ipl-logo

The Tell-Tale-Heart Insanity

830 Words4 Pages

The man accused of murder has confessed to the crime and led the police straight to the mutilated body of his victim. On the night of murder, the narrator killed the old man by suppressing him with a bed and suffocating him to death. He was vexed by the old man’s “evil eye” which motivated the narrator to murder the old man. In spite of the evidence proving that the murderer is insane, he is clearly sane and should be accused guilty. Primarily, the murderer explained the process of murder, he was describing all the little details that an insane person would not have remembered. “The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” An insane person …show more content…

In “The Tell-Tale-Heart”, the narrator said things that could be understood in two different ways. “I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die!-and now-again! Hark! Louder! Louder! Louder!...” From the defendant’s point of view, this may sound as if the narrators full of fear and anxiety which are symptoms of insanity. Also, the narrator heard the heartbeat of the old man’s heart, who is dead. It is physically impossible for a heart of a dead and dismembered body to beat. This is the evidence that will persuade the audience to believe that the narrator is insane. However, stated by Dr. Mary C. Lamia in “The Complexity of Fear”, “...Fear and anxiety are important to differentiate...these emotions can transform into behaviors that may lead you to avoid situations or into defense mechanisms that may obscure the recognition of reality...they have been understood as keys to the dynamics of emotional illness.” People may think that the narrator has a mental illness due to all the unusual things he says and does however, all of his abnormal behaviors could be the result of fear and anxiety. For example, the heartbeat of the dead man could’ve been the heartbeat of the narrator, himself. His guilt towards the murder dominated his thoughts which caused him to be

Show More
Related
762 Words | 4 Pages

--tear up the planks! Here here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!” Sane people cannot hear someone’s heartbeat after one’s death. This piece of evidence proves that he is insane since he had already killed the old man, yet, he claims to hear the old man’s heart.

Read More
1191 Words | 5 Pages

He also showed that he had a motive for murder, this was proven when he stated “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever” which shows that his reason for the murder was the old man’s eye. To conclude, Subject A had very low autonomic arousal which made him cold, callous, dispassionate and a reason for

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Due to the scream the old man let out, the police come to check the residence. The narrator allows them in to check, but does not show any suspicion to the police, but becomes distraught due to supposedly hearing the old man’s heart continuously beating in his head. The narrator confesses to the police and shows where the body is

Read More
565 Words | 3 Pages

While what he did was horrible and insane-like, the narrator did this process very sanely and put lots of thought into it. No absolute insane person would spend days and days watching someone sleep, or acting perfectly normal around victim just so they could tike their kill perfectly, even though watching someone sleep is an insane trait. He was very cautious in this, “But you should have seen how wisely I proceeded -- with what caution -- with what foresight, with what dissimulation, I went to work!” and proved to be quite patient, “It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed.’’ So he couldn’t have been totally insane, right?

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

The Style of Poe Analysis In “The Tell-tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, the demented, arrogant and dark tones reflect the man’s guilt and insanity that eventually leds him to admit to the crime he committed. Poe’s diction heightens the arrogant tones which is seen as the man plans the murder and carries it out in a careful, organized way. He goes “boldly” into the chamber, “cunningly” sticks his head in the doorway and feels “the extent of his own power”. Poe’s use of diction shows how cocky the man actually is.

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

His validity becomes questioned in the beginning of the story when he insists on his clarity of mind – “but why would you say that I am mad” (edgar allen poe). He has clear logical gaps that can only be explained by his insanity. There is a strong vibe that shows he or she may have not have been telling the truth behind what may have happened. The narrator’s entire point was to prove that he/she is no absolutely insane. At one point, he does a very good job of proving this by stating “Ha! – would a madman have been so wise to do this?

Read More
470 Words | 2 Pages

The Narrator who killed the old man…was he insane, and will he admit his crime? The story takes place at the old man’s home. The narrator came to visit every night at midnight for a week and looked at him as he slept. He killed the man, but why did he do it? What happened to the narrator when the police came to the house?

Read More
717 Words | 3 Pages

Even though individuals can respond differently to signs of insanity, being extremely foolish or mental illness towards the actions without worrying about the consequences. Throughout the story, we clearly believe that the unnamed narrator repeatedly paranoid, insists he is sane, physically and mentally illness, his actions, and motivations. The narrator feels that a disease is making him feel better, but in reality a disease makes us feel worse like cancer. The narrator speaks directly to us, and he states: "True! —nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad” (Poe 884).

Read More
1107 Words | 5 Pages

Those with Paranoid Schizophrenia are not reliable sources of information to explain a situation truthfully. One of the effects of Paranoid schizophrenia is that the narrator

Read More
1499 Words | 6 Pages

Despite meticulously planning and executing the murder, covering all evidence of the crime, and convincing the police of his innocence, the narrator cannot overcome his guilty conscience for the crime he committed. Through the use of imagery and symbolism, Edgar Allan Poe displays the inexorable consequences a guilty

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

In the story, the narrator says “It was the beat of the old man's heart”(Poe). While hearing a heartbeat right before killing the old man. This proves that the old man is insane, because he believes that his own nervous heartbeat was that of the old man’s. A sane person would know that the heartbeat was that of their own and would know that you can't hear a dead man's heartbeat. The narrator also said that “The sound would be heard by a neighbor”.

Read More
557 Words | 3 Pages

One sign of the narrator being insane is that he has impulsive behavior. For example, the narrator says, “First of all, I dismembered the corpse, I cut off the head, and the arms, and the legs, or … works as well” (12). This means that he cut off the body without thinking about it beforehand. Furthermore, the narrator also says that he did not just leave the body there, but hid it too. All of this matters because it was a very sudden action

Read More
945 Words | 4 Pages

(Prepositional Phrase) Any lucid individual would not think that killing someone made him or her into a superhuman, let alone think about killing someone in the first place. Finally, the narrator’s conscious drove him mad. In the final scene of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” while the police were sitting with the killer, thoughts kept racing through his mind. Guilt finally overflowed his brain, and that forced him into confessing his responsibility in the old man’s slaughter.

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

Insane or Sane? The terrifying story, “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe is down right bizarre. I believe the narrator is definitely a little strange whether you may disagree or not. Edgar Allen Poe had a very interesting way of applying the narrator to act like he is not crazy, but at the same time basically baby feeding the readers that he really is crazy. There are several ways the narrator himself is actually proving he is insane.

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

Obsession, internal conflict, and underlying guilt are all aspects of being human but when it’s associated with paranoia and insanity it may be just the recipe for the perfect crime as perceived by Edger Allan Poe in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe uses this as one of his shortest stories to discuss and provide an insight into the mind of the mentally ill, paranoia and the stages of mental detrition. The story 's action is depicted through the eyes of the unnamed delusional narrator. The other main character in the story is an old man whom the narrator apparently works for and resides in his house. The story opens off with the narrator trying to assure his sanity then proceeding to tell the tale of his crime, this shows a man deranged and hunted with a guilty conscience of his murderous act.

Read More

More about The Tell-Tale-Heart Insanity

Open Document