The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe - 1362 Words

We, as intelligent beings capable of discerning our environment, exist in an ever changing world. Or do we? It has been said over and over again that history is bound to repeat itself, and through the nature of time, we are bound to live in the present, awaiting the future repeats. What then, changes aside from the entities? The manner of the entities and their actions? Or is it us and our perception? In the words of Henry David Thoreau, Things do not change; we change. After all, is not the passing of time merely a figment of our minds, able to easily be influenced by substances that likewise influence our minds such as alcohol? If then sensual perception which allows us to comprehend our environment is so easily warped, what is there†¦show more content†¦Through this morbid sequence of events, the author highlights the underlying theme: â€Å"That our view of the world does not necessarily reflect the virtues and foibles of the world, but rather our own traits† thro ugh symbols that represent the main character’s pathological state which demonstrates the dynamic capacity of the main character. In the dark zeitgeist of the Victorian Era, marked by many infamous murders (notably cases like Jack the Ripper and Eleanor Pearcey), the anonymous main character (whom shall be referred to as narrator for the purpose of ease) begins his tale in hindsight of the actual events. In the second paragraph of the story, the narrator describe his circumstances, and his relationship with the victim. It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain, but, once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. Indeed it was quite logically impossible that a mere defect in the old man s eye would have so tantalizingly traumatized the narrator, but in a more symbolic sense, it represents not a defect in the old man s eye, but rather a defect in the narrator s mind. The vulture eye of the old man symbolizes mental sickness, a madness that lies within the intellect of the narrator. How is this eye a symbol? In and of itself, the eye represents an outs ide stimuli that introduced