Of the many rather gothic, mysterious, horrific, and melancholic stories that have been written by Edgar Allan poe, I find The Tell Tale heart to be one of the most intriguing.
Short summary and Review
Published in 1843, The Tell Tale Heart is a widely popular short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It tells of an unnamed narrator who insists that he is not mad as he goes on to tell the story of how he murdered an old man he claims to love, in cold blood. He makes it clear that his sole reason for committing the crime is due to his hatred for the old man's eye. Yes.. you read that right. His supposed evil eye.
The Tell Tale Heart is more or less a psychological crime mystery that allows the readers to delve into the mind of a deranged murderer. In the story, the narrator details on the entire process of the murder and the reason behind it - that is, the narrators hatred for the man's eye. It is mentioned by the narrator in the story that: "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." as a way to assure the reader that this crime was not committed due to any common circumstance and to add more emphasis to the depth of dreadfulness of this eye.
The narrator most likely uses that statement as a way to persuade the reader that his reason for committing the murder was quite valid.
At the end, the story establishes a central idea: no matter how hard you try to hide a crime, your guilt will most likely get the better of you and somehow, the truth will come out. It's just a matter of when and how.
There are few stories that have grasped me the way The Tell Tale Heart has done. The plot, the characters, the dialogue, the imagery, oh my!... Every single thing was sublime and I was completely invested in the story till the end. Although, I would admit i felt there might've been an unnecessary use of detail and information in the story. But regardless, it was fantastic!
I would recommend this short story to be read by any fan of crime, mystery, thriller, and or drama genres. Or anybody at all really. It's very good stuff. You'll enjoy it. Trust me.
The Reading
I must say, as I recorded this fantastic story, I couldn't help but feel I was turning into the mad murderer himself. Although, I think this might've been due to the way Edgar wrote the story: in a way that will associate the reader with the narrator.
Frankly, I had lots of fun recording the story. As i recorded, i felt as though I was now wearing the same consciousness as the narrator. My advice for new readers whom will come across this story, is to take the entire story as if it were a play. Really get yourself in the mindset of the narrator. Play the part! If you have to. For it will allow for a better understanding of the story in full context and also allow for a better digestion of it. You see, because of the excess gothic vocabulary and imagery poe uses in this story, it can become quite hard to for some readers to read it. But hey...that's Edgar Allan for ya!
Below you can find an audio version of this book read and recorded by me. It has an interesting soundtrack that will help give you a better feel of the story:
You can also find a free PDF of the story here: The Tell Tale Heart
Thanks for reading and keep exploring!
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