The Tell-Tale-Heart Insanity

Many people often forewarn us to stay away from insane or mentally unstable people because their unpredictable actions might cause us harm but this isn 't necessarily true. People who are in their full senses and are mentally stable to make wise decisions, often do things that even insane people would never imagine of doing. In the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, it is clearly demonstrated how the protagonist in the story executed a well-planned murder in a perfectly stable mental state. In fact, he planned it out a week before and for that whole week, he observed the old man every night while he was asleep. Not only that, he also very cautiously and spotlessly murdered and hid his dead body leaving behind no trace of his crime.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe is an enthralling and terrifying tale of an insane and paranoid Narrator suffocating his own roommate in his sleep. Throughout the story, fear and dread is a common theme. At every twist and turn Poe creates a sense of uneasiness. Using this, Edgar Allen creates fear and dread through the Characters, Conflict, and Suspense, making the “The Tell-Tale Heart” a scary, and captivating story. Edgar Allen Poe creates fear and dread in “The Tell-Tale Heart” through his characters, more specifically the Narrator.

Have you ever been in a bad situation but tried to make the best out of it? Even when someone tells you everything will be fine just keep a positive mind. The same can be said about these two short stories. In “The Hitchhiker” the main character Ronald Adams is driving to California, and is seeing this strange man follow him around while he is driving. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” The old man has the narrator after him trying to end the old man’s eye forever.

“Louder! Louder! Louder! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” - says the narrator in Tell Tale Heart.

Hatred, Insanity, and unreliability; all of theses qualities relate to the narrator of the “The Tell Tale Heart” and the speaker of “I Can Stand Him No Longer.” Edgar Allan Poe introduces a menacing narrator in this piece of writing. Raphael Dumas’ speaker in this poem shows hatred for another man. He exaggerates while explaining this hatred. Both authors make the people speaking in the story unreliable, causing an untrusting tone.

We hear about unbelievable murders in the news quite frequently. Some of them are mentally insane and get let off because, “It’s not their fault.” Or, “They were born like that”. The narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart was insane before he murdered the old man. But was he responsible for his actions?

The defense’s argument that the narrator is legally insane is flawed; it disregards the evidence and facts that prove that the narrator is not insane by legal definition. First of all, the narrator knew what he did was wrong. In his confession, the narrator states that, “You should have seen how careful I was to put the body where no one could find it. First I cut off the head, then the arms and the legs. I was careful not to let a single drop of blood fall on the floor.

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” ( Voltaire) This quote helps explain the main idea of The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe , a story about a narrator who is the caregiver of the old man who explains his reasons and his exact ways for killing the old man he was taking care of. Out of spite for the victims vulture-like cataract eye, he plots this plan to kill for weeks to rid of the eye. He finally succeeds until a nosy neighbor foils the scheme. These are 3 reasons why the narrator is guilty of murder.

1. (TS) In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, a nameless man murders an innocent friend due to internal and external motivations. 2. (Context + CD)

In Edgar Allan Poe’s tales of criminal insanity, the first-person narrators confess unsound confessions. They control the narrative, which only allows us to see through their eyes. However, they do describe their own pathological or psychological actions so conscientiously that they exhibit their own insanity. They are usually incapable of stepping back from their narratives to detect their own madness. The narrator 's’ fluency is meticulous and often opulent.