Deborah
ENGL 3850-02N
Supernatural Lit
Dr. Coats
3 February, 1998
The Tell-Tale Heart
Now, here, Dr. Coats, is an example of wildly fluctuating like-dislike that I can connect with. A 'there but for the grace go I' story, if you will. I think that, in all of our lives, we can find an example of a person we loved dearly but had that one annoying flaw that ultimately destroys the relationship. At first it seems to be a quirk, then it becomes a flaw, then it becomes a stumbling block, then, finally, an obsession.
I enjoyed re-reading "Heart" as an adult. I think it even became a cautionary tale for me this past evening. My roommate has a very loud bell alarm clock that goes off very early in the morning. I have no real problem with that. I do have a problem, however, with the fact that she does not rise at the hour her clock sounds, but at least two hours later. I lie in bed, shocked awake by the clamor, listening to her breathe, wishing she would move or at least apologize for the noise. One morning, I think I will wait for the clock to sound, and smash it to bits with the hammer from my tool box. Maybe.
But, to be a bit more serious, Poe did an excellent job with the mounting waves of hysteria the speaker re-experiences. After all, the speaker is recounting the events that led to his present state. "...observe how healthily--how calmly I can tell you the whole story. (p74)" His tone becomes confidential as he relives sneaking into the old man's room, waiting for the Eye to open so that he would have the reason to kill the old man. His excitement mounts as the old man awakes and feels terror. His rage and fury build in the dark and silence until he lights the Eye with his lantern. At this point, the old man is not connected to the Eye in the speaker's mind. The Eye is a separate entity to be destroyed. He hears his own heart beat and believes it to be the old man's. The power rush that this gives him allows him to overpower the old man and suffocate him.
After this is done, he calms down and sets upon the task of concealing the deed. The speaker calms down in his narration, as well. But his calm is shattered by the arrival of the police. He hides his nervousness through the absolute belief in the perfection of his deed. His boldness even brings him to the very chamber where the old man's corpse lies under floorboards. But the narrator's agitation begins to surface again as the police show no signs of leaving. His own heartbeat pounds in his ears, but he believes it to be the old man's. In his increasing discomfort, he begins to lose control and the narration does the same. He finally can no longer bear the stress, strain, and supposed mockery of the police and loses control. His sentences become short, clipped, and filled with oaths and exclamations. His final statement is that of a victim under torture: "...dissemble no more! I admit the deed!..." Beautifully crafted, Poe. Any reader who cannot identify with this story on any level is either delusional or a saint.