The Theme Of Insanity In Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

Insanity is the state of being seriously mentally ill. The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart, a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, was convicted of a murder. He showed various characteristics in which many people would describe a insane, such as hearing and seeing things that really are not there. Many who struggle with mental illness share these same characteristics, and are unable to live a life in which they can think clearly, logically and thoroughly. It is something that those with mental illness struggle with on a day to day basis. The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart was insane, because those who are mentally unstable cannot differentiate reality from fantasy, hear and see things that are not there, and they do not have a clear

conscience.
To begin, the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart was insanee because those who are cannot tell the difference between reality from fantasy.

The narrator from The Tell-Tale Heart believed that the old man’s eye was haunting him. Anyone who is sane, would not find a eye to be vexed. It terrified him, which is the reason why the narrator murdered the old man. In the text, it states “ His eye was like the eye of a vulture, the eye of on of those terrible birds that watched and wait while the animal dies…. And so, I finally decided I had to kill the old man and close that eye forever!” ( paragraph 3). This piece of evidence demonstrates the fact that the narrator is fantasizing what he thinks is real. No human’s eye actually resembles the eye of a vulture, so this is clearly in the narrator's imagination. Also, another man who pleaded innocent for reason of insanity- Bruco Eastwood shared similar characteristics as the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart did by not recognizing what is real and what is not. According to the article Insanity defense: Six notorious cases when it worked, written by Michael Roberts, it states that “ While is custody, Eastwood exhibited plenty of bizarre behavior- like picking at his skin in an attempt to remove the “ transforming forces” from his body” ( Roberts, paragraph 11). This piece of evidence represents the idea that this man was not living in reality, because he had to “ remove forces” from him body. Obviously there are no “ transforming forces” in the human body, and so he must be imagining

things.
To continue, the narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart is insane, because those with mental illness hear and see things that are not really there. The narrator of the story described his senses and how they have changed him. The narrator states “ The disease had sharpened my senses -- nor destroyed-- not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in heaven and earth. I heard many things in hell.” ( Poe, paragraph 1). The narrator is evidently insane, because the narrator describes that he/she has a disease that makes the scenes sharp and can hear things from very far places. It is impossible to hear things from that far away, especially from heaven or hell. After the narrator kills the man, he claims that he still feels the old man's presence after he kills him. The narrator says “ Villains! I shrieked. Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” ( Poe paragraph 18). It is not possible for a heartbeat sound to come from someone dead. No sane person would hear a heartbeat of someone who has died, no matter the guilt.
Many may argue that the narrator was sane because he knew exactly what he was doing in planning the crime and in the end even admitted to it. Abut actually the narrator is insane, because those with mental problems do not have a clear conscience. The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart was not thinking clearly as to what the consequences of turning himself in for the crime would be. He decided to show the police officers the very evidence that could put him in jail and make him seem guilty. The narrator states “Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! Here, here! It is the beating of his hideous heart!” ( Poe paragraph 18). This means that he was so afraid and confused about the crime that he committed that he did not even think through telling the police about what he did. Someone who is not insane would be more careful and aware of the consequences of turning themselves in. Also in the article Top 10 MOst Notorious INsanity Defense Cases written by Gideon Yoong is similar to The Tell-Tale Heart in being that the man who committed the crime did not have a clear conscience at all, because the level of his crimes dealt with illnesses such as schizophrenia, which definitely blocks a person's clear conscious. The article says “ The reason this case grew much controversy is because Goldstein was committed to the hospital for a total of 13 times in the course of 1997-1998”. This evidence illustrates the fact that this man was insane, because anyone who has to be committed to a psychiatric facility 13 times does not have a clear conscious at all. His mind is so far off from being clear that he needs immediate attention.
In conclusion, The narrator of The Tell-Tale Heart was insane, because those who are mentally unstable cannot recognize reality from fantasy, hear and see things that are not there, and they do not have a clear conscience. So many people around the world are struggling with mental problems and mental abilities that really impact their lives. But if this issue is recognized more and is brought to attention more, people might change their opinion on the way they think about those who committed certain types of crimes.