In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” an unimaginable crime has taken place. A person, our narrator, has decided to commit premeditated murder. His reasoning is among one of the craziest. He states has to die for his “vulture of an eye” (Poe 198). The narrator waits patiently for the perfect time to commit his crime. The narrator, assumed to be the son, startles the old man, and he then stands motionless for hours waiting on the opportunity. During this entire time, he listens to the scared heartbeat of the old man. The desire for the death of this man is soon followed through in reality. Yet, when he finally has the opportunity to bask in his glory, the sound of the heartbeat is still pounding in his ears. The wretched sound of the heartbeat leads him to dismember the body and hide it under the floor planks of their home. Later when the police arrive, the heartbeat begins to thump again, leading him to disclose the horrific acts he has committed. In “The Tell Tale Heart,” Edgar Allen Poe portrays the thumping heart as being the old man’s, but in reality it is a delusion of his own heartbeat. So is the beating heart this old man’s, or is it the sound of his panic-stricken own heart? The narrator speaks of the heart on numerous accounts throughout the story. In the beginning, once he has made his decision upon the death of the old man, he waits patiently for days, waiting for the perfect day. In the days that passed before he commits the act, Poe writes, “And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night” (198). The “hearty tone” the narrator uses demonstrates exactly where the lingering sound will come from (Poe 198). This tone carries throughout the story, and it soon begins to linger in his ears. The narrator waits for the perfect timing. On the eighth