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John Cleman Poe And The Insanity Defense Analysis

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True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? . . . Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story. . . . You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded. (qtd. in Shen, 339.) In this section the narrator refers to the method of the action as the proof of his sanity. Nevertheless Shen argues that the story contains several references of insanity that contradict the process of the defence. Shen claims that even though he tells the story calmly, he undermines the credibility by the nervousness and the lack of true motivation. Another sign according to Shen is the insistence on the idea of killing, …show more content…

However there are several interpretations that connect this phenomenon to the cultural circumstances in which Poe lived. John Cleman argues in his essay “Irresistible Impulses: Edgar Allan Poe and the Insanity Defense” that this notion first appeared in England, due to several trials that ended up declaring the criminal mentally ill, so that the person was able to avoid punishment. At the beginning these people were not distinguished from criminals, but throughout the time, due to several reforms, finally they were placed in asylums, where they got the proper medical treatment. This state of being was claimed not culpable, through the fact that those people did not show the signs of rationality. (Cleman, 625-626) Cleman claims that this affected Poe, especially two cases, where the murderers were acquitted; James Wood, who killed his own daughter and Singleton Mercer, who murdered his sister’s seducer. (Cleman, 626.) According to Cleman, the defence started to became ridiculous, as in many cases it was used, when there was not even the sign of insanity. (Cleman, 627.) In my opinion, in this point of view, “The Tell-Tale Heart” can be seen as a satire of his age, regarding that a visibly madman intends to prove his sanity, whereas in reality sane people aimed to be declared

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