"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that tells the tale of a man who becomes driven to the brink of madness by his obsession with an old man's eye. The story is told from the perspective of the narrator, who is not named. The narrator is conflicted in several ways throughout the story.
One of the main conflicts in the story is the narrator's internal struggle with his own sanity. From the beginning of the story, the narrator insists that he is not mad, even though he admits to committing a murder. This internal conflict is further exacerbated by the narrator's obsession with the old man's eye, which he describes as "the Evil Eye." The eye becomes a symbol for the narrator's own guilt and his inability to shake the feeling that he is being watched.
Another conflict in the story is the narrator's desire to kill the old man. He initially justifies the murder by saying that the old man's eye is evil and must be removed. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the narrator's true motivation for killing the old man is his own hatred and resentment towards him. The old man has done nothing to deserve this treatment, and the narrator's actions show that he is capable of great cruelty.
Finally, there is a conflict between the narrator and the police, who come to investigate the old man's disappearance. The narrator is paranoid and anxious throughout the story, and he becomes increasingly convinced that the police are onto him. He can hear their footsteps and imagines that they are creeping closer and closer to his room. In the end, it is this conflict that leads to the narrator's downfall, as he confesses to the murder in a fit of paranoia and guilt.
In conclusion, "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a story that explores the inner conflicts of a disturbed and unreliable narrator. The narrator's internal struggle with his own sanity, his desire to kill the old man, and his fear of being caught create a sense of tension and unease that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Through his storytelling, Poe delves into the dark depths of the human psyche and exposes the capacity for both good and evil that exists within us all.