The narrator continues to insist that he is not mad by explaining how cunningly he proceeds in his quest to kill the old man. He presents, “You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded” (Poe 619), as the argument for his sanity.
However, these attempts were made futile as the ringing never ceased, ultimately prompting the narrator to admit his crime. The noise could be inferred as the manifestation of the guilt the narrator contains for killing the old man, of who was a kindred spirit and had watched over the former. It could also be said that the noise is the beating of his heart, of which the rate of the heartbeat would increase as he becomes more nervous and anxious. Correspondingly, the husband in The Black Cat has the same problem. In addition to the murder of Pluto, the husband attempted to kill to his second cat, of which did not result in the death of the actual cat, but the wife instead as she moved to protect the pet.
He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult" (34). The narrator's obsession with the old man's eye culminates in his own undoing as he is engulfed with internal conflict and his own transformation from confidence to guilt. The fixation on the old man's vulture-like eye forces the narrator to concoct a plan to eliminate the old man. The narrator confesses the sole reason for killing the old man is his eye: "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees - very gradually - I made up my mind to rid myself of the eye for ever" (34).
“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 we go through the story, we can find his obsession in proving his sanity. The narrator lives with an old man, who has a clouded, pale blue, vulture-like eye that makes him so vulnerable that he kills the old man.
Hearken! and observe how healthily-how calmly I can tell you the whole story,” (Poe 121). This is when the ... ... middle of paper ... ...a committed a murder and its wrong. The way the protagonist comfortably talks of the old man’s murder clearly shows his insanity in the story. The narrator started the story by protesting his sanity, but in the end, it is evident that, he is truly insane through his actions.
In “Overview: ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’” the author states “It immediately suggest the mental instability that the narrator will continue to deny through the remainder of the story. He insist that he carefully planned, stealthy manner in which he murdered the old man and dismembered and hid the corpse was to clever an accomplishment for an insane man” (Howes). It is clear that the narrator of the story is indeed, mad. Even though a person who has a mental issue (e.g. “mad”) may not have a strong enough conscience to feel guilt, the motive is both guilt and psychosis in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The narrator had no humane reason to kill a loved one, the guilt when the narrator murders the old man made his anxiety grow more so when the narrator planed the murder out.
III. Conclusion A. Summarize Your Main Arguments: The narrator has concocted a tale of obsession over the eye of the old man, therefore killing the old man to raid himself off the eye becomes justify. But in an intriguing twist, his mind and acute sense of hearing conspire against him leading him to admit his deed and in so doing his insanity. Proving his sanity meant a lot to the narrator in The Tell Tale Heart, but in the end he became the victim of his own insanity (4). B.
In the process of defending his sanity plea, the narrator has to confess about committing the crime. The confession in itself is self destructive if indeed he was a criminal who wanted to distance himself from the murder. Overall, Poe ‘s use of a subjective narrator, mysterious characters, and intricate plot heightens the tension of the tale, which makes the story a masterpiece of human psychological state that evokes empathy for the mad narrator. As the story progresses the sanity of the narrator becomes questionable. However, one cannot fail to recognize the characteristic unreliability of a first person narrator.
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montressor was calm and collected. He is ruthless in achieving his only motive throughout the story, which is revenge for how Fortunado has offended him. Even after Montressor committed murder, he does not reveal this fact to anyone for over fifty years. This fact depicts Montressor does not feel guilty. On the other hand, In “Tell-Tale Heart,” the man’s personality is described as insane, constantly nervous, and paranoid.
“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. He admits that he had no interest or passion in killing the old man, whom he loved.