Narrator In Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe Legally Insane?

The narrator in the “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, is not guilty of the crime because he is legally insane. Legally insane means someone was insane while committing a crime. To be deemed legally insane, one must apply to these three criteria: can not distinguish fantasy from reality, could not tell right from wrong, and can not control the behavior. The narrator can not distinguish fantasy from reality because he seems to see and hear things that do not exist. He thinks that he can see “Death” itself as a person not a thing. “… Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim.” (pg 2). He seems to see “Death” as a black shadow going to envelop the old man, the victim. He hears sounds that could not exist like the dead old man’s heartbeat.

The narrator did not know that this “heartbeat” could be his own trying to tell him to surrender to the crime he committed. He could not tell right from wrong when killing the old man and be so proud of his deed. He didn't know if he did the right thing by killing the old man for his vexing eye. “… Rid myself of the eye forever.” (pg 1). The narrator thinks it's so right to kill a man because the old man’s eye vexed him. However, he was proud of his murderous deed because he does not know what he had done was wrong. “I then smiled gaily … His eye would trouble me no more.” (pg 3). The narrator could not control his behavior for he would stare at the man for a week and silence would lead him to uncontrollable terror. A week, every night he would sneak his head into the old man’s room because he needed to see this “Evil Eye”. “… I thrust in my head.” (pg 1). If he did try to stop this activity, he would not and could not.