Paper on the Tell Tale Heart
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". First, Poe suggests the narrator is insane by his assertions of sanity. For example, the narrator declares because he planned the murder so expertly he could not be insane. He says, "Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen how wisely I proceeded-with what caution-with what foresight-with what dissimulation I went to work!" (74). In addition, every night at midnight the narrator slowly went into the room of the old man. He claims this was done so wisely that he could not be insane. The narrator thinks that if a murder is carefully planned then the murderer is not insane. Also, the narrator claims he suffers from over acuteness of the senses. Regarding the sound of the old man's beating heart, the narrator says, "A
When the police officers are present, the narrator hears the heart of the old man beating from underneath the floorboards. Poe shows the narrator is insane because the narrators' actions bring out the narrative irony used in "The Tell Tale Heart". This shows the narrative irony used because someone who commits a murder with so little logic in the reasoning cannot be trusted. In the earlier moments of the story, the narrator explains that he hears many things. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed-I raved-I swore!" (77). Speaking of the murder, the narrator says, "Object there was none. Poe suggests this definition of insanity fits the narrator. The narrator believes he is justified in killing the old man because the man has an Evil Eye. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. The narrator is deluded in thinking the officers knew of his crime because his insanity make!s him paranoid. As the police officers were sitting and talking in the old man's chamber, the narrator becomes paranoid that the officers suspect him of murder. This is also justified by how he hears the beating of the old man's heart under the floorboards even though he knows the man is dead.
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Acceptance Essays
