The Tell Tale Heart by Edger Allen Poe

The Tell Tale 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 an 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 he 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 room.
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 wanted 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 Tell Tale Heart”.
The story “The Tell Tale Heart” is a horror detective and crime story. Discuss.
The Story “The Tell Tale 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 very horrible. The way his conscience
pricks him is also very horrible.
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 the 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.
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 Tell Tale 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 point 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.
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 headache. 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 an old man’s heartbeat. Actually, it was his guilty conscience. Its pricking
was unbearable. He said. However, nothing was better than this agony! I felt that I must dream
of dying.” 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.
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 closed. 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.
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 alright. He is rather enjoying it.
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 an old man’s heartbeat. Actually, it is his guilty conscience. Its
pricking is unbearable. He says, “But anything was better than 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.
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 in the 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.

The Tell Tale Heart by Edger Allen Poe

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What was the motive behind the killing and how does it create an atmosphere of horror?

How does the process of killing create horror?

The Tell Tale Heart by Edger Allen Poe

3. Was the killer a mad man?

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

7. Discuss the atmosphere of the story.

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