Themes

Perfection is an important theme that flows throughout the short story of Edgar Allen Poe’s "The Tell-Tale Heart". The narrator constantly details his every move when he is leading up to committing the crime of murder. Mentally he gets into the old mans head, “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it --oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head.” He makes the old man feel safe and secure, not wanting to alarm him in any way. Attention to detail is highly regarded in the short story. The narrator speaks about shutting the door gently, making sure the hinges to not squeak, and evening making sure the lantern is not to bright.  

Guilt is another important theme, the narrator never wanted to kill the old man, he just wanted to rid him of the “eye”.  He talks about how he has loved this man and cared for him, never wanting to inflict pain upon him. “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. 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.” The guilt that was built up for the narrator was to much to handle, he never felt the need to kill him. The eye took over his mental sense and leads him down a path that he never wanted to enter. In order for the narrator to not feel guilty about the deed, he convinces himself that getting rid of this eye in his life will help him.