Tale Tell Heart Eric Rflin Analysis

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The State vs. Eric Raflin
Defense Attorney

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury… “I don’t suffer from insanity- I enjoy every minute of it” Sherrilyn Kenyon. Being insane or having a mental illness can lead you to having many things happen in your life that you may not really mean to. Eric Raflin the narrator from “Tale Tell Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about an insane man who is the caretaker for Mr. Anderson [old man]. Mr. Anderson has a prominent blue eye just like a vulture's which makes eric upset and angry. Eric decides to take the life of the old man because of his insane madness. Eric Raflin is not guilty of premeditated murder due to his insanity because, Raflin’s motive to kill was the blue eye of Mr. Anderson, he confesses to his own crime, and Raflin admits to having a mental disease. Mr. Raflin admits to having a mental disease and how he is not mad. Most people with a disease such as insanity normally can not control their behavior. Stated from Raflin “but why will you say I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses-not destroyed- not dulled them.”(p.294) By this quote Raflin is stating he has his disease, but he believes that he isn’t affected by this illness he proves to have. His illness can vary from many things …show more content…

Anderson was intentional but since he was going through a state of insanity from the blue eye of the man that he feels there is no other choice than to take the life of the frail man. Raflin explains Mr. Anderson’s “pale blue eye, with a film on it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold… I made up my mind to take the life of the old man.”(p.295)Mr. Raflin is showing that the reason he wants to kill this innocent aged man is because of his pale blue eye. This is showing more evidence of how insane Raflin is, and how he most likely couldn’t control his actions. Because this blue eye frightened him so much his mind told him that killing Mr. Anderson would do him