Tell Tale Heart Archetypes

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Archetypes and Symbolism in “The Tell-Tale Heart: A Ride to Insanity In the short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” Edgar Allen Poe’s use of symbolism and archetypes provides the reader with a better understanding about the consciousness of the author. The Tell-Tale Heart is about an unnamed narrator who gets paranoid about an old man’s eye and murders him, which drives him to insanity. Not only is this story filled with mystery and thriller, but also consists of symbols and archetypes, that contribute to the author’s apprehension. These symbols and archetypes could be further analyzed to reveal the connection with the author’s consciousness. One way Poe’s use of archetypes and, symbolism is presented in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” is through the …show more content…
At the end of the story the narrator is seen, losing his sanity as he hears the beating of the heart. The author writes, “I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased…but the noise steadily increased…It grew louder --louder --louder!... I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart” (Poe 285)! The beating heart represents guilt. The narrator has just murdered someone and in the beginning he tries to claim that he is not insane and, he had a good reason for what he did. This indicates that he is defensive and guilty about his crime. The beating starts only after the crime is committed, and gets more and more intense as he tries to deny it. Each beat of the heart reminds him of his crime and his guilt leads him to confess. A character archetype that could be seen in the story is “The creature of nightmare.” Poe writes, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” (Poe 281). In this story the character archetype best fits the main character, because the killer is a madman, who threatens the life of others in order to fulfill his needs. He has escaped the darkest part of the human psyche by taking the life of the old man. He’s mentally unstable, unable to control his desires, and in denial about his insanity. The killer thinks he is doing little harm by his decision
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