What Is The Reliability Of The Tell Tale Heart

In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, the reader is quickly introduced to the narrator of the story. The narrator begins the story by giving the reader a glimpse into his unhinged mind “I heard many things in hell.” The narrator then weaves a story about his unhealthy obsession with an old man, particularly the old man’s “Evil Eye.” Like most mentally ill criminals the narrator then tries to rationalize his crime by making himself the victim of the old man’s eye “it fell upon me my blood ran cold.” The narrator then depicts his plan to murder the old man; all the while trying to convince his audience of his sanity. The reader is then given the gruesome details of how the murder was carried-out and covered-up. Finally at the end, the narrator’s tale commences with a confession to the authorities, after believing he could still hear the old man’s heart beating. I am inclined to believe the narrator is giving a reliable account of the events that transpired which lead to his mental breakdown and eventual confession of the crime. …show more content…
He assures the reader of his character and morals “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.” This attempt to rationalize his actions leads me to believe the narrator’s mind was still relatively sound at this point. The narrator is also cold and calculating during this time. He stalks his prey “to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly, very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep”. He describes how this went on for seven nights, surveilling the old man as he