Analysis Of The Old Man By Edgar Allan Poe

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After killing the old man the narrator further defiles his body because he feels as if although the eye is gone there is still quite a bit of power left. As a wise man once said although a single twig may break a bundle of twigs is strong. In the same sense he butchered the old mans body into pieces to separate his view of power into subsequent pieces making them weak. Throughout the story he still tries to explain that he is sane and that what he is doing is true justice, even though butchering a dead body is completely in human. As he states, “If still you think me, you will think so no longer… The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs” (Poe 7). …show more content…

The narrators inability to keep his mouth shut shows villains own destructive attitude. As stated here, “It grew louder-louder-louder!… Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!—they were making a mockery of my horror!” (Poe 8). It is clear that the narrators nervous excited anxiety causes him a great deal of problems. In his self obsessive thought process he accuses the police officers of making a “mockery” (Poe 8) of him. In doing so to his heart beat increases as he can no longer hold back his feelings. Contributing to the story as a whole as he describes how insecure and insane he sounds. To further the story he then describes how he showed the officers where he hid the desecrated body. As stated here, “ 'Villains! ' I shrieked, 'dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the his hideous heart! '” (Poe 8). In this the narrator revealed the whereabouts of the old man 's body as he could not take anymore of the what he viewed as disrespect from the officers. By showing them the body the narrator was letting the officers know this is what I am capable of. If you think that because you hold a powerful position that I am under you, you are wrong. Thoughts that were going through the narrators head as he told the officers of the about desecrated body. Bringing back one of the main concepts of the dark romantic movement the difference between being just or bringing justice. By showing the police officers the narrator achieves two goals one being that he shows them that he has power and is above the law, second being that he is proving to them that his justice is just as right and moral as the laws. This delusion is what not only proves the narrators obsessive self-destructive need for empowerment, but also his sanity because

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