Narrator in The Tell Tale Heart Essay Sample

Insanity is the ability to not control your behavior, not knowing the difference between right and wrong, and not knowing the difference between reality and fantasy. In the short story, The Tell Tale Heart written by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator is sane because he is capable of controlling his behavior and telling the difference between right and wrong, so he should be convicted. One of the standards on determining if someone is sane or not is if they can tell the difference between right and wrong. In the story the narrator knows his murder was wrong. While he was sitting next to the police, who were checking the crime scene, he thought “They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!—they were making a mockery of my horror!—this I thought, and this I think.... Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart.” The narrator was getting worried that the police were “figuring out” his crime, though this was all in his mind. The police weren’t actually figuring anything out, this was just him being worried, as he was scared. He started to worry when the police were investigating, because he knew what he did was wrong. This means he is sane because he is able to differentiate right and wrong from each other. He also feels guilt when he kills the old man because when the narrator says he can hear the hideous heart beat of the old man, he is actually feeling remorseful for killing him. The old man’s heartbeat was the last thing he heard before he killed him and this is what he keeps hearing over and over again. This sound keeps reminding him of the life he took away, and now he can’t live with himself. The narrator feels guilty and is worried, as this shows he knows the difference between right and wrong, ultimately proving that he is sane and should be charged for the murder because nothing was wrong with him.

Another standard for being sane or insane is the ability to control one’s behavior. As the narrator was planning his murder, he was also taking several precautions: “And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it— oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head.” The precautions he is taking, such as opening the door very gently and putting the lantern in the doorway so that no light shines, shows that he has control over his behavior. Adding on, even though the narrator has a strong desire to kill the old man due to his vulture eye, he still waits a week, which he originally planned. The narrator also waits for an elongated period of time near the old man’s room, every night. While he is waiting near the old man’s room he sees the vulture eye which causes a surge of anger to go through him. Despite this, the narrator was able to control his behavior and wait near the room until he felt it was safe to move again. The narrator is also controlling his emotions, for example he is being extremely nice to the old man. This control of emotions also allowed him to restrain his behavior, as he was always angry towards the old man’s eye, but his suppression of anger allowed him to not kill him already. This control of behavior shows that the narrator is sane and should be sentenced. Overall, the narrator is not insane and is perfectly normal which means he should face the consequences, and be put in jail. The narrator was able to control his behavior, and at the same time knew what he did was wrong. These traits, depending on the legal definition, show that he is not insane. The narrator made an elaborate plan to end the old man’s life and in this process, was able to control his strong desire to kill the old man until his plan called for it. Even after he murdered the old man, he was worried about getting caught and was guilty about it, demonstrating that he knew what he did was wrong.