Understanding The Narrator's Insanity In 'The Tell-Tale Heart'

In “The Tell-Tale Heart” it is clear that the narrator’s conscience has overtaken him and it is up to the reader to discern whether the narrator is actually insane or whether he suffers from an over acuteness of his senses. However, when Poe makes the suggestion that the narrator is insane based on the narrator’s own claim of insanity, then the actions of the narrator serve to expose the narrative irony in the story. In this regard, Poe makes the audience believe that the narrator’s insanity extends to the definition of insanity as applied in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. In order to understand whether the narrator is actually sane or insane within and without the precincts of the story setting, it is important to review how the narrator reacts in …show more content…
In most of the cases, the narrator does not seem to respond in a manner that would be expected from a sane person. For instance, he appears to be so much bothered by the vulture-like eye of the old man that his hatred for this sight appears to supersede his love for the old man (Poe 2). This marks the beginning of his premeditation to murder the old man. The insanity expressed at this instance is finally justified when the narrator murders the old and ironically, he feels positively cheerful. According to him, he has accomplished his mission cleverly within the rationality of what he associates with sanity.
As the story unfolds, the unsuspecting behaviour by the police suggests that the narrator has become totally unaware of his actions and surroundings. Since he cannot maintain a distance between his inner thoughts and reality, the narrator mistakes his mental desire for physical desire and misinterprets the policemen’s innocent chatter for malevolence. Since the narrator imagines that he has a correct and rational interpretation of all the events as they unfold, it becomes clear that Poe’s definition of irrationality lies in the belief of one’s