Eyes as a Reflection of the Self in Poe's Short Fiction Anonymous 11th Grade

Eyes are often seen in literature as all-encompassing symbols of mystery, perception, awareness, and even omniscience. Many argue that the eyes are “the window to the soul,” meaning that they reveal even the most hidden emotions, desires, or motives. However, they can also function as a wall of sorts, perpetually concealing the true feelings of a person under an opaque facade. Edgar Allan Poe utilizes eyes as symbols in his poetry and prose to connect these hidden emotions to the individuals based upon how they are affected by their surroundings; he thus illustrates how eyes represent the darkest fears and feelings of a person.

In “The Tell Tale Heart,” Poe highlights the feelings of the narrator through the eye of the old man, which is “pale blue… with a film over it” (“The Tell Tale Heart”). Symbolically, the film over the eye represents how the old man has a “shielded” view of the outside world, and also, that the eye is an entity separate from himself, which attacks the narrator in a “vulture”-like fashion. Vultures are omens of death in literature because of their connection with the dead. Poe therefore utilizes the old man’s eye to symbolize how the narrator is close to death, already dead, or will experience a death soon...