Alex Allen
Mrs. Zayn
Lit/Comp
15 September 2009
Character Study of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Edgar Allen Poe wrote the gothic fiction story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” This macabre story takes place in the protagonist’s house in the city. Edgar Allan Poe focuses on paranoia, nervousness, insanity and other characteristics by telling the story through first person point of view.
In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the protagonist states that he is not mad, but is gifted with genius wit and acute hearing, so keen that he hears things happening in heaven, Earth, and hell. Then the protagonists goes on to how he has nothing against the old man, but how his “vulture” eye makes his blood run cold every time he sees it, or the eye looks at him. Every night at midnight, the protagonist sneaked into the old man’s bedroom, and looks to see if the old man’s eye is open so that he can rid it, but until the eight night, at twelve o’clock, or the witchcraft hour, the protagonists happens to wake up the old man and gets the chance to kill him. Under the floorboards is where the protagonists hides the old man’s body after he mutilates it. But while the protagonists did kill the old man, he did shriek once which happened to awaken a neighbor which in turn made him/her call so that they can report the main character. When the police arrive, the protagonists acts as if he has nothing to hides, and lets the officers search the house. Towards the end the main character gets arrogant and invites that the officers stay for some tea, and then the protagonists starts to hear this loud thumping, which he believes that is the thumping of the old man’s heart haunting him. The tattoo of the old man’s heart keeps getting louder and louder in his mind, and he presumes that the police can hear it, but they just want to see him suffer in agony. It gets to the point where the drumming makes the protagonists so mad and admit to the police officers where the body is hidden, after he makes a fool of himself by trying to talk over the heart and using erratic gestures.
