The Tell Tale Heart Theme Of Insanity

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most prolific writers of the 19th century, and many of his famous works such as The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Black Cat, and many more. One of the forefathers of gothic literature or dark romanticism. Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809, lived a tragic life and his works speak to it. Tell-Tale Heart is a story of irony and about how madness can quickly consume someone, but its guilt will always come back to haunt those actions. At the start of the story, the narrator addresses the reader that his actions were not driven by madness but were methodical and precise. Conflict arises when the narrator fixates his madness on the old man's eye “I think it was his eye. His eye was like the eye of

“ I asked the policemen to come in. The cry, I said, was my own, in a dream. The old man, I said, was away; he had gone to visit a friend in the country. I took them through the whole house, telling them to search it all, to search well.” (p.67). The police are immediately called to the house which meant that his actions cause a loud commotion that even the neighbors who were probably sleeping were awoken by the screaming. The narrator is so confident with himself and his “plan” that he encourages the police to find any evidence of a misdeed. A meticulous murder plan should not involve any law enforcement. “My easy, quiet manner made the policemen believe my story. So they sat talking with me in a friendly way. But although I answered them in the same way, I soon wished that they would go. My head hurt and there was a strange sound in my ears.”(p. 67) The narrator’s patience with the policemen started to run out, and most likely the adrenaline rush that he got from murdering the old man was receding. “Louder, louder, louder! Suddenly I could bear it no longer. I pointed at the boards and cried, “Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?”(p. 67). It was going so well with keeping the policemen from realizing murder has taken place but madness took the form of guilt and he caves into telling what he has done. The tension in the room he felt too great and his madness took over