The Tell-Tale Heart Narrator's Insanity

The narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” explains that he is dreadfully nervous, not mad. The narrator has a lot of love for the old man, however, the narrator explains how he could not stand the sight of the old man’s pale blue eye with film over it which looks like a vulture’s eye. The narrator feels that he can rationalize his insanity, and believes that he cannot be mad or crazy because he is being too cautious in plotting the murder of the old man. The narrator spends seven nights slipping into the old man’s room at midnight where he shines a light onto the face of the old man, due to his eye being closed and not being able to see the hazy eye, the narrator wants to the rid the man of the eye rather than kill him.

On the eighth night the narrator slips into the old man’s room, his thumb slips, and the light shines in the old man’s face, waking awaking him. The narrator freezes and stands over the old man for over an hour waiting for the man to go back asleep. The old man fails to fall back to sleep so the narrator shines the light on the face of the man. The narrator becomes nervous and scared and attacks the old man killing him on the floor next to the bed. The narrator then dismembers the old man and hides him under the floor boards. 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