What does the eye symbolize in the tell-tale heart?

Answer 1

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," the eye symbolizes the narrator's guilt and paranoia. The "vulture eye" of the old man represents the narrator's obsessive fixation and fear, ultimately driving him to commit murder. This fixation reflects the narrator's internal conflict and deteriorating mental state, as he perceives the eye as a source of judgment and scrutiny. Thus, the eye serves as a powerful symbol of conscience and the inescapable nature of guilt.