Tell Tale Heart

 The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe was in all meanings of the word a "sketchy" story. The story is about a man who's exact position is not expressed, but I believe he is a caretaker, who lives with a half blind old man with a a crazy "vulture eye. The main character feels that the old man's eye is evil and that he must put an end to it, which in turn requires him to kill the old man in the process. After much planning he suffocates the old man with his own bed, and dismembers the body in the bathtub, hiding his parts in the floorboards of the house. That same police officers come to the house to respond to a complaint from the neighbors. They search the house for signs of distress, but their efforts are to no avail. Everything goes smoothily until the man starts to hear the heart of the poor old man still beating, which drives him insane and leads to him confessing to his murder. The big question being asked is whether the man is crazy or not. For starters I absolutely believe he is insane, because he somehow has the neccessity to murder an old man just because of his stale "vulture" eye. Anyone who sees that as enough motive to kill an old man has to be a bit loopy. I also feel that the main character has problems with handling guilt and pressure, which is the basis to why he starts hearing the heart beating. I feel the story was well written and somewhat ambiguous in its meaning. The true meaning of the story can only be deciphered by drawing together literary evidence and connecting the dots.