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Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his striking stories that shed light on the darkest aspects of the human mind and soul. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of such works that make the reader think of important topics such as the good and the bad, sanity and insanity, crime and punishment. The narrator provides some details regarding the crime he committed, although his motivation and other relevant aspects are still obscure. The man describes his attempts to defend himself by committing a crime (Tenrisanna 176). The short story in question is specifically remarkable for its symbolism and conflict as it shows that people often have to tame their demons to live and remain sane.
Poe’s stories are often associated with multiple meanings and diverse interpretations. For instance, it may first seem that the reason behind the crime is the conflict between the narrator and the old man. However, he stresses that he is “friendly… warm, and loving” while the old man does not display any negative feelings, so there is no obvious conflict between the two characters (Poe 64). More importantly, the narrator shares his concerns and even sufferings he has to endure as he cannot look at the old man without being terrified. The terror is likely to originate from the narrator’s soul or mind. There is something in the old man’s eyes that makes the narrator uneasy or makes him lose his mind. When looking at the old man, the narrator faces his own demons that haunt him for some reason. These demons can be anything starting from father-son issues to dissatisfaction with one’s personal features or one’s life. The story is not concerned with the conflict between two men, but it is a tale about an inner conflict that makes the person suffer and resolve it in a horrible way.
When describing the inner conflict, the author uses different instruments. Symbolism is one of the tools that enhances the emotional load of the story. The literary work under consideration is filled with various symbols such as the old man’s eyes, the light, and the sound. The vulture eye is the thing that disturbs the narrator most of all as it makes the old man seem to be the bird of prey that watches “while an animal dies” and pulls “it to pieces to eat it” (Poe 64). These vulture eyes can stand for the narrator’s consciousness that causes a lot of distress. Moreover, the old man himself can be a symbolic representation of the narrator’s consciousness that is silenced and ignored but never forgotten. The narrator’s inner conflict makes him feel desperate, and the vulture eye is the reminder. The light serves as another representation of consciousness as the narrator is fixated on some idea. Similar to the light that unveils some objects, the narrator constantly focused on some ideas. The sound is another symbol representing the inner voice that fosters the inner conflict.
To sum up, it is necessary to note that Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” is concerned with the inner conflict the narrator tried to address. The man was haunted by some ideas or memories, as well as a rather apparent psychological issue. The narrator kills an innocent man who is seen as the reason for the narrator’s distress, while the crime only makes matters worse. The short story is another illustration of people’s attempts to fight their demons that are often unsuccessful. The author shows that no man can escape from his demons who may force the person to commit horrible crimes and destroy his own soul. The symbolism and the conflict Edgar Allan Poe employs make the story remarkably striking and didactic.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Tell-Tale Heart.” American English, 2020. Web.
Tenrisanna, Rasynal. “Defense Mechanisms in E. A. Poe’s Selected Short Stories the Black Cat & the Tell-Tale Heart.” ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies on Humanities, vol. 1, no. 2, 2018, pp. 176-183.
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