Character Analysis Tell Tale Heart
Olivia Bauso
September 8, 2014
ENGL.Q 140 03
The TellTale Heart Character Analysis It is evident from the beginning of “The TellTale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe that the narrator is extremely disturbed. By trying to explain to the reader that he is not mad, and that his senses are not dulled, his credibility becomes questionable. While attempting to defend his sanity, the narrator claims that he has “heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.”
Clearly, he has some skewed take on what reality truly entails. As the story goes on, we find out that the narrator has killed an old man, and is seemingly proud of it. He brags about how
“wisely” he proceeded as he “went to work.” This dictation suggests that the narrator thinks of himself as somewhat clever in his actions, which further strengthens the possibility of his madness. At the end of the story, when the two policemen come, the narrator’s unrealistic display of confidence is exploited. He tells the reader that it was his “manner” that convinced the officers of his innocence, when clearly he is not in the right mind, and is acting strange.
His final words in the story include a confession of his crime: “Villains, dissemble no more! I admit the deed!” The declaration of his guilt may prove that the narrator is somewhat human in morals, but by calling the men “villains,” he clearly cannot yet see past his false illusions into what is the real world. Ultimately, the narrator is unreliable due to the unrealistic sense of his confidence, and the immoral nature of his actions.
September 8, 2014
ENGL.Q 140 03
The TellTale Heart Character Analysis It is evident from the beginning of “The TellTale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe that the narrator is extremely disturbed. By trying to explain to the reader that he is not mad, and that his senses are not dulled, his credibility becomes questionable. While attempting to defend his sanity, the narrator claims that he has “heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.”
Clearly, he has some skewed take on what reality truly entails. As the story goes on, we find out that the narrator has killed an old man, and is seemingly proud of it. He brags about how
“wisely” he proceeded as he “went to work.” This dictation suggests that the narrator thinks of himself as somewhat clever in his actions, which further strengthens the possibility of his madness. At the end of the story, when the two policemen come, the narrator’s unrealistic display of confidence is exploited. He tells the reader that it was his “manner” that convinced the officers of his innocence, when clearly he is not in the right mind, and is acting strange.
His final words in the story include a confession of his crime: “Villains, dissemble no more! I admit the deed!” The declaration of his guilt may prove that the narrator is somewhat human in morals, but by calling the men “villains,” he clearly cannot yet see past his false illusions into what is the real world. Ultimately, the narrator is unreliable due to the unrealistic sense of his confidence, and the immoral nature of his actions.