Edgar Allan Poe was motivated by tragic events presented in his short story, The Tell Tale Heart . The unstable life and emotional disturbances he faced is seen in the theme of insanity. The utilization of supernatural characteristics portrays the idea of escaping from reality. The unreliable nature of the author represents his failure to live an enjoyable lifestyle. Because of the tragic life events, Poe created literature to address his dissatisfaction.
The incredible presentation of The Tell Tale Heart was a result of the Poem's knowledge about his emotionally disturbed and unstable life, as seen in the theme of insanity. Poe's life was characterized by dissatisfaction because of difficulty seen in the court concerning the diagnosis of insanity in murder in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1830 ( Professor ) . The series of issues in his life led to the presentation of the protagonist as someone suffering from a psychological problem. The use of insanity in the story is viewed as a defense mechanism. Based on the controversial case of the 18 th century, the idea of partial and moral insanity had been debated intensively by the jury ( THEPOEMUSEUM ). The story symbolized the murder case in that, rather than the protagonist confessing to the murder; he tried to prove his sanity like in James Wood's case. The protagonist exhibited partial insanity since he could recall and explain calmly how he planned and executed the murder. Poe's use of partial insanity creates an understanding of what goes on in people's minds and how they feel about life events.
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The use of supernatural characteristics shows how Poe struggles in life subjected him to ideas on how to escape from reality. Poe's life was plagued with depressive, morbid, and anxious thoughts that enabled him to transform them to create an incredible intricate character. Through evidence such as his letter to Sarah Whitman and his aunt Maria Clemm indicating that he did not wish to live an extra hour shows how anxiety and grief had overtaken his life. The letters expressed pain about his past life and the dreaded future. In 1848 while he was calm, he wrote a letter to Sara Hellen Whitman highlighting that “a strange shadow of evil” was haunting him ( Professor ) . In the same year, he also wrote another letter stating he “dreaded the future” ( Professor ) . The uncertainty of issues featured in his past and the unknown future led to displaying supernatural characteristics in the story. He portrayed the narrator as insane and the victim with threatening vulture evil eye purposely to escape from the heinous act of murder ( THEPOEMUSEUM ) . He also admitted that he killed the man because he was maddened by the victim’s loud heartbeat suggesting that fear of the unknown was the main motive for the killing.
The use of irony in the short story presents the unreliable nature of Poe. He had opportunities in his life that could have resulted in a stable family and financial success; however, he failed due to his unpredictable character. He was unhappy at home, which forced him to join the army, but he felt frustrated because of paltry payment leading to resignation ( THEPOEMUSEUM ) . Later, he chose to write poems, but he resorted to writing short stories because of the feeling of less financial gains. Despite his success in writing stories, he did not live a stable life because of too much alcoholism. In the story, the narrator’s ironic account of the story associated with the disappearance of the old was unreliable. The police could not understand his interpretation of the events. The narrator pretended to be calm and composed, but he was under stress in a logical sense. The low, dull, and quick sounds he claimed to hear from the man was parallel to his lack of awareness about him.
The story is based on the tragic life events that Poe went through while growing up. The man lived a life full of problems emanating from the family and judicial system issues inspiring him to address them through literature. The short story is centered on a narrator who is insane to highlight how the author lived a disturbed and unstable life. The use of supernatural characteristics portrayed the need for Poe to escape from reality.
Works Cited
THEPOEMUSEUM. "Poe's Biography | Edgar Allan Poe Museum." Edgar Allan Poe Museum : Poe's Life, Legacy, and Works : Richmond, Virginia , www.poemuseum.org/poes-biography .
Professor, S. "Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Tell-Tale Heart": A Literary Analysis." Owlcation - Education , 23 Apr. 2019, owlcation.com/humanities/Edgar-Allan-Poes-the-Tell-Tale-Heart-A-Literary-Analysis. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.
