Sanity of the Narrator in The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar...

Sanity of the Narrator in The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe In Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart we question the sanity of the narrator almost immediately, but we cannot prove either way whether or not he is insane. I have read a lot of Poes work although not all of it. His mysterious style of writing greatly appeals to me. Poe has an uncanny talent for exposing our common nightmares and the hysteria lurking beneath our carefully structured lives. I believe, for the most part, that this is done through his use of setting and his narrative style. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the setting was used to portray a dark and gloomy picture of an old house lit only with lantern light with a possible madman lurking inside. I think this was†¦show more content†¦Without that initial statement, why would we think him mad? Then he says; Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. How does he know that madmen know nothing? I wrote in my own journal once; Insanity is not madness. Sanity is madness, if one can distinguish the differe nce between sanity and insanity, does that not then make you sane? So then, if the narrator questions our thoughts on his sanity, he must then know the difference or that there is a difference between sanity and insanity, does that not then create some question as to his own sanity? I think from the very beginning he questioned his own sanity to himself thereby creating the question of insanity to the reader! Isnt that insane? (ha ha) But was he insane? Insane is defined in Websters New Concise Dictionary as: Not Sane; mentally deranged or unsound. Set apart for demented persons. Not Whole. OK, well we still cannot prove that he was or was not insane. Was he a psychopath? Some would say yes, most definitely. But what is a psychopath? Psychopaths have a character type that enables them to pursue pleasure with indifference to the suffering they cause others. Psychopaths are completely lacking such virtues as benevolence and compassion. In this story, the narrator says; I loved the ol d man.Show MoreRelatedEssay on Insanity: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe1165 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe is a first-person narrative short story that showcases an enigmatic and veiled narrator. The storyteller makes us believe that he is in full control of his mind yet he is experiencing a disease that causes him over sensitivity of the senses. As we go through the story, we can find his fascination in proving his sanity. The narrator lives with an old man, who has a clouded, pale blue, vulture-like eye that makes him so helpless that he kills the old man. HeRead MoreEssay about â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† 1448 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe is a first-person narrative short story that features a disguised-cum-mysterious narrator. The narrator does not reveal any interest while proving his innocence regarding the murder of the old man. Moreover, he makes us believe that he is in full control of his mind but yet suffering from a disease that causes him over acuteness of the senses. As w e go through the story, we can find his obsession in proving his sanity. The narrator lives with an old man, whoRead MoreThe Final Days of Edgar Allan Poe by Roger Francis 1732 Words   |  7 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the nineteenth-century. Poe’s short stories posses the recurring themes of death, murder and his narrators often show signs of mental instability, like the old man in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† and Montressor in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†. Since tragedy was prominent throughout Poe’s life, his work reflects the darkness ingrained by continuously being faced with adversity. 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In his lifetime, Poe attended the University of Virginia for one semester, The United States Military Academy at West Point and enlisted in the military under an alias of â€Å"Edgar A. Perry.† (Ober, 1960) After constantly beingRead MoreInfluence That Endures Ever Mo re: Edgar Allan Poe908 Words   |  4 PagesInfluence That Endures Ever More: Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe once said, â€Å"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.† Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most influential people in literary history and his words had the great power to impress the mind. More than 150 years after the death of Edgar Allan Poe, his writings are still influencing and inspiring writers today. Edgar Allan Poe was one of the a greatest literary influences of the 19th century andRead MoreGothic Literature : `` Tell Tale Heart `` And `` The Raven ``1698 Words   |  7 Pagesdemonstrated through Edgar allan Poe. Edgar Allan has a number of common Themes, motifs and structures that make his work easily recognizable and more importantly, fits his stories into the classification of the gothic. Among these elements, they include the theme of death and decay, which is almost always in Gothic fiction, the theme or presence of madness, insanity or other internal chaos, and haunted or creepy locations. Some stori es by Poe that include these elements are, â€Å"Tell-Tale heart† and â€Å"The Raven†Read MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allen Poe993 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allen Poe, it is classified as a short story with horror fiction as the genre. This was written in three different types of fear during the Romanticism period. In this short story the encounter is filtered through the eyes of the unnamed dynamic narrator. The narrator consumes upon the old man’s eye and determines to perform a conscious act of murder. Fear is defined as a horrid feeling that is caused by a belief that a person or something is unsafe, most likelyRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart1581 Words   |  7 PagesEdgar Allan Poe wrote many gothic stories with twisted themes and ideas. An example in his works is the conception of overthinking something that is not there. Many of these tales end with someone being killed due to the fascinat ion of an unrealistic problem trying to be solved. Imagination is a main factor that drives the narrators to become worried. The obsessing narrators in Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, â€Å"The Black Cat†, and â€Å"The Imp of the Perverse† demonstrate the idea that guiltRead MoreAn Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Tell Tale Heart 1015 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Insane in the Membrane† Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most acclaimed short story writers of all time and is considered the father of the psychological thriller. He has achieved ever-lasting fame for his work in various fields of literature, from prose to verse. However, it is his Gothic narrative, in the short story realm he is greatest known for and is regarded as one of the foremost masters of horror that the United States has ever fashioned. The crucial component to these horror stories is