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Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart': Personification, Theme, and Symbolism

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“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe Expository Essay “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe, is a petrifying short story. Poe incorporated a variety of literary elements to intimidate the reader. Personification, theme, and symbols are combined to create a suspenseful horror story. For example, personification is an important element in the short story. The “Evil Eye” is the prime object being personified. The narrator loathed the old man’s eye, which led to the murder. “And this I did for seven long nights -- every night just at midnight -- but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye” (Poe 1). The “Evil Eye” was given human traits in the …show more content…

One of the most significant symbols used throughout the story is the number twelve. “So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept!” (Poe 1). The number twelve is a multiple of three, which by logic symbolizes change and the coming of the future. At midnight, the narrator found the eye open which did not happen on the previous seven nights. Soon after the narrator found the “Evil Eye” open, he was able to kill the old man. Another key symbol used is the color blue. The old man’s eye was blue covered by a white lense. “I saw it with perfect distinctness--all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones” (Poe 2). Blue symbolizes clarity; the old man had a lense covering his blue eye, so he was unable to see the narrator for his true self. The number eight is also a symbol in the story. The number eight represents antagonism and an everlasting change. “Upon the eighth night, I was more than usually cautious in opening the door” (Poe 1). It was on the eighth night that the narrator slaughtered the old man. Symbols are used to exemplify different numbers and colors throughout the tale. Overall, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe is an astounding short story. Personification illustrated a sinister feeling through the whole story, making the reader feel uncomfortable

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