Madness, a notion that is centuries old has been questioned for as long as the concept has existed. Different cultures have assigned different names to this group of illness without physical manifestation, but until recently, there have not been concrete definitions that define who is and is not sane. Porter illustrates through the Babylonians and Mesopotamians that madness has been called many names, in many different cultures. “The Babylonians and Mesopotamians held that certain disorders were caused by spirit invasion, sorcery, demonic malice, the evil eye, or the breaking of taboos” (12). Although madness is hard to define concretely because of its abstract nature, in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator’s sanity is widely
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The narrator’s madness starts when the Evil Eye takes hold of him and thereby determines what he does for the rest of the story through his change in work habits. “It was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye” (1). At this point the Evil Eye’s grasp of the narrator inhibits his productivity by overtaking his will. Night after night the narrator keeps returning to the same room in the hopes of just getting the slightest glimpse of the Evil Eye. It starts to define what he does, and changes the way he acts. Agave goes through the same thing when she is in her Bacchic frenzy caused by Dionysus. It alters what she does in life, also known as will, and more specifically it alters the priorities that she holds. It is possible that Agave does not recognize Pentheus as she approaches him, but upon hearing “it’s me mother, Pentheus, your child,” (22) she is unfazed. The voice of a child ultimately is supposed to calm a sane mother in any species, and when it does not even end up getting the mother’s attention, it is a sign that something is severely wrong. Saul’s point of view and will are similarly altered as the spirit of the Lord departs from him and an evil spirit from the Lord torments him. “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him …show more content…
At this point, the old man has been murdered and the Evil Eye’s hold over the narrator is extinguished. It is unclear to why the narrator felt great paranoia after committing the murder, but it is easy to see that his paranoia is so intense that it causes him to turn himself in. “Villains! I shrieked, dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – Tear up the planks! Here, here! – It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (4). Although his confession is intense and loud, it shows no sense of remorse. As compared to Agave and Saul’s reactions, the narrator’s does not even show emotion. It seems the narrator only turns himself in because he thought he was going to get caught, leaving the question if he would have turned himself in with guaranteed innocence. Agave’s reaction is different. Upon exiting her haze and learning that she killed her son, she uses the word “appalling,” which implies some sort of visceral reaction. Once she realizes that she committed the crime she instantly feels guilt and says, “Dionysus has destroyed [her]” (29) showing great remorse for killing her son. Similarly, upon the end of The Bible, I Samuel when the spirit’s hold over Saul is no more, it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets” (17). A prophet is usually someone who has life saving advice about the future, but tends not to be listened to. To
The narrator’s madness starts when the Evil Eye takes hold of him and thereby determines what he does for the rest of the story through his change in work habits. “It was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye” (1). At this point the Evil Eye’s grasp of the narrator inhibits his productivity by overtaking his will. Night after night the narrator keeps returning to the same room in the hopes of just getting the slightest glimpse of the Evil Eye. It starts to define what he does, and changes the way he acts. Agave goes through the same thing when she is in her Bacchic frenzy caused by Dionysus. It alters what she does in life, also known as will, and more specifically it alters the priorities that she holds. It is possible that Agave does not recognize Pentheus as she approaches him, but upon hearing “it’s me mother, Pentheus, your child,” (22) she is unfazed. The voice of a child ultimately is supposed to calm a sane mother in any species, and when it does not even end up getting the mother’s attention, it is a sign that something is severely wrong. Saul’s point of view and will are similarly altered as the spirit of the Lord departs from him and an evil spirit from the Lord torments him. “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him …show more content…
At this point, the old man has been murdered and the Evil Eye’s hold over the narrator is extinguished. It is unclear to why the narrator felt great paranoia after committing the murder, but it is easy to see that his paranoia is so intense that it causes him to turn himself in. “Villains! I shrieked, dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – Tear up the planks! Here, here! – It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (4). Although his confession is intense and loud, it shows no sense of remorse. As compared to Agave and Saul’s reactions, the narrator’s does not even show emotion. It seems the narrator only turns himself in because he thought he was going to get caught, leaving the question if he would have turned himself in with guaranteed innocence. Agave’s reaction is different. Upon exiting her haze and learning that she killed her son, she uses the word “appalling,” which implies some sort of visceral reaction. Once she realizes that she committed the crime she instantly feels guilt and says, “Dionysus has destroyed [her]” (29) showing great remorse for killing her son. Similarly, upon the end of The Bible, I Samuel when the spirit’s hold over Saul is no more, it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets” (17). A prophet is usually someone who has life saving advice about the future, but tends not to be listened to. To