David Steinour Professor Eileen Radetich English Composition II July 9, 2024. Dissecting Disease Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a renowned short story about somebody caving to their mental illness, committing murder, and struggling to hide their crime. The protagonist distinctly recounts their crime, asserting sanity instead of innocence. Mental illness’s depiction in the story is unique, providing a perspective instead of a shallow portrayal. The story’s rough plot is believable, though significantly warped by the protagonist’s perspective. The protagonist’s warped mentality is most apparent when they kill their neighbor, face interrogation, and recurrently assert sanity. The protagonist’s motive for the old man’s murder is allegedly the man’s “evil” prosthetic eye. The protagonist plans their murder over a week, routinely sneaking into the old man’s room at midnight and holding a lantern to his prosthetic eye. The man’s eyelids always concealed his prosthetic eye, making the process seem relentlessly ritualistic or fabricated, especially without reason. The process of being ritualistic is understandable. People with cognitive distinctions like obsessive-compulsive disorder or autism can engage in rhythmic or routine behavior due to an apparent yet inexplicable …show more content…
They claim a “healthy” mind, calm “manner,” and “careful” approach. The protagonist’s motive, perception, and demeanor oppose their assertions of sanity. The protagonist murdered the old man because of his menacing prosthetic eye, the pulsing noise was a hallucination since only they recurrently heard it, and they abruptly admitted to the old man’s murder after suddenly panicking. They had an irrational motive, perspective, and demeanor. The protagonist is demonstratively insane, thus partially