearable. He said. However, anything was better that this agony! I felt that I must ream of die.” And he screamed.

It was all due to his heart or guilty conscience that he confessed to his crime. The title of the story suggests this. (243)

5. How did the killer kill the old and how did he conceal the body?

How did the killer execute the murder and conceal the dead body?

The killer had been going to the old man’s room to kill him for seven nights. However, he did not kill him because he found his eye close. Actually, he wanted to kill the old man because he did not like one of his eyes. That eye was very ugly.

On the eighth night, he was very cautious in opening the door. He opened the door very slowly. He was proud of his sagacity. Therefore, he laughed quietly and the old man heard him. He moved on his bed. When he was about to open the lantern, his thumb sloped, and the old man sprang up in the bed. He started enjoying the fear of the old man and he chuckled again. He threw a thin ray of light on the old man’s eye. It was open. However, he delayed in killing the old man. Then suddenly with a loud yell, he jumped into the room. The old man shrieked. The killer dragged him onto the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him. When the old man died, he removed the bed. He tried to feel the heartbeat of the old man’s heart. He was dead.

To conceal the dead body first he dismembered it. He cut off the head, the arms, and the legs. He took up planks from the flooring of the room. He put the dead body in the hole and then replaced the planks. Therefore, in this way he killed the old man and concealed the dead body. (253)

6. What is the lesson or moral of the story/

The lesson or moral of the story “The Tell-Tale Heart” is that a criminal cannot conceal his crime and subdue the voice of his conscience. It is impossible to ignore it s pricking for long.

When we read the story carefully, we find that the killer is quite satisfied after killing the old man. In fact, he is proud of his successful work. He has killed the old man in the safest way. There is no blood spot. He had also concealed the dead body under the flooring. No one can detect anything wrong. Therefore, he laughs ha! Ha! Everything is all right. He is rather enjoying.

When the police officers come, he receives them with complete peace of mind. He is confident that there is nothing to fear. He satisfies them that nothing wrong has happened. He tells a lie. He tells them that the old man is not present. He also tells them that he shrieked in his dream. Now the police officers are satisfied.

Suddenly, he grows pale. Now he wants to get rid of the police officers. He feels headaches. He imagines a ringing in his ears. This ringing becomes louder. He is so nervous that he says, “Oh God! What could I do?” He talks wildly. He swears. He grates the chair on the floor just to overcome the ringing, but cannot. He fears that the police officers may hear this ringing. He thinks that it is the sound of old man’s heartbeat. Actually, it is his guilty conscience. Its pricking is unbearable. He says, “But anything was better that this agony!” he further says, “I felt that I must scream or die.” And he screams. It is all due to his heart or guilty conscience that he confesses to his crime. The title of the story suggests that. (304)

7. Discuss the atmosphere of the story.

There is an atmosphere of horror and suspense in the story “The Tell-Tale Heart”.

 To create the atmosphere of horror first the writer presents the motive of the murder. The killer did not want to kill the old man because of some object or passion. The killer loved the old man. The old man had never wronged him. He had not insulted him. The killer had no desire for the old man’s gold. The height of cruelty was that he wanted to kill the old man for one of his eyes. This motive of the killing creates horror.

The process of the killing also creates horror. When he went to kill the old man on the eighth night, he was very proud of his sagacity. Therefore, he chuckled and the old man heard him. He moved on his bed. It is very horrible that the killer enjoyed the fear of the old man. Then he yelled and jumped into the room. The old man shrieked with terror. The killer dragged the old man to the floor, and pulled the heavy be over him. When the old man died, he removed the bed and tried to feel the heartbeat of the old man. When the reader reads about the fear of the old man and the process of killing, he feels afraid.

We find him most horrible situation in the story when the killer dismembered the dead body to conceal it. He cut off the head, the arms, and the legs. It is very horrible. We feel near nausea. How cruel the killer is! His own condition after committing the murder and the way his conscience pricked him are also very horrible.

We find the atmosphere of suspense right from the start of the story. The start of the story is very sudden. The word ‘nervous’ and ‘mad’ create a lot of suspense. The writer sets the reader to a task. He wants him to find out whether he is mad or not. He keeps talking to the reader and asks his opinion repeatedly. He gives arguments in his favour and keeps the suspense alive until the end of the story. When he commits the crime, the reader wants to know whether he will be caught or not. When the police officers come, the suspense reaches the highest point. This suspense is satisfied when the killer himself confesses to his crime. Therefore, there is an atmosphere of horror and suspense in the story.41