The Tell Tale Heart Insanity Analysis

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The Tell-Tale Heart The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” is not guilty because of reason of insanity. Although the narrator claimed that he was not mad, he acted like it. He even thought that the old man had an “Evil Eye” that was vexing him. He actually seemed proud, and sounded like he was very confident, acting as if he was better than “mad” people. He is insane. When the narrator began telling his story, he said that the “Evil Eye” was the one who brought him to do that terrible deed. It was a pale blue eye, with a film over it. “… for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his evil eye. (pg.1)” If a person is annoyed or scared of an ordinary eye to the point where they have to kill someone to get rid of it, they don’t seem sane. On page 2 of the mini-lesson, it states that someone can be compelled to commit this crime because of an irresistible force, which is the eye. …show more content…

“True!-nervous- very, very, dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? (pg.1)” It seemed like he was trying to convince himself that he didn’t do anything wrong. “I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? (pg. 1)” I don’t think he understood what he was doing. At the end of the story, he also hears a heartbeat under the floorboards. The policemen don’t seem to hear it, but it is loud and clear in his head. If he could hear things other people couldn’t, something is wrong with

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