The Theme Of Insanity In Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

It has been said that the narrator in Tell-Tale Heart was insane. I believe that he was insane because the narrator could have schizophrenia (a severe brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally). One effect of schizophrenia is disordered thinking and behavior, in the story the narrator the narrator was hearing the beating of the old mans hideous heart and he thought that everyone could hear it. Another example he could be insane was because in the story it was said that he killed the old man because of his milky white eye, the eye had gotten to be too much for the narrator to handle.

The tone of the narrative is rather mysterious which conveys an energetic and odd mood. “The Tell-Tale Heart” talks about a villain who is very disturbed by the abhorrent eye of an old man. The villain is so bothered by the atrocious eye that he convinces himself into killing the innocent old man although he delays the murder day after day because he is eager to find the most ideal time to commit the murder. Although after a seven-day wait, the villain decides to kill the old man on the eight night, and he hides the corpse of the elder under a series of floorboards in a very clever manner. Soon after, the police arrived at the house that the murder was committed in because the neighbors of the old man complained that they heard a noise coming

Every once in awhile, a case comes about in which the defendant confesses to a crime, but the defense tries to argue that at the time the defendant was not sane. This case is no different; the court knows the defendant is guilty the only aspect they are unsure about is the punishment this murderer should receive. The State is pushing for a jail sentence and strongly believes that the defendant was sane at the time of the murder. It is nearly impossible for the defense to prove their evidence burden of 51%. The State claims that the defendant was criminally responsible at the time of the murder. By using excessive exaggeration, premeditation and motive, the Prosecution will prove that the defendant knew exactly what he was doing and how

Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" is a short story about how a murderer's conscience overtakes him and whether the narrator is insane or if he suffers from over acuteness of the senses. Poe suggests the narrator is insane by the narrator's claims of sanity, the narrator's actions bring out the narrative irony of the story, and the narrator is insane according to the definition of insanity as it applies to "The Tell Tale Heart".

The Insanity defense is an article created in 1989, There for the article lead to pleading the prisoner insane or not insane, most proven insane are sent to an asylum to cure their insanity, but those with not insane are sentenced to death. Depending on the crime the prisoner had done which would lead to the insanity defense to be brought out. The defendant of the story is insane as the “Tell-Tale Heart” (Poe) which has the defendants whole controversy of the murder, and “The Insanity Defense” (Knoll) as this claims the defendants trial. Therefore the defendant is insane proving from his speech, thoughts, and actions.

    Insanity is defined as a mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot manage his/her own affairs, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior. This means that insanity is having a mental illness that you cannot control. Is the narrator in The Tell Tale Heart insane? No, the narrator is guilty but not insane because, he/she had full conscience of what they were doing and the consequences, he shows no sign of insanity (just cold blood), and the actions do not fit the definition of insanity.

In “The Tell Tell-Tale Heart”, by Edgar Allan Poe, a diseased ridden madman violently murders an old gentleman. They both live in the same home, but their relationship is unknown. The story follows that the madman needs to get rid of the old man’s “eye”. After sliding a bed over the old man, the main character cuts up the body and buries it under the floorboards, only to admit to the dreadful deed later on when the police arrive. The trial is over.

In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main character, the narrator, kills the old man because he disliked his eye. He claims his motivation is neither the old man wronging him nor desire for money, but rather a fear of the man’s pale blue eye. The narrator insists that he is not crazy, even though he goes to the elderly man’s apartment and observes the man sleeping. The narrator shows clear signs of insanity by having no reason or killing the old man, confessing to the perfect crime, and enjoying murdering an innocent person.

In the short story Tell Tale Heart by Edger Allen Poe have shown use that the narrator of the story is insane. The man is not seeing things clearly and sees the man's eyes as if they are eyes of vultures. Another thing is that he has been watch the old man at night when the old man is asleep if that’s not strange to you then what is? I will be defending the narrator and get him a insanity plead.

The first piece of evidence I have against the narrator is planned the action, first, on lines 8-10 the narrator already conceived the thought to kill the old man. The narrator knew that he must kill the old man to rid himself of the vulture eye. Secondly, the narrator waited and watched the old man for 8 nights. The narrator could have killed the old man, but no he waited to seize the old man at the perfect time. As you can see the narrator planned and waited fo4r the perfect opportunity to kill.

Insanity is a mental illness that causes people to not be able to recognize the difference between what is real and what is fake. They are unable to control their abrupt behavior and they cannot manage their own affairs. Someone who is insane should not be held accountable for actions they have no control over. In the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe the narrator is in fact insane because he is unable to tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong, has no control over this actions, and he cannot differentiate fantasy from reality. He should not be sent to prison but instead receive help.

Someone who is truly crazy does not want to believe that they are, in the slightest way, crazy at all. The definition of insane says that your mind has no control over one’s behavior, the ability to think rationally, or social interaction which is commonly characterized by madness. The narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” shows many signs of having a mental illness. The more that is read of the short story, the more we begin to question and grow concern on whether or not he should be the one telling the story of what went on in that household. Even after reading the entire short story, we can only obtain a few facts about the narrator such as he is sick, he enjoyed murdering, and he continuously repeats himself. Can we trust him to give us the whole story of what happened that night?

Next, the short story “The Tell- Tale Heart” first, the old man was a very nice to the killer. The killer and the old man were best friends page 145-146. The old man lived alone in one big house. The old man's eye had a blue tent color to it. And the killer did not like the color. The was a criminally insane man, he broke into the old man's house and killed the old man page 147. Then killer planned out all of the murder, he planned to break into his house and kill him pg 146 . What the killer did is right after he killed the old man he cleaned out all of the blood. Then he chopped up the old man's arm, legs, and head pg 148 . Then he stuffed his body parts in the floor. Finally, the police showed up, then the police went into the old man's house with the killer. Then the killer finally admitted that he killed the old man pg 148.

You, as well as I, have a breaking point. Whether it is sooner or later. A crime committed on grounds of insanity may be excused due to one’s ‘state of mind.’ In no way, shape, or form does this justify those actions. In “The Tell Tale Heart” Edgar Allen Poe attempts to persuade us that he is indeed sane. “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. (Poe 1)” The story is narrated in first person which gives the reader an interesting perspective. It allows us to understand more deeply what he is thinking. Is he mad or Is he not? That is what we set out to find, though it is not what the narrator wants.

Furthermore, the repetition used in this quote enables the reader to understand what level of anxiety the narrator is experiencing. Added on top of this, is the use of long sentences which while reading in a go, make the reader gasp for breath. The use of the abnormal sound of the heartbeat ringing continuously in his ears demonstrate the guilt that the narrator feels. Thus it can be seen that the hearing of psychological sounds and the guilt along with the mentioned techniques contribute towards increasing suspense and tension in the