Symbols in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Symbols in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe uses many symbols in the story to show fear, guilt, madness, and the working of the human mind. The important symbols are explained below:

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1. The Old Man’s Eye (“Vulture Eye”)

• The pale blue eye of the old man is the main symbol in the story.
• It represents the narrator’s fear, obsession, and madness.
• The eye watches and disturbs the narrator, even though the old man has done nothing wrong.
• It shows how an irrational fear can control the human mind.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Fear, obsession, and disturbed mental state

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2. The Heartbeat

• The beating heart is the most powerful symbol in the story.
• It represents the narrator’s guilt and guilty conscience.
• Even after the murder, the heart continues to beat in his mind.
• The sound grows louder and finally forces him to confess.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Guilt, conscience, and inner fear

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3. Darkness and Night

• Most actions in the story happen at night and in darkness.
• Darkness represents evil thoughts, secrecy, and madness.
• It reflects the dark mind of the narrator.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Evil, secrecy, and mental darkness

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4. The Lantern / Light

• The narrator uses a lantern to shine light on the old man’s eye.
• Light usually stands for truth, but here it is used to commit a crime.
• This shows the twisted logic of the narrator.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ False reasoning and distorted thinking

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5. The House / Bedroom

• The house appears calm from the outside but hides a terrible secret inside.
• It symbolizes the narrator’s mind, which looks normal but is full of violence and madness.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Hidden madness behind normal appearance

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6. The Wooden Floor

• The narrator hides the body under the floor.
• It represents an attempt to bury guilt and crime.
• However, the truth cannot stay hidden for long.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Suppressed guilt and hidden truth

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7. The Police Officers

• The police symbolize law, order, and truth.
• Even though they find no evidence, their presence increases the narrator’s fear.
• They indirectly bring out the truth.

Symbolic meaning:
➡ Justice and inevitable truth

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Conclusion

Symbols in “The Tell-Tale Heart” help Poe show the inner world of the narrator. They reveal how fear, guilt, and madness destroy the human mind. Through simple objects like an eye, a heart, and darkness, Poe turns the story into a powerful psychological horror.

 

Themes of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

 The Tell-Tale Heart is a famous psychological story by Edgar Allan Poe. It does not focus on action alone but on the working of the human mind. Through the narrator’s thoughts and behaviour, Poe presents several important themes such as madness, guilt, fear, and conscience.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Summary

 The story is told by a man who says again and again that he is not mad. He lives with an old man and takes care of him. The old man has never hurt him and has always been kind. Still, the narrator becomes afraid of the old man’s pale blue eye, which he calls the “vulture eye.” He feels that as long as the eye exists, he cannot live peacefully.

 

Every night for seven nights, the narrator goes quietly to the old man’s room at midnight. He opens the door slowly and looks at the old man while he sleeps. But he does not kill him because the old man’s eye is closed. The narrator believes he is very clever and careful.

On the eighth night, the old man wakes up and senses danger. The narrator hears the old man’s heartbeat beating very fast. The sound makes the narrator excited and nervous. He feels that the sound is so loud that neighbours might hear it. In fear and anger, the narrator kills the old man.

After killing him, the narrator cuts the body into pieces and hides them under the wooden floor of the room. He cleans everything carefully and feels proud of his intelligence.

Soon, the police come to the house because a neighbour has heard a scream. The narrator welcomes them calmly and shows them around the house. He even places his chair over the spot where the body is hidden.

While talking to the police, the narrator begins to hear a beating sound again. He believes it is the old man’s heart beating under the floor. The sound grows louder and louder in his mind. He thinks the police are pretending not to hear it and are laughing at him.

Finally, the narrator cannot bear it anymore. Full of fear and guilt, he confesses the crime and tells the police where the body is hidden.

Themes of The Accursed House by Émile Gaboriau

 Themes of The Accursed House by Émile Gaboriau

Émile Gaboriau’s The Accursed House is not a supernatural ghost story. It is a satirical and psychological story which exposes human fear, suspicion, and the power of public imagination. The house becomes “accursed” not because of ghosts, but because of human thinking and social panic.

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1. Theme of Superstition and Irrational Fear

The central theme of the story is superstition.
The tenants believe that something terrible must be hidden behind the act of lowering the rents. Since lowering rent is unusual, they suspect danger. Slowly, a simple act of generosity turns into a source of fear.

Example:

The tenants repeatedly say, “There is something under all this!” even though nothing harmful has happened. They believe that such an act cannot be natural.

No real curse exists, yet the house earns a fearful reputation. The story shows how people create fear without proof and how superstition grows from imagination.

2. Theme of Fear Created by the Human Mind

Fear in the story is psychological, not supernatural.
Once the tenants start suspecting danger, they begin to hear strange noises, imagine ghosts, and expect disasters. Ordinary sounds and events are misunderstood as signs of something terrible.

Example:

 Tenants on the upper floors claim to hear “strange and inexplicable noises.”

 The nurse says she saw “the ghost of the defunct proprietor holding a rent receipt.”

These incidents are not proved; they are results of fear. Gaboriau shows that fear makes ordinary sounds and events appear terrifying.

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3. Theme of Power of Rumour and Public Opinion

Rumour plays a very strong role in the story.
One tenant’s doubt influences another, and soon the entire building is filled with suspicion. No one has real evidence, but everyone says, “There is something under all this.”

Example:

Different explanations are suggested:

·       The house is badly built

·       The roof is unsafe

·       There is a counterfeit coin press in the cellar

·       Spies are living in the house

·       The proprietor plans to burn the house for insurance money

None of these ideas is supported by evidence. Still, fear spreads from floor to floor. This shows how public opinion creates panic without truth.

This theme shows how public opinion spreads panic, even among sensible people. Once a rumour begins, it becomes impossible to stop.

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4. Theme of Suspicion of Goodness

An important ironic theme of the story is that people distrust goodness.
The Vicomte lowers rents out of kindness and fairness, but people refuse to believe such generosity. They feel that no one would reduce income without a dark reason.

Example:

The tenants believe that “an intelligent man would never deprive himself of good revenues without terrible reasons.”

Some even think the Vicomte must have committed a crime and is trying to cover it with charity.

Gaboriau suggests that people find it easier to believe in evil than in goodness.

Gaboriau criticizes society for believing evil more easily than goodness.

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5. Theme of Human Weakness and Cowardice

The tenants are shown as mentally weak and cowardly.
Instead of thinking calmly, they panic, imagine danger, and finally flee. Even the concierge Bernard, who knows there is no proof, becomes a victim of fear.

Example:

·       One tenant gives notice first, then others follow.

·       By the end of the week, all three-and-twenty tenants leave the house.

·       Servants demand triple wages because they are afraid.

·       Even Bernard, the concierge, becomes so terrified that he finally gives up his job and runs away.

This shows how fear defeats courage and reason.

The story shows how human weakness allows fear to overpower reason.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, The Accursed House is a story about human psychology. Its major themes are superstition, fear, rumour, distrust of goodness, and human weakness. The house becomes accursed because people believe it is accursed.

Émile Gaboriau teaches us that:

• fear spreads faster than truth
• imagination can destroy reality
• reason is often defeated by public panic

Thus, the real curse lies not in the house, but in the human mind.