Edgar Allan Poe uses the theme of eyes, and the loss of sight in "The Tell Tale Heart," and The "Pit and the Pendulum," but in dissimilar ways. For example, in "The Tell Tale Heart," an anonymous narrator kills an old man. The narrator's motive was the old man's "vexing eye." The eye was described as follows: "[the eye] resembled that of vulture-a pale blue eye, with a film over it." The narrator had nothing against the old man, but his eye was so repulsive to his assassin, that the only way it could be dealt with is by destroying the old man. The narrator explains how he crept into the old man's room, and proceeded to kill the old man. The motive for murder is reinstated in this quote: "I grew furious as I gazed upon [the eye]. I saw it with perfect distinctness-all a dull blue, with a hideou

s veil that chilled the very marrow in my bones;" This was definitely a startling quote, and it deepened the suspense of the story because the it interrupted the killing. If the old man had not had the "vexing" eye, there would be no reason for the narrator to murder the old man, therefore leaving "The Tell Tale Heart" without a plot.

In "The Pit and the Pendulum," the eyes were used differently to capture the reader. The narrator was a victim of the Spanish Inquisition, and kept captive. The narrator describes the dark vault were he is held in the following quote: " My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me." This definitely impacts the reader, because the only way this man can realize his surroundings is by relying on his other senses. The story immediately becomes more intriguing by the loss of the narrators sight. The following quote relates his reaction to the darkness: Perspiration burst from every pore . . . my eyes straining from their sockets in the hope of catching some faint ray of light. The narrator soon regains composure andt tries to find out the shape and size of the dungeon. To do this, he feels his way around the wall of the dungeon. This adds to the suspense of the story, because at this point the captor begins to deals with his fate. Later in the story, the narrator finds there is a deep pit in the middle of his dungeon. The loss of sight is crucial to the suspense at this point, because he finds out about the pit by accident. If he hadn't been pitch black in the dungeon, the captor wouldn't have almost fallen into the pit, and therefore eliminating suspense. Poe uses the eyes in both "The Tell Tale Heart," and "T

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Approximate Word count = 1151
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)