Use Of Irony And Point Of View In The Tell-tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe
Many people don't like certain qualities others have whether they are good or bad, but the actions this person takes go above and beyond what is normal. In The Tell-Tale Heart the main character is convinced that he is not insane. He goes through with killing the man for an insane reason. The person still insists he is sane and his “disease” is not real. In the story the author Edgar Allan Poe includes irony and point of view to convey the actions and thoughts of the protagonist.
In this story the main character stays anonymous, but is fairly known because the story is written from a first person point of view. At the beginning of the story, the writer starts by sharing what seems like their emotions and feelings after a traumatic event. Then goes on to touch on the presumed “disease” they have. Saying that it “had sharpened my senses” such as hearing but he also insisted that it did not make him insane. Going on to talking about what actually went down the night of the murder the presumed “madman” shares a story of a sweet old man which he “loved” and he had “never wronged me”. After examination he decides that this old man is a bit off to him, because of his eye that “resembled that of a vulture - a pale blue eye”. He eventually decided that he was going to kill this old man so he wouldn't have to see the vulture like eye anymore. The madman goes on to explain his thought process. He starts to explain how he planned and did everything. He would sneak into the vulture eyed man's home and into his room “I turned the latch of his door and opened it - oh so gently!”. He did this every night leading up to the murder. Going on by saying “Oh, you must have laughed at how cunningly I thrusted it in” speaking about how he poked his head in through the door to make sure there was no light. By using words like “cunningly” to explain the way he did something and saying it was funny that you “must have laughed” about the leading into the murder of an innocent man. That just goes to show clearly this man is indeed a madman. The point of view really shows through in these aspects showing also, the irony of this man who is clearly crazy thinking his actions are okay.
This man continues the creepy process of going to his room and spying. On the eighth and final night he decided he was ready, “Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers”. The adrenaline was pumping he could “scarcely contain my feelings of triumph”. The man woke up startled then “had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise”. The madmen knew he had woken him up and scared the man half to death, but he still had no pity for him. Tension arose “the beating of the old man’s heart. It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum”. This simply shows how crazy this man is, after hearing the intense beating of his chest. The irony is that he sees and knows how the man feels, insisting he is normal but he is willing to go through with the actions.
In conclusion, the author uses irony to show the madman is crazy while he carries out many insane actions that he thinks are normal. Some of the things he does he take pleasure in that is the irony in his actions, he thinks it is okay and normal. Point of view helps with knowing what the narrator is thinking while taking these crazy thoughts and turning them into actions. Reading it from the perspective of the killer makes you think even more about how truly crazy he is.
