Schizophrenia In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

735 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of tell tale heart by edgar allen poe

Anyone who reads The Tell-Tale Heart, one of the most acclaimed short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, finishes it with the certainty that the main character lost his mind completely. Seeing him trying desperately to convince the reader that he is not insane only affirms the suspicion that he has a mental disease. When one analyses the narrative carefully, it is possible to see that he may have schizophrenia.
Poe is one of the most famous American authors, and his works are known for their mysterious and dark style. The story analyzed on the essay, The Tell-Tale Heart, is about a guy who decides to murder an old man to get rid of his pale blue eye. It is narrated by the killer, who tells why he decided to do this, how he proceeded and why he ended …show more content…

It can be either an extremely paralysis of the muscles of one’s body or a hyperactivity conduct (The Free Dictionary), and this man presents both actions. The first time was when he was getting ready to kill the old man, and this one woke up: “I kept still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle” (Poe, p. 204). The other occasion was by the end of the story, when he was already talking to the policemen: “I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides […] I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards” (Poe, p. 206). This behaviors can be described as catatonic, as they were inspired by his imagination – on the first case, the need of murder because of a pale blue eye; the second one, to stop an imaginary noise.
It is obvious that the main character of The Tell-Tale Heart shows signs of having a mental disease, and it could be schizophrenia. He hallucinates when hearing things that are impossible to be heard; and has actions that can be described as being catatonic. It does not matter how long he tries to prove himself not to be mental, because any sane person would hear his arguments and think that he actually

Show More
Related

  • Mentally Insane In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story about a man who kills the old man next door. The

    Read More

  • Insanity In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    The “Tell-Tale Heart” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe and serves as a testament to Poe’s ability to convey mental disability in an entertaining way. The story revolves around the unnamed narrator and old man, and the narrator’s desire to kill the old man for reasons that seem unexplainable and insane. After taking a more critical approach, it is evident that Poe’s story is a psychological tale of inner turmoil.

    Read More

  • Insanity in Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Alan Poe

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 wrong it was.

    Read More

  • Insanity in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 that he planned the murder so expertly he could not be insane. He says, "Now this is the point.

    Read More

  • Is The Tell Tale Heart Sane Or Insane Analysis

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many people who have read “The Tell Tale Heart,” argue whether or not the narrator is sane or insane. Throughout this paper I have mentioned the main reasons for the narrator being sane. The narrator experienced guilt, he also was very wary executing the plan, and the intelligence level of his plan to murder the old

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Irony in The Tell-Tale Heart

    2255 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...binson, E. Arthur. "Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe's Tales. ED. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. 94-102.

    Read More

  • How Does Edgar Allen Poe Create a Feeling of Madness Throughout "the Tell-Tale Heart"?

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe was an American Writer who wrote within the genre of horror and science fiction. He was famous for writing psychologically thrilling tales examining the depths of the human psyche. This is true of the Tell-Tale Heart, where Poe presents a character that appears to be mad because of his obsession to an old mans, ‘vulture eye’. Poe had a tragic life from a young age when his parents died. This is often reflected in his stories, showing characters with a mad state of mind, and in the Tell Tale Heart where the narrator plans and executes a murder.

    Read More

  • Insanity In Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell Tale Heart

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    Insanity is a rare disorder but is a disorder that makes normal people do “weird things”. Author Edgar Allen Poe writes about are narrator who is commits the perfect murder by staring at the victim every night, he then hides the body but guilt drives him crazy and he turns himself in. The narrator in the telltale heart is most definitely insane, because he is delusional, cocky and the actions that he does within the story prove that he is insane.

    Read More

  • Moral Insanity In Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story is generally a study in human terror. Furthermore, the author explains Poe use of a particular style and technique, to not only create the mood of mystery, but to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator. Poe makes a connection between the storyteller and reader with knowledge and literary craftsmanship.

    Read More

  • The Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Tell Tale Heart” Edgar Allan Poe builds up suspense by guiding us through the darkness that dwells inside his character’s heart and mind. Poe masterfully demonstrates the theme of guilt and its relationship to the narrator’s madness. In this classic gothic tale, guilt is not simply present in the insistently beating heart. It insinuates itself earlier in the story through the old man’s eye and slowly takes over the theme without remorse. Through his writing, Poe directly attributes the narrator’s guilt to his inability to admit his illness and offers his obsession with imaginary events - The eye’s ability to see inside his soul and the sound of a beating heart- as plausible causes for the madness that plagues him. After reading the story, the audience is left wondering whether the guilt created the madness, or vice versa.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In The Tell Tale Heart

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” the narrator attempts to assert his sanity while describing a murder he carefully planned and executed. Despite his claims that he is not mad, it is very obvious that his actions are a result of his mental disorder. Hollie Pritchard writes in her article, “it has been suggested that it is not the idea but the form of his madness that is of importance to the story” (144). There is evidence in the text to support that the narrator suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and was experiencing the active phase of said disease when the murder happened. The narrator’s actions in “The Tell-Tale Heart” are a result of him succumbing to his paranoid schizophrenia.

    Read More

  • Understanding Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart: Insanity or a Stroke of Brilliance

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe’s a genius of innovation. He uses the ideas that were common concerns of the time to revolve around in his short stories. Edgar Allen Poe grew up in a rough time when both his parents died, 1811. At a young age Poe was placed with a foster family in which he was treated without any respect. He took the ideas of mental illness to a sophisticated example in his short story, “The Tell Tale Heart.” “The Tell Tale Heart” is written in the gothic style that helps establish the surreal theme. Poe’s whole purpose in writing short story is to address the idea of mental illness which he portrays in his main character. Through his writing of the short story “A Tell Tale Heart” he addresses the idea that criminals were getting away with the idea pf insanity as there escape.

    Read More

  • The Tell-Tale heart

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    The behavior of the narrator in The Tell-Tale heart demonstrate characteristic that are associated with people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoid schizophrenia . When Poe wrote this story in 1843 obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoia had not been discovered. However in modern times the characteristics demonstrated by the narrator leads people to believe that he has a mental illness. Poe’s narrator demonstrates classic signs throughout the story leading the reader to believe that this character is mad

    Read More

  • Characters of The Tell-Tale Heart

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is a short story that dives into the mind of an insane man. The story only features five characters. There is an old man with a blue eye, the crazed killer, and three police. The story is narrated by the nameless murderer. It is his attempt to justify his behavior and to prove to the reader that he is not crazy. As the story goes on you come to the realization that he is actually insane. The characters in this story are complex, interesting, and elaborate.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Poe's The Tell Tale Heart

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    On the surface, the physical setting of The Tell Tale Heart is typical of the period and exceedingly typical of Poe. The narrator and the old man live in an old, dark house: '(for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers)'; (Poe 778). Most of the story takes place at night: 'And this I did for seven long nights-every night just at midnight?'; (778). The physical aspect is not the most important component of setting for this analysis. More important are the mental and emotional settings. This clearly explains the personality of the narrator. One can assume the narrator is insane. He freely admits to his listener that he is '?-nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous?'; (777). But he then asks, '?but why will you say that I am mad?'; (777). He also admits that, 'The disease had sharpened my senses?'; (777). If not insanity, what disease does he speak of? The reason for his actions was one of the old man's eyes: '?-a pale blue eye, with a film over it'; (777). This is easily recognizable to the reader as an eye with cataract on it. This is nothin...

    Read More

More about Schizophrenia In The Tell-Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

Open Document