This assignment is a “Response Paper” to a Tell-Tale Heart. If you do read my response, I encourage you to go re read Edgar Allen Poes short story first…

Ok, got that done? This is what the lord placed upon my heart as a response. Enjoy!

The main character’s inability to recognize his own madness reflects how we Christians are blind to our own sins. In denial, we fancy ourselves good men, but in reality, wickedness and iniquity are in our hearts. Without Christ, we are either mad in our obliviousness of sin or purely evil. The obvious theme of A Telltale Heart is the madness of the protagonist, and his belief that he is actually so clever. He believes that the cunningness of the murder is proof of his sanity. The story’s details of his premeditation and self-aggrandizement, while in denial of his madness, are obviously the madness on display. I believe this reflects the madness of man without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, trusting in his own instincts, and denying the truth of living according to the gospel of Christ.

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the Truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”[i]

The madman explains that it was not the old man’s gold that made him decide to murder; he says it was his eye, his pale eye. Can we believe this is his true motive, or is this lie the first step down his path of insanity? A lie. He lies to himself from the beginning, akin to the deceiver in the garden, stating, “Surely you will not die.” The fall of man surely starts with lies. Since being cast out of the garden, man has been living out his own prideful madness. Fooling ourselves into thinking we are so clever, still in denial that a life of sin leads to hell. Do you hear the beating of a Telltale heart, torturing you, tormenting you? Or do you hear the Shepherd’s voice?

Man’s pride is his justification for living his life according to his own ethos, or morality, or code. The madman is constantly justifying his actions while attempting to convince the reader that he is not mad. When we defend the choices we make and actions we take to live our lives according to our own free will, it is open rebellion in the face of God, and a life not submitted to God is a life not submitted to truth. How we choose to live our lives outside Christ is pure insanity because that path will always lead to death.

“And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses?”[ii]

He is so proud of himself, he embellishes in his pride of how he so quietly slips into the old man’s chamber. His esteem of self is inflated through his well-executed deceitful actions. They mean more to him than the morality of right and wrong, or certainly God’s will. This breeds narcissism, Love for one’s own self above all others; the prideful heart only benefits oneself.

I believe the greatest ugliness in this story, outside the murder, is the madman’s contempt for the old man while offering genuine care and kind words. He is his benefactor, correct? The madman outwardly displays kindness as a caregiver, but internally loathes him from just the look in his eye. That is a Wolf in sheep’s clothing, that is Evil, that wickedness in the heart of man.  

The knocking on the door from the officers reminded me of Rev 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” The knock was the beginning of the path leading to the Madman’s judgment, like we must all face when the Lord comes to knock on the door of our hearts. The evil in his heart could no longer stand the presence of justice.

The description of the madman hearing the Old Man’s heart as he is about to murder him made me realize the Telltale Heart is actually the killer’s own. Poe does a magnificent job of making the reader believe the madman was actually hearing the Old man’s murdered heart, but in the end, it is his own heart that gives him away. The guilt was so overwhelming that he could no longer maintain the charade in front of the officers. This is also why he heard the heartbeat when the officers were interviewing him. The true madness in this story is the killer’s own deception of the guilt in his heart. The wickedness could no longer maintain the deception. He loses his composure and confesses.

In closing, it is madness to live our lives outside the Truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our sins may never drive us to murder, but without Jesus as the Lord of our hearts, the sound of guilt, shame, and sin can become deafening! Hearts are not silent, but they can be silenced! Do we need ultrasounds to tell if a heart is beating, or do we stand in the truth that it’s beating because it’s alive? Someone can deny the truth, but a Tell-Tale Heart never will!

Bibliography

Jack Hayford. 2018. NKJV Spirit FIlled Life Bible. Nashville, TN: HarperCollins publishing inc.

Poe, Edgar Allen. 1843. A Tell-Tale Heart.

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[i] (Jack Hayford 2018)

[ii] (Poe 1843)