Name 1 Name Professor Course Date Time in Edgar Allan Poe's "A Tell-tale Heart" Edgar Allan Poe's "A Tell-tale Heart" uses different symbols of time throughout the story. The narrator, who is revealed to be mentally unstable, frequently refers to clocks, heartbeats, watches, and specific times in the story to display crucial elements therein. The narrator kills the old man based on his insanity, the old man is revealed to be afraid of an unknown figure in the dark, and Poe effectively reveals that death is a human eventuality. Primarily, the theme of time is used to indicate humanity's fears, the eventuality of death and to reveal the narrator's emotional state. The story uses the theme of time to depict human fears across society. For instance, when the narrator startles the old man in his room, he reveals that he could hear the older man's heartbeat harder with every passing minute (66). He further argues that this fear stemmed from the fact that though the old man could not hear him, "now he knew that Death was standing there" (65). Indeed, human beings do not expect to be accosted in the dark. When the narrator would go into the old man's room at midnight every night, one would expect an elderly individual to be soundly asleep. When accosted by a seemingly dark shadow that we cannot see, human beings tend to be afraid. Indeed, when the narrator becomes struck with fear and guilt from his actions, he starts to hear the familiar "sound of a clock heard through a wall, as a sound I knew well" (67). Essentially, the narrator could relate his fear to that of his victim, given his Name 2 increased heart rate. Ultimately, time effectively reveals that fear is a significant factor in human lives, leading to irrational and often fatal outcomes. Time also reveals the eventuality of death for human beings. Indeed, the narrator uses several illustrations of time loss that show that death is inevitable for humanity. For instance, when he enters the old man's room on the eighth day, he says that he "could hear a quick, low, soft, sound, like the sound of a clock, heard through a wall. It was the beating of the old man's heart" (66). Subsequently, as the sounds grow louder in the narrator's head, he says that "the time had come! I rushed into the room, crying, "Die! Die!" (66). Here, Poe uses the clock as a symbolism for the old man's life slowly fading away. Indeed, the narrator moves on to argue that his time was up, and once he suffocated him, his heart beat for some minutes before it stopped (66). Ultimately, the concept of time and ticking of clocks is compared to the older man's beating heart as it nears its eventual death. Time also significantly affects the narrator's emotional state throughout the story. In most instances, time effectively speeds up or slows down the narrator's psyche. For example, at the beginning of the story, time speeds up significantly as the narrator reveals that he is not mad (64). This is illustrated through the story's pacing that is fast repetitive. For example, he says that "there was no reason for what I did. I did not hate the old man; I even loved him. He had never hurt me" (64). Here, he reveals no rational reason for having killed the old man other than his internal feelings. Notably, Poe uses the analogy of the vulture, a creature that patiently waits for another's death, to denote how his insanity led to his murderous act. Further, the concept of time reveals the insanity of the narrator. Initially, he is quite confident of having hidden his brutal act. However, he says that the sounds become louder, "like the sound of a clock heard through a wall, a sound I knew well" (67). This reveals that guilt soon eats up an individual with time. Indeed, Name 3 despite the narrator's initial confidence, guilt feelings build up with time and cause heightened distress for the main character leading him to confess his crimes to the police. Ultimately, Poe uses the theme of time to reveal humanity's fear of the unknown, the finality of death, and the narrator's fragile mental and emotional state. The story effectively uses different analogies of time to show that human lives are governed by emotional conditions, such as guilt and madness, that we must overcome to live healthily and harmoniously in society. Name 4 Works Cited Poe, Allan, E. "The Tell-Tale Heart." N.d., pp. 64-67. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the_tell-tale_heart_0.pdf [Accessed 5 April 2021]
