Tell Tale Heart Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Tell Tale Heart?

The Tell-Tale Heart is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1843. It tells of an unnamed narrator who is driven to madness by his obsession over an old man’s eye. The narrator insists on his sanity, claiming that the motive for killing the old man was not insanity but rather a desire to rid himself of the evil eye. The story begins with the narrator’s proclamation of his clarity of mind and heightened senses, which he believes will prove his sanity in the events to follow. He explains that he has been watching an old man with a vulture-like eye for several nights and has become fixated on it. Despite being filled with dread as he approaches the sleeping old man, he succeeds in suffocating him while avoiding making any noise. After hiding the body beneath the floorboards, police officers arrive at the house to investigate a shriek heard from within; however none can locate its source and they eventually depart without suspicion on their minds. The narrator then hears what sounds like someone pounding on his door, but soon realizes it is only his own heart beating faster and faster due to guilt as he remembers what he has done. Realizing that this sound will soon lead to him being discovered, he confesses before anyone else can find out what happened so as not to suffer further torment from hearing the beating of [his] hideous heart. In this manner, The Tell-Tale Heart serves as an example of how one cannot truly escape something they have done no matter how much effort they put into trying to forget it or conceal it from others; their conscience will always be there haunting them until they come clean about their actions and accept responsibility for them.