Question

In 3-5 sentences, determine one or more themes in the passage The Tell Tale Heart. Cite details from the passage to support your answer.

Answer 1

One prominent theme in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is the concept of guilt and its psychological consequences. The narrator insists on his sanity while describing the meticulous planning of the murder, yet he is ultimately driven to madness by the overwhelming guilt he feels after committing the crime. This is evident when he hears the imagined beating of the victim's heart, which symbolizes his conscience gnawing at him, leading him to confess, "I could bear those things no longer!" The struggle between sanity and madness emphasizes how guilt can consume an individual, blurring the lines between reality and perception.