Tell-Tale Heart

Every time you see someone your blood turns cold and sweat fills your hands. The sight of the person sends chills down your sweaty spine. You can’t stand the bone-chilling vulture eye of someone you see every day. In the memorable short story “The Tell-Tall Heart” , by Edgar Allen Poe this is what the main character goes through. Time simpley seems to come to a stop when you lurk into the depths of Edgar Allen Poe’s mind-blowing symbolism, which lies inside a picture perfect tragedy.
Reading Edgar Allen Poe’s masterpiece of a tragedy is like hitting a home run in baseball; perfect. In the beginning of the story the main characters world is in a confusing conflict because he is traumatized by the skin piercing gaze of the old man’s eye. When the main character is silently stalking the elderly man and then cautiously kills him he feels like his power is untouchable. This is because he thinks he has nothing to worry about and he even lets the police men sit down and talk over the three boards where the very conscious of the dead body silently sat. To keep the wheel going the flaw in the character's world occurs when he hears the hideous old man’s heartbeat. After the pounding beat picked up the main character went insane and felt the consequences of his action when he said “I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer!” He shows in this quote that the heartbeat made it impossible for him to not show his urge to leave, like a three year old in a nursing home. No longer could he bear the noise of the pounding heart and see the police men not show any knowing of the happenings. Falling into despair, he confesses to the crime that he committed and shows the very point where the old man lay. The main character gives in and plummets downward faster than a brick off a ten story building, when he finally confesses. Symbolism of death finally occurs after the main character confessed and gets thrown into jail for his actions.
In a tragedy there is usually simple symbolism, but “The Tell-Tall Heart” is flooded with thought provoking symbolism. Starting with that the terror filled vulture eye symbolizes death and evil because the eye was the single aspect that led him into craziness. Also the heartbeat of the old man’s heart is a clear symbolism of karma and guilt. When he heard the heartbeat he finally came to recollect the significance of his action and realizes karma along with guilt for having to tell someone face to face his actions. Using the lantern to look at the old man makes him realize reasoning and does not kill the man because he cannot see the man’s eye that haunts him day and night. Without the light the old man would’ve killed the man without thinking and seeing the reasoning that the light brought him and his decisions. To go on the black shadow of the man in the light represents the bad side of the man because when you can see his shadow he is carefully waiting for the right moment to attack the old man.
Poe’s symbolic tragedy is full of lessons that will last lifetimes, but there is one real lesson that Poe wants the readers to realize. Which is, think before you act and make sure that you can live with the guilt and despair of your actions. It is like taking a piece of steak that is too big to handle. You will eventually choke and pay for your actions.