Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Why does the narrator have a "light heart" in "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

The narrator claims he has a light heart when he answers the door to let in the police. At this point in the story, he has escaped the horror he perceives in the vulture eye of the old man. Even though he should feel guilt, he denies this as a possibility by saying his heart was light.


He must know who it is at the door, since it is so late. But his heart is...

The narrator claims he has a light heart when he answers the door to let in the police. At this point in the story, he has escaped the horror he perceives in the vulture eye of the old man. Even though he should feel guilt, he denies this as a possibility by saying his heart was light.


He must know who it is at the door, since it is so late. But his heart is light because not only has he escaped the eye that haunted him, but he thinks he has gotten rid of all of the evidence that might prove him guilty of murder. His careful dismemberment of the old man and then the hiding of the body in the floorboards has him convinced he has gotten away with the murder, so this also leads to his "light heart." He is sure he has come up with the perfect murder.

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