Camille Dawn E.
Birao October 22, 2022
LITT 21 – C
The Tell-Tale Heart
By Edgar Allan Poe
The story entitled "The Tell-Tale Heart" revolves around the perspective of the narrator, a
murderer, on how he insisted on his sanity despite having caused the murder of an old man. It all
began not by hatred, not by passion nor object, not even for the old man’s gold and treasures;
but it was stated to be because of "his eye". His eye resembled "that of a vulture—a pale blue
eye, with a film over it". The whole process was made with pre-caution and observation of the old
man for seven long nights at midnight, but he had only planned it for the old man’s "Evil Eye." Not
until the eighth night, when he was said to have felt a surge of emotions in which he saw himself
as wise of his own actions, as he knew how clueless the old man had been for the previous few
nights without mere thoughts of the man who had sneaked into his room. A mistake in which he
slipped the tin fastening as he opened the lantern caused the awakening of the old man, and then
and there, the night was long and dark—he remained still; he peeked the vulture’s eye through
the crevice of the light shown from the lantern as he tried opening it. The sound from the beating
of the old man’s heart accumulated, and all emotions had creeped into him; the fury and the
anxiety. This had reached a point when he had decided that it was time; he dragged the old man
and pulled the heavy bed over him as he shrieked only once, and this in turn, the beating sound
of the heart diminished through the night and he felt pleased with his doing. "His eye would trouble
me no more." He dismembered the body and concealed the body just in time for the police to
arrive. He did not see fear as an option, as he proceeded with his doings with wise precautions.
Not until a ringing in his ears caused his sanity to break loose and the truth was set free.
The conscious mind of the narrator was well evident as he redundantly addressed his wise
decisions in accumulating data and observations without any reckless and impulsive behavior to
support his basis that he was rationally thinking and was well-stabled in his mind. However,
despite showcasing his assurance to the readers; he also demonstrated the parts of his
unconscious mind. If we were to relate this to Sigmund Freud’s theory, the conscious mind is the
ego and the unconscious mind is divided into the id (instincts and desires) and the superego. The
id, or the instinctual part of the mind, pertains to his impulsive actions and urges, such as how he
pursued the murder of the old man because of the feelings of anxiety and fury. This was a system
that deliberately supported the pleasure and the success he felt as he had done it. Which was
quite evident as he felt relieved that he would not be troubled by the old man’s eye anymore,
which was only seen as an event that was convenient for him. The latter of the unconscious mind
being the superego is the moral conscience that is seen to focus on the understanding of what is
good and what is bad. This can be dealt with the idea of feelings of being rewarded or of
punishment. The superego was apparent at the end of the story, wherein despite being at ease
for convincing the police officers; he was getting pale, his head ached, and a ringing in his ears
occurred. This was his superego taking effect as he slowly questioned the events taking place, if
it was all a game, if the officers already knew what had happened. The amount of overthinking
had led to the feelings of shame and guilt, and then and there, it all consumed him to tell the truth.
To be freed from the burden of shame and guilt.
Every single one of us has a system that entails both the conscious and the unconscious
mind, and it is evident through the actions that we do and how we were raised and taught. A lot
of factors influence our minds, our opinions, and our judgments in life. But a factor that I greatly
despise is very much evident in this story, and it is the act of immoral doing. You can never make
a bad doing sound like an achievement. Your morals and values will eventually eat you up, and it
is only you who will face the consequences of your own actions, causing the price of your mental
stability. This story refreshes the readers' minds and helps them envision the mind of a murderer,
and how it isn’t something that everyone can easily understand and relate to, but it is something
that can open their analytical thinking about the processes of the mind.