The Tell-tale heart
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
In the story of “The tell-Tale Heart” the author Edgar Poe achieved to convince to the reader that the narrator is unreliable. Having the narrator unreliable makes the reader not trust the narrator to tell the objective truth of what is occurring in the story. The narrator tried to justify himself throughout the story that he is not insane which ends up backfiring and makes the reader think that he is insane. When the narrator was explaining the reason why he killed the old man the narrator admits “He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!”(Poe 1). The narrator was not sure of why he had killed the old man and said it was because of the eye. This creates distrust between the narrator and the reader because the narrator wasn’t sure of why he killed him. The narrator thought that the reader thinks he is mad which makes the readers think he is insane. When the narrator was sneaking into the old man’s bedroom to kill the old man, the narrator reports “It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! Would a madman have been so wise as this?”(Poe 2). The narrator implies that his actions were wise and that he is not a madman when they weren’t but him look like a madman instead. Poe chooses to let the reader to make their own judgments by having an unreliable narrator. Having a unreliable narrator make for complex characters which can contribute to the story’s dialogue. Poe leaves the reader to sort out delusion from reality. In conclusion having the character unreliable could create confusion among some readers but it could also let them decide what happens in the story. If a reader chooses to trust in the narrator and believe what he said or chooses to not believe and think something different than either way the reader will have been influenced by the narrator.
In the story of “The tell-Tale Heart” the author Edgar Poe achieved to convince to the reader that the narrator is unreliable. Having the narrator unreliable makes the reader not trust the narrator to tell the objective truth of what is occurring in the story. The narrator tried to justify himself throughout the story that he is not insane which ends up backfiring and makes the reader think that he is insane. When the narrator was explaining the reason why he killed the old man the narrator admits “He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this!”(Poe 1). The narrator was not sure of why he had killed the old man and said it was because of the eye. This creates distrust between the narrator and the reader because the narrator wasn’t sure of why he killed him. The narrator thought that the reader thinks he is mad which makes the readers think he is insane. When the narrator was sneaking into the old man’s bedroom to kill the old man, the narrator reports “It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! Would a madman have been so wise as this?”(Poe 2). The narrator implies that his actions were wise and that he is not a madman when they weren’t but him look like a madman instead. Poe chooses to let the reader to make their own judgments by having an unreliable narrator. Having a unreliable narrator make for complex characters which can contribute to the story’s dialogue. Poe leaves the reader to sort out delusion from reality. In conclusion having the character unreliable could create confusion among some readers but it could also let them decide what happens in the story. If a reader chooses to trust in the narrator and believe what he said or chooses to not believe and think something different than either way the reader will have been influenced by the narrator.