The Tell-Tale Heart

Main Characters and Their Development

• The main character and narrator is a person whose name remains unknown, but whose psychology and inner world are revealed through his narrative. He claims he is not insane, although his actions and thoughts suggest otherwise. The protagonist is obsessed with the old man's eye, with whom he lives, leading him to murder. His development involves a gradual descent into madness, which he denies but becomes evident to the reader. Ultimately, his sense of guilt and paranoia lead to his confession of the crime.
• The old man is a secondary character who lives with the narrator. He is described as kind and harmless, but his "vulture eye" provokes unbearable disgust and fear in the narrator. The old man becomes a victim of the narrator's madness, although he himself does nothing to provoke aggression.