“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe is a short story centered around a mentally disturbed soul who ends up murdering an innocent man because of the narrator. obsession with his “evil eye”. Poe's story is unique and many wonder why his stories are so dark. Most do not realize that many of Poe's works are due to his state of mind after what appears to be a very dark life that he lived. Edgar Allen Poe lived a brief, desolate, and complicated life that made him an author and poet who wrote some very strange, depressing, and dark works. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Based on research, it appears that Poe's dark childhood was the main contribution to his strange writings. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a perfect example of his many dark works. Although “The Tell-Tale Heart” is dark, it is also extremely captivating, just like everything else he wrote. It seems that his most famous work is "The Tell-Tale Heart", which raises the question of whether he had any personal meaning behind this short and gruesome story. In researching Poe's past, it is evident that he went through many tragedies in what appears to be a very short life. Although Poe of course had normal, happy times in his life, it seems that darkness has largely consumed him, as none of his well-known poems contain any sort of light or positivity. Edgar Allan Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston in January. 19, 1809. Unfortunately, three years later, both his parents died. This led to Poe being taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan. It seems that John Allan wanted Edgar to follow in his footsteps as a businessman, as Edgar also achieved excellent results in school. He ended up attending the University of Virginia where he did very well. According to the Raven Society of the University of Virginia, it states: "Generally well-liked, Poe was considered talented, if slightly odd, by his peers." After some unfortunate events, Poe was unable to return to college. John Allan did not send him enough money to pay his tuition, leaving him in a bind. He turned to gambling, which let everything go downhill from there. Gambling certainly wasn't his strong point, and he ended up drowning in $2,000 in debt, according to the Raven Society. It was only the beginning of his unhappy teenage years. About two years later, Poe was accepted into the Military Academy at West Point. While he left as an excellent student, it seems that he was kicked out almost eight months later. The U.S. National Archives blog wrote: “The conduct chart from July to December 1831 lists the number of infractions committed by cadets and the corresponding demerits. Poe's name appears roughly in the middle of the list of major offenders, with 44 offenses and 106 sentence demerits. Many other strange or unfortunate events occurred in Poe's life. After leaving West Point he was in poverty and John Allan died, leaving him nothing in his will. He then moved to Baltimore to be taken in by his aunt, Maria Clemm. Poe then fell in love with his daughter, Virginia, and married her when she was only fourteen. Virginia died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, leaving Poe devastated. He later became engaged to another woman, but never managed to marry. On the way home from a trip, Poe disappeared,.