Paper on the Tell Tale Heart

A detailed Summary of 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

t instead he is imagining the sounds he hears. 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. Due to this evidence the narrator's claim of suffering from over acuteness of the senses cannot be trusted.

In conclusion, Poe shows the insanity of the narrator through the claims of the narrator as to why he is not insane, the actions of the narrator bring out the narrative irony of the story, and the character of the narrator fits the definition of insanity as it applies to "The Tell Tale Heart". The "Tell Tale Heart" is a story about how insanity can overtake someone's mind and cause one to behave irrationally.

hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell" (74). Poe suggests the narrator is hearing voices and noises in his mind. This constitutes a disorder of the narrator's mind. Also, the narrator's physical actions while he hears the beating of the heart suggest he is insane. The narrator says, "I paced the floor to and fro with many strides, as if excited to fury by the observation of the men-but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed-I raved-I swore!" (77). The narrator is going mad in his own mind. Poe suggests this because as the narrator is ranting and raving the police are still chatting and smiling. The narrator believes his actions are actually occurring but it is obvious that the swearing, raging, and throwing of the chair are only taking place in his mind. During the act of killing the old man, the narrator says, "I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done" (76). The narrator commit!

ides to kill the old man because the old man's eye brings terror upon the narrator whenever he sees it. The narrator's fear of the eye is irrational. Regarding the eye the narrator says, "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees-very gradually-I made up my mind to take th

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Approximate Word count = 1336
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English