Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” is not a “whodunit - we know right from the start who the murderer is.” (Benfey 29). The narrator describes in detail how he prepares and commits the murder of an old man, he lives together with. All of the time he “bases his plea upon the assumption that madness is incompatible with systematic action” (Robinson 94) and emphasises that he is not mad. “His plot is motiveless” (Hoffman 227), he only murders the old man because of his “Evil Eye” (Poe 278) and hides his dismembered body under the roofs of his room. After that he welcomes three police officers in the house and allows them to search the house. He still feels safe because he has perfectly hidden all indications for the deed. But then his own madness makes him go crazy, he thinks to hear the beating of the old mans heart so loud that it will betray him and finally he makes a confession of the murder.
The reader does not get to know much about the narrator of this story, he never learns his name, his job, in what town he lives (Benfey 32). There are various texts which try to explain this or the narrators trains of thought. This paper is meant to analyse the general kind of narrator, if there is an unreliable narrator or not and find proofs for the assumptions made.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Definition of the term “unreliable narrator”
3. Proofs for the unreliable narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
3.1. Paratextual Signal
3.2. Contradictions
3.3. Psychological and emotional irregularities
3.4. Peculiarities on the stylistic level
4. Conclusion
5. Word Count
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the narrative structure of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” to determine whether the protagonist functions as an unreliable narrator. By analyzing textual evidence and theoretical frameworks, the study aims to identify specific literary devices that call the narrator's credibility into question.
- Literary definition of the unreliable narrator
- Analysis of paratextual signals in the title
- Examination of contradictions within the narrator’s testimony
- Assessment of psychological and emotional irregularities
- Stylistic analysis of repetition and reader address
Excerpt from the Book
3.2. Contradictions
With contradictions for example the “explicit contradictions within the narrator’s comments” (ibid. 121) are meant. This is a device often used by the narrator, as you can see. On the one hand he tells us for example “I loved the old man” (Poe 277), but on the other hand he kills him. Moreover he tells the reader that he is not a madmen, but he hears the beating of the old man’s heart after the murder and at least makes a confession because he can’t stand the “agony” (Poe 281) that the policeman know what he has done and are making a fool of him. If he wouldn’t have betrayed himself, nobody would have found evidence for the deed. That he hears the heartbeat is a sign for his insanity, even though he emphasises in the whole story that he is not insane. This can be called a “discrepancy[…] between the statements and the actions of the narrator” (ibid.)
Another example for this is that he says that “Object there was none. Passion there was none”. But there is both object and passion in his behaviour. Object is the old man’s “Evil Eye” (Poe 278), he wants to get rid of it so that it “would trouble [him] no more” (Poe 280). This may be no kind of material object, he says that he is not interested in the gold of the old man. Perhaps you can call this a kind of psychical object, a relief for the narrators soul, that he must never look again in this “pale blue eye with a film over it” (Poe 277). Of course, there is passion as well. The narrator “fairly chuckled at the idea” (Poe 278) that he plans the deed for one week and the old man doesn’t’t know anything of his “secret deeds and thoughts” (Poe 278). This can be called anticipation. I think it is a weaker kind of passion. All this examples give evidence for the unreliability of the narrator.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the premise of the short story and the research question concerning the reliability of the narrator.
2. Definition of the term “unreliable narrator”: Provides the theoretical background by referencing Wayne C. Booth and modern literary definitions.
3. Proofs for the unreliable narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart”: Evaluates specific textual evidence categorized by signal types, contradictions, and stylistic choices.
3.1. Paratextual Signal: Analyzes the title of the short story as an indicator of potential unreliability.
3.2. Contradictions: Explores the discrepancy between the narrator's claims of sanity and his irrational actions.
3.3. Psychological and emotional irregularities: Discusses the narrator’s intense emotional involvement and questionable moral values.
3.4. Peculiarities on the stylistic level: Examines repetitive language and direct addresses to the reader as rhetorical tools.
4. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings and suggests potential avenues for further comparative research.
5. Word Count: States the total length of the academic paper.
Keywords
Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, unreliable narrator, literary analysis, narrative perspective, madness, psychological thrillers, literary theory, textual evidence, narrator credibility, stylistic devices, fiction analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores the narrative reliability of the protagonist in Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Tell-Tale Heart," investigating whether the character's account can be trusted by the reader.
What are the primary themes discussed in the text?
Key themes include the nature of madness, the definition of an unreliable narrator, the discrepancy between speech and action, and the psychological motivations behind criminal acts.
What is the main research question of the work?
The research seeks to answer whether the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is unreliable and provides specific evidence from the text to support this assumption.
Which scientific methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing upon established literary theory—specifically concepts by Wayne C. Booth and the Nünnings—and applies these frameworks to the source text.
What topics are covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section covers paratextual signals, internal contradictions in the narrator’s story, his emotional instability, and specific stylistic peculiarities used by Poe.
Which keywords best characterize the analysis?
Essential keywords include "unreliable narrator," "Edgar Allan Poe," "narrative perspective," "madness," and "literary analysis."
How does the narrator’s obsession with the "Evil Eye" contribute to his unreliability?
The narrator’s belief that the eye is an "object" worth killing over, while simultaneously claiming he has no motive, highlights his irrationality and failure to distinguish between reality and his delusions.
What significance do the "addresses to the reader" have in the story?
These addresses serve as a stylistic device that pulls the reader into the narrator's distorted reality, forcing them to confront his desperate attempts to prove his own sanity.
Why is the title "The Tell-Tale Heart" considered a paratextual signal?
The title suggests an inherent duality—the idea that the heart "tells a tale"—which hints from the very beginning that the narrator's account may be subjective or untruthful.
- Quote paper
- Lena Spiekermann (Author), 2007, Is there an unreliable narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/180522
