In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the plot is set in an old house, the main character of which is never
named; he is a man sharing a house with an old man, Mr. Eldridge. The main character suffers
from paranoia and violent impulses caused by an old man's pale blue eye, which the protagonist
considers evil. This obsession causes an internal struggle as the narrator tries to convince the
world he is sane, even as he carefully plans out Mr. Eldridge's murder. The plot is rather focused
on developing the feeling of isolation and building the atmosphere of the gradual shift to the state
of insanity. The twisted plot of the story is well-written and dark, as it captures the inner
workings of the human mind, showing how the narrator's paranoia leads him to murder.
II. Rising Action
In the rising action of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator fumes the
uncomfortable feeling he gets every time he is in the same house with Mr. Eldridge. This
discomfort is at first determinant and unspecified and develops into an ill-defined horror that
finally colours the narrator's relations with the old man: He just looked like, I think it was his
eye! Yes, it was this! He had a vulture's eye: it was pale blue and had the infinitesimal film upon
it, which is not seen in other eyes. "Here, the narrator comes very close to confessing that he has
no rational grounds for his hatred of Mr. Eldridge but is motivated. The narrator is very
concerned with details and becomes gradually obsessed, which offers the first hints at his
madness. With these descriptions, Poe succeeds in setting the tone of suspense and anticipation
and whisking the readers into the main protagonist's disturbed psychological state.
The narrator gets obsessed with a particular aspect of Mr. Eldridge's appearance, namely, his eye,
but at this stage, he does not name it as a vulture's eye. He says, 'Whenever it fell upon me, my
blood ran cold, and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the
old man and thus rid myself of the eye forever.' This fixation becomes preoccupation and
obsession as the narrator sits for hours at night, spying on Mr. Eldridge through the keyhole,
waiting for the opportune moment. This means that the detail of the eye becomes an indicator of
the narrator's levels of paranoia and mental status. The choice of this particular physical detail by
Poe is significant because of the extent to which it brings out the illogical aspect of the narrator's
obsession with the woman.
III. Climax
In the final stage of the plot of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist, who is
a sufferer of extreme curiosity and developing paranoia, comments on Mr. Eldridge's oddity. He
says, "You must have had a rough time with that eye, Mr. Eldridge." This is one of the recurring
phrases that is filled with the narrator's perversion and his need to address the source of his
discomfort. The remark is rather dramatic because it shows the beginning of the narrator's
participation in the event and his inner struggle. This is perhaps the reason why Poe uses this
moment to create suspense and prepare the readers for the climax.
Mr. Eldridge has an odd response to the narrator's comment, and his eyes seem to briefly flash
fear or maybe sadness. This reaction is quite hidden yet significant as it uncovers the old man's
weakness. He answers, 'Yes, it has been a burden, but one which I have learned to accept.' This
and the sudden change in his emotional state make Mr. Eldridge a little more human, which thus
blurs the narrator's purely sexual interest in him. However, instead of evoking empathy, it caters
to the narrator's obsession and is the source of his pleasure. The fear or sadness is translated by
the narrator as some sort of weakness, and the seed of suspicion and distorted power relations is
sown with Mr. Eldridge. Mr. Eldridge's response is another masterly move by Poe to enhance the
psychological aspect of the story and show how the narrator's mind is disturbed to the point of
perceiving reality in a distorted way.
IV. Falling Action
In the falling action, the actions of the narrator get more intense, using techniques such as
paranoia as he tries to cover up the crime he committed. The main character's psychological state
deteriorates, and he comments, "I fixed my avarice on the life of the old man and on the eye,
resolved to blot it out of creation." This is the story's climax, while the protagonist is completely
possessed by the decision to eliminate Mr. Eldridge to free himself from the evil eye. He starts
withdrawing himself from society, ceases normal social interaction, and focuses on his gruesome
plan. The narrator's anxiety is clearly expressed when Poe writes about the nightly routine of the
narrator in watching Mr. Eldridge sleep: 'And every night about twelve,' I said softly, 'I opened
this door with this latch.'
To explain his increasing fear and the violence soon to come, the narrator makes up stories about
Mr. Eldridge, maybe making him seem peculiar or even malicious. He tells himself and others,
"He was very cautious, for he suspected that all was not well." These fabrications serve two
purposes: they give a reason for his close investigation, and they put his own feelings of fear and
insanity into Mr. Eldridge. Therefore, the narrator attempts to justify his prejudice and hatred
towards the old man by making himself believe that the old man is, in fact, a threat. This reality
distortion indicates the progress of the main character's condition, as he cannot distinguish
between reality and his illness.
Feeling the change of attitude from the young man, Mr. Eldridge gets defensive and anxious. The
old man begins to show certain signs of fear and retreats a little; he stays wary of the narrator. He
probably feels the tension and hatred that the narrator has for him, which is exhibited by the
former's unpredictable behaviour. Poe writes, "His fears have been ever since growing upon
him," which means that the growing threat has been on the mind of Mr. Eldridge. This
withdrawal increases the elements of suspense in the story because the reader is fully aware that
Mr. Eldridge is slowly nearing his fate, unaware of the looming danger.
V. Conclusion
When writing the story preceding the famous work by Edgar Allan Poe, the plot lays down with
a barely noticeable hint of horror, revealing the gradual progression of the protagonist into the
main character of 'The Tell-Tale Heart'. The setting of the old house in which all the incidents
happen and the plot of the story are the unnamed narrator's obsession with the malevolent-
looking pale-blue eye of Mr. Eldridge. Instead, as the strife moves up another notch, the
narrator's discomfort turns into a full-blown fixation, and the character spends a lot of time
planning the murder of Mr. Eldridge. This moment can be considered one of the key points in the
narrative, as it demonstrates the protagonist's distorted perception of power and brings the
suspense to the climax before revealing the sad ending.
