The Tell-Tale Heart-Essay In the story "The Tell-Tale Heart", written by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator kills his roommate, an older man. He thinks he is not mad, but after reading and studying what he says, his actions, and his beliefs it is obvious he is indeed insane and probably has schizophrenia.
English: An American Lady butterfly against a clou...
Portrait of Edgar Allen Poe (Maryland attorney gen...
The NarratorThe narrator says many things to indicate his insanity. First, he says that he "heard many things in hell." Hearing things in hell is not humanly possible. He seems to be hallucinating or believing he hears things that do not exist. Next, he tells the reader that what is mistaken "for madness is but over acuteness of the senses." The narrator believes he has the super power of sensing things others cannot sense. Based on this, he seems to be suffering form paranoia or the belief he has special powers. According to these examples, the narrator is probably suffering form the schizophrenia.
The narrator does many things to indicate he is mad. First, he shows by saying, "for a whole hour I did not move a muscle." He does this because he thinks the old man knows he is there. He thinks he is being persecuted, which most people don't feel. Next, he shows us by saying "in an instant I dragged him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him." He got this angry over an eye. This shows he does not have appropriate emotional expression. By reviewing what the narrator has done it shows he may be schizophrenic.
The narrator has some thoughts that indicate his insanity. First, he thinks, "it's the beating of his hideous heart." He thinks he can hear the dead mans heart beating. This is a delusion or false belief. Next, he thinks " they heard!-they...