The Tell Tale Heart Research Paper

The Insanity-Driven Man “How, then, am I mad?” is what the narrator of the short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, written by Edgar Allan Poe, claims after murdering an old man. What did the old man do to the narrator to even make him want to do that? Saying such a thing after committing an awful deed is foolish and ignorant, as the answer should be evident. However, the narrator continues with his statement, truly believing that he is stable. Despite the fact that the narrator claims he is a sane man, he proves many times over that this is not true when he talks about his disease, hears a “heartbeat”, and commits murder. For starters, the narrator talks about a disease that sharpened his senses. In the text, he also states, “I heard all things in …show more content…
Any sane person would not think they can hear things from “heaven and earth”. It isn't possible to hear all over the earth. In the text he states, “The disease has sharpened my senses -not destroyed- not dulled them” (89). Usually, when you think of a disease, you think of something that harms someone's senses or features. However, the narrator’s “disease” did the opposite. It improves his sense of humor. On the other hand, this is not the only piece of evidence that can be used against the narrator. In addition to his odd disease, he also begins to hear things that others wouldn't normally hear. As the text puts it, “I know that sounds good too. It was the beating of the old man’s heart” (92). This conveys how the narrator's disease works and what he is able to hear. He somehow manages to hear the old man's heartbeat, which any ordinary person would know is not possible. The text also says, “Meanwhile, the hellish tattoo of the heart increased, it grew quicker and quicker, louder and louder every instant,” (92). The loud beating of the heartbeat grows “louder and louder”. His mind is driving him insane. This is not even the worst of it, it gets way

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Tell Tale Heart Research Paper