The next clue that the narrator is schizophrenic can be found in his auditory hallucinations throughout the story. A hallucination is a perceptual experience in the absence of external stimuli (Medical Dictionary). Before and after he kills the old man he claims to hear the man’s heart beat and compares it to a watch’s ticking. “Now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes… I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart.” (Poe). Now in a situation such as this, one can argue that he confuses his own heartbeat with the old man’s. But this assumption is proven false further in the story. After he had hid the old man’s body under the floor boards the narrator whole heatedly believed …show more content…
A catatonic schizophrenic may show marked motor abnormalities including immobility or excessive motor activity (Medicine Net). In the case of the narrator, the first symptom was shown as he was entering the old man’s room to kill him. “I kept still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle …just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall” (Poe). People exhibiting catatonia may remain in an awkward position for long periods such as hours or days at a time (Web Md). The narrator also mentions that he had repeatedly stood outside the old man’s room just eavesdropping which further strengthens the …show more content…
He believes that if he can recollect every detail of the events that took place he will prove to himself that he is normal. Also, his reason for killing the old man is without a motive, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire” (Poe). The reality of this is that he knows he can’t bring himself to admit that only an insane person would kill a man because of the way his eyes looked. “It was not the old man who vexed me, but his evil eye.”