Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart conveys many concepts, and two of these concepts relate to the power of guilt, and the ability to overcome superficial habits. The credibility of claims relating to these concepts is able to be defended by many reliable sources, such as the American Psychological Association. The power of guilt is seen when Poe endures a mental breakdown after murdering the man with the strange eye, and superficiality is seen in Poe’s distaste for the man despite no evident wrongdoing. These two general mistakes made by Poe, along with the evidence provided in the essay to defend the concepts, can be used to teach the reader what is wrong with certain actions, and how one can prevent doing these actions and even prevent being put in the situation. The lessons that the reader can take away from reading The Tell-Tale Heart are lessons that can be applicable to many situations in everyday life, so highlighting Poe’s mistakes is critical to the reader’s ability to learn from the piece. The power of guilt, along with the importance of breaking superficial habits, are the two most important things to take away from The Tell-Tale Heart, as each concept is taught through the analysis of mistakes that most human beings do not want to make.