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An Analysis of "The Tell-tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe

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Published: Jan 29, 2024

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Psychological themes in "the tell-tale heart", narrative techniques employed by poe, the protagonist's descent into madness, the complex emotions of guilt and paranoia, references:.

• Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe , Vintage Books, 1975, pp. 139-146.
• Johnston, John B. "The Tell-Tale Heart: Psychoses, Epistemology, and the Reader's Blind-Spot." Semiotica, vol. 2017, no. 217, 2017, pp. 275-290. doi: 10.1515/sem-2016-0099.
• Shen, Dan. "The Unreliable Narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's Fiction: A Discourse Study." Journal of Language and Linguistics, vol. 8, no.1, 2019, pp. 66-78. doi: 10.5296/ijl.v8i1.13775.

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61 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions

Looking for “The Tell-Tale Heart” essay topics? The short story by Edgar Allan Poe, a recognized master of horror fiction, is definitely worth analyzing!

🔝 Top-7 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Topics

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In your “The Tell-Tale Heart” essay, you might want to write about the story’s characters, themes, or symbols. In any case, our article will be helpful. Find here all you might need to write a paper on Poe’s short story, including essay examples, prompts, questions, and topic ideas.

• The Tell-Tale Heart Psychological Analysis & Critique
• The Tell-Tale Heart (1843)
• The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Poe
• Gothic Romanticism in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Birthmark”
• Edger Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” Analysis
• The Investigation of Ethical Issues in The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pond
• The Tell-Tale Heart Essay

The Tell-Tale Heart Point of View Analysis

Poe wrote the novel from the first-person point of view. The protagonist tells the story of a murder while stating that his senses were destroyed by “the disease” but he’s still sane. Think why this might be important. Is the mad person’s narration reliable?

How different would be the story if it were told by the old man or police officers?

Symbols in The Tell-Tale Heart

If you’re writing “The Tell-Tale Heart” symbolism essay, you may choose one or few symbols in the story:

• The old man’s eye. Analyze why the eye catches the attention of the killer. The narrator calls it the “vulture eye” and “evil. In your essay you can explain why the narrator does not dare to kill the old man when his eye was closed, and the crime was committed only when he saw the open eye.
• The old man’s heart. The heart in the novel symbolizes the killer’s conscience and his humanity as he finally confesses. Analyze why the narrator hears the heartbeat twice.

Another point to consider in your “The Tell-Tale Heart” essay is the analysis of the connection between time and heart. Time is compressed and stretched.

It pulses as the heart. But time also symbolizes death and the killer acts as part of a watch. Thus, the heart in the novel symbolizes life, and, through time, it turns out to be a symbol of death.

The Tell-Tale Heart Literary Analysis

Typical academic articles are hard to read because of complex words and compound sentences. When you read Poe’s masterpieces, you read them quickly because the author writes in short sentences.

Poe uses many figures of speech like similes, personification, anaphora, and irony. Analyze how these figures help Poe to convey the main idea to the reader.

The Tell-Tale Heart Characters

There are four characters you might want to explore in your character analysis: the narrator, police officers, the old man, and the neighbor.

All of them play an important role in the plot. For example, the narrator is mentally ill person who doesn’t make a difference between the “unreal” and “real.” There are also a few signs that he rarely sleeps. You can analyze how his insomnia might impacted his actions and desire to kill.

In case you need some examples to help you with “The Tell-Tale Heart” assignment, here are the excellent ones:

• The alternative explanation of the murder in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The story’s narrator has an apparent mental illness, but what can be the other reason for the murder he commits? Why would anyone plan the crime so accurately? Discuss this matter in your paper.
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” narrator in court: the best defense possible. If the murderer from “The Tell-Tale Heart” would end up in court, how would you defend him? Analyze the short story and develop creative ways of protecting the leading character.
• The importance of the heartbeat as a symbol in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Even after the victim dies, the killer keeps hearing his heartbeat. Is it a hallucination? What can it symbolize? Think this through and note your opinions.
• What’s the role of nature in Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”? The change of the seasons brings challenging weather, especially for the postman in Poe’s short story. What does it represent? How are nature and weather significant for the plot?
• Is “The Tell-Tale Heart” narrator trustworthy? How can the reader know that the narrator is telling the truth? What if he’s hiding something? You can consider this problem and come up with unique thoughts.
• What Is the Theme of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Is the Mood of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Genre Is “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Is the Conflict in “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Does the Heart Symbolize in “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Is the Tone of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Is the Central Idea of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
• What Point of View Is “The Tell-Tale Heart”?

If you’re looking for “The Tell-Tale Heart” essay topics or ideas to add to it, check IvyPanda’s free samples of high-quality papers!

• The Murderer’s Motivation Depicted in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• The Characters of Nervousness in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Morality in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Paranoia in Prose and an Analytical Treatment of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Stylistic Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Sanity of the Narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Poe’s Use of the Senses in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• The Role of the Gaze in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• An Analysis of the Creating of an Atmosphere of Horror and Build Tension in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Writing Styles in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
• Stability of Characters in “To Build a Fire” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Styles of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Versus “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Feeling of Madness Throughout “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
• The Inspiration From the Authors’ Lives in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Inescapable Truth: An Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Rationalization and Suspense in Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Identity as an Important Part of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Analysis of Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” Character Analysis of Main Character

Good topic sentences are a usual part of the essay writing. If you need help understanding what they should look like, check out the examples below. They show the topic sentences for every paragraph in a single essay:

Topic: Death in “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

• Introduction: The theme of death is the primary key to understanding the narrator and his case in Edgar Alan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
• Body paragraph 1: At first, it looks like the hero commits murder as he thinks the old man is about to pass away anyway.
• Body paragraph 2: Then, the main character confesses that he murdered the elderly man because of the “vulture eye,” which hints at his madness.
• Body paragraph 3: Finally, the readers ascertain that the protagonist is mentally ill, which explains the lack of a plausible motif.
• Conclusion: The significance of death in the short story is that it helps analyze the narrator’s chain of thought and understand his motivation.
• The Importance of Suspense in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Horror and Figurative Language in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Imagery Through the Eye of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• The Attempt to Prove a Man’s Sanity in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Psychosis and Guilt in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Literary Elements of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Philosophy of Composition in the “Tell-Tale Heart”
• The Reflection of the Soul in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart”
• Role of Realism in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Mental Challenges in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• The Themes of Surveillance and Control in “Discipline and Punish” by Michael Foucault and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Narrator’s Story in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• Similarities Between Edgar Allan Poe and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” as a Gothic Horror
• Techniques Used in Writing “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Red Room”
• Understanding Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”: Insanity or a Stroke of Brilliance
• Mind Games and the Narrator Madness in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• A Comparison of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe and the Work of Raymond Carver
• Misperceptions and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
• “The Cast of Amontillado” vs. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Alan Poe
• Morality in “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
• Internal Conflict in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
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IvyPanda. (2024, November 17). 61 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/

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IvyPanda . 2024. "61 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions." November 17, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/.

1. IvyPanda . "61 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions." November 17, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/.

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IvyPanda . "61 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts, Topics, & Questions." November 17, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/.