56 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for The Tell-Tale Heart essay topics? The short story by Edgar Allan Poe, a recognized master of horror fiction, is definitely worth analyzing!

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In your The Tell-Tale Heart essay, you might want to write about the story’s characters, themes, or symbols. Anyway, our article will be helpful. Find here all you might need to write a paper on Poe’s short story! The Tell-Tale Heart essay examples, prompts, questions, and topic ideas.

🖤 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Prompts

The Tell-Tale Heart Point of View Analysis

Poe wrote the novel from the first-person point of view. The protagonist tells the story of a murder while stating that his senses were destroyed by “the disease” but he’s still sane. Think why this might be important. Is the mad person’s narration reliable?

How different would be the story if it were told by the old man or police officers?

Symbols in The Tell-Tale Heart

If you’re writing The Tell-Tale Heart symbolism essay, you may choose one or few symbols in the story:

  • The old man’s eye. Analyze why the eye catches the attention of the killer. The narrator calls it the “vulture eye” and “evil. In your essay you can explain why the narrator does not dare to kill the old man when his eye was closed, and the crime was committed only when he saw the open eye.
  • The old man’s heart. The heart in the novel symbolizes the killer’s conscience and his humanity as he finally confesses. Analyze why the narrator hears the heartbeat twice.

Another point to consider in your The Tell-Tale Heart essay is the analysis of the connection between time and heart. Time is compressed and stretched.

It pulses as the heart. But time also symbolizes death and the killer acts as part of a watch. Thus, the heart in the novel symbolizes life, and, through time, it turns out to be a symbol of death.

The Tell-Tale Heart Literary Analysis

Typical academic articles are hard to read because of complex words and compound sentences. When you read Poe’s masterpieces, you read them quickly because the author writes in short sentences.

Poe uses many figures of speech like similes, personification, anaphora, and irony. Analyze how these figures help Poe to convey the main idea to the reader.

The Tell-Tale Heart Characters

There are four characters you might want to explore in your character analysis: the narrator, police officers, the old man, and the neighbor.

All of them play an important role in the plot. For example, the narrator is mentally ill person who doesn’t make a difference between the “unreal” and “real”. There are also a few signs that he rarely sleeps. You can analyze how his insomnia might impacted his actions and desire to kill.

❓ The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Questions

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  1. What is the theme of The Tell-Tale Heart?
  2. What is the mood of The Tell-Tale Heart?
  3. What genre is The Tell-Tale Heart?
  4. What is the conflict in The Tell-Tale Heart?
  5. What does the heart symbolize in The Tell-Tale Heart?
  6. What is the tone of The Tell-Tale Heart?
  7. What is the central idea of The Tell-Tale Heart?
  8. What point of view is The Tell-Tale Heart?

If you’re looking for The Tell-Tale Heart essay topics or ideas to add to it, check IvyPanda’s free samples of high-quality papers!

🏆 Best The Tell Tale Heart Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

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  1. The Tell-Tale Heart Psychological Analysis & Critique
    The outstanding character in the tale, who is also the narrator, attracts a lot of attention from the readers. The narrator forms the basis of the tale.
  2. The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Poe
    This metaphor is necessary to show that the feeling of guilt distorts his perception of reality. This is one of the details that can be distinguished.
  3. Edger Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” Analysis
    The narrator in the beginning of the story clearly states that he is not insane but his actions make the reader frown at his sanity.
  4. The Investigation of Ethical Issues in The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pond
    The secondary problem is related to an ethical dilemma with regards to the responsibility of the husband to provide and care for the family.
  5. Gothic Romanticism in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Birthmark”
    In the film “The Black Swan” directed by Darren Aronofsky, Nina struggles to fit into the ultimate role of the play “The Swan Lake”, as the Black Swan, even though she is comfortable playing the […]
  6. The Tell-Tale Heart (1843)
    This section tackles the main characters of the story and as aforementioned, the narrator and the old man are the only central characters in the story.
  7. The Tell-Tale Heart Essay
    However, when the police came to the Old Man’s house he gives himself away to the police because he hears the heart of the old man beating behind the floorboard and this incident may suggest […]

📌 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Topics

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  1. The Murderer’s Motivation Depicted in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  2. The Characters of Nervousness in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  3. Morality in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  4. Paranoia in Prose and an Analytical Treatment of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  5. Stylistic Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  6. Sanity of the Narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  7. Poe’s Use of the Senses in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  8. The Role of the Gaze in Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  9. An Analysis of the Creating of an Atmosphere of Horror and Build Tension in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  10. Writing Styles in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgary Allen Poe
  11. Stability of Characters in “To Build a Fire” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  12. Styles of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Versus “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  13. Feeling of Madness Throughout “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgary Allen Poe
  14. The Inspiration From the Authors’ Lives in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
  15. Inescapable Truth: An Analysis of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  16. Rationalization and Suspense in Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  17. Identity as an Important Part of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  18. Analysis of Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  19. “The Tell-Tale Heart” Character Analysis of Main Character

👍 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Examples

  1. The Importance of Suspense in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  2. Horror and Figurative Language in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  3. Imagery Through the Eye of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  4. The Attempt to Prove a Man’s Sanity in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  5. Psychosis and Guilt in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  6. Literary Elements of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  7. Philosophy of Composition in the “Tell-Tale Heart”
  8. The Reflection of the Soul in Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart”
  9. Role of Realism in Edagar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  10. Mental Challenges in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  11. The Themes of Surveillance and Control in “Discipline and Punish” by Michael Foucault and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  12. The Narrator’s Story in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  13. Similarities Between Edgar Allan Poe and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  14. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” as a Gothic Horror
  15. Techniques Used in Writing “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Red Room”
  16. Understanding Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”: Insanity or a Stroke of Brilliance
  17. Mind Games and the Narrator Madness in “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  18. A Comparison of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe and the Work of Raymond Carver
  19. Misperceptions and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
  20. “The Cast of Amontillado” vs. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Alan Poe
  21. Morality in “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
  22. Internal Conflict in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
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IvyPanda. 2023. "56 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Topics & Examples." December 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/.

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IvyPanda. "56 The Tell-Tale Heart Essay Topics & Examples." December 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/the-tell-tale-heart-essay-examples/.

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