A Show of Heart in Edgar Allan Poe’s, “the Tell-Tale Heart”Essay title: A Show of Heart in Edgar Allan Poe’s, “the Tell-Tale Heart”A persons heart is one of the most vital organs in his or her body. Without a heart, life would not be possible for any living creature. Due to its significance, the heart is often incorporated by authors into their works of fiction as a powerful symbol. For example, in Edgar Allan poes “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe uses the heart of one of his charactersand its beating to symbolically represent an array of concepts, such as the narrators fear, conscience subconsciously speaking out to him, and as a true sign of insanity.
First of all, the “low, dull, quick sound” that the narrator classifies as “the beating of the old mans heart” symbolizes the fear that is found within the narrator. This fear is noted when the narrator says, “And now a new anxiety seized me-the sound would be heard by a neighbor!” The fear caused by the beating of the heart actsan internal motivator for the narrator to finally follow through with his plan to kill the old man and to confess to the murder when the police officers come to investigate the old mans home after the crime has taken place. If the narrator had not heard the beating of the heart, he may not have acted so immediately, thus allowing the old man to avoid death for the eigth consecutive night and saving himself from the confrontation with the police officers. The thought of the old mans heart causes the narrator to bacome overcome with fear.
Secondly, the sound that the narrator hears could be the beating of his own heart instead of the old mans, representing his own conscience trying to subconsciously speak out to the narrator. In life, when a person is in the process of commiting a bad deed, most of the time his or her conscience will make him or her become nervous and filled with anxiety. The narrator exemplifies this idea by stating, “I have told you that I am nervous: so I am,” during the moment precisely before the murder. By becoming nervous, the narrator proves that he possesses an internal aspect that is trying to keep him from perpetrating the crime. Close to the end of the story, the narrators conscience speaks out again when the beating sound of the heart returns, but this time it struggles to be heard in the form of subconscious guilt. Although he never admits to having a guilty conscience, it is obvious that the narrator does feel guilty for murdering the old man through the way he acts when the beating
Moreover, the narrator’s character would be more at ease with the fact that his own conscience has spoken out about his own sin. As a result, it would be much easier for the narrator to escape the “wrong” conscience that the human conscience must feel about his or her guilt.
Thirdly, the narrator is also very aware of the presence of his own inner voice.
The narrator’s awareness of his own inner voice is important when attempting to conceal his or her true feelings. This awareness gives the narrator further insight into how the narrator is feeling or acting in a way that is different from how his or her inner voice is perceived or spoken. It also indicates that he or she has changed to a person who is capable of speaking out against the moral order of the world. Through the narrator’s self-reflection, he or she realizes that the reason behind his or her actions, the way he or she acts or expresses, can be explained by a different emotion than a single emotion. However, that emotion does not really have to be an emotion. As with every emotion, the narrator wants to “feel good” about the way the emotions can be explained. The narrator’s intention with regard to his or her actions (rather than how his or her actions change) needs to be addressed to ensure that it is not an external feeling.
The effect of using the narrator’s self-reflection on the emotion involved is the same.
Finally, the narrator is conscious at this point of the day of his or her execution, and does not feel guilty about the way he or she acts. Rather, he feels guilt for the way that he or she had committed these murders. The conscience he or she has spoken out about these murders is also a source of comfort to his or her executioners.
Finally, for the reader who wants an all-inclusive guide to the meaning of the narrator’s actions (as well as with those of various people), we have provided an extensive chapter on the psychology of conscience as the narrator acts.
In one sense, the idea of conscience is like a mirror with a mirror in it. The mirror shows the fact that one’s thoughts have the full picture of what they are and vice versa. However, as you will see later, the idea of conscience is not based on what you are doing, but rather on an assumption that one should be doing the exact opposite in order to satisfy one’s conscience. One can even define a different moral order without an expectation of it.
As you will discover when you read this book, I cannot say for certain that the moral concepts in the book cannot be derived from concepts or experiences seen through the traditional eyes of the American religious philosopher. The general idea is based on the observation that no matter what religion one subscribes to, the basic principle of our Christian religion is the same: one’s conscience cannot change as one chooses. It is only by reflecting on our experiences with other people, our beliefs about the world around ourselves and about how the world works that we can make a final decision. In the same way we are free from the assumption that our actions, ideas and beliefs are independent of God that make up a worldview and culture. Rather than accepting that conscience is a function of an individual being, the concept is instead based on our thinking. And to say that conscience is a “good” thing is simply to say that we are not human at all – that we are not completely human like others, but are completely human in different ways by the different actions of conscience.
The difference between the two is that at any moment conscience can be perceived to have changed in two great ways, both at one’s own level. First, it is possible (though unlikely) for an