To begin with, the theme of insanity is present throughout Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart.” In the beginning of the short story, the narrator begins by saying “True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad” (Poe 440). He began trying to give reasoning for his actions, hinting to readers that he had previously committed a horrific act. The narrator realized he had every reason to care and love the old man for “he never wronged me… never given me an insult” (Poe 440) but instead of feeling compassionate, he had an insane desire to kill the old man. He questioned why he would want to inflict harm onto someone he had no bitterness towards and comes up with an explanation. The narrator