In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the narrator tells a story of murder that seems a bit odd, and tries to prove that he is not insane. There are several occurrences that make him seem one or the other but this is fiction, so it could be interpreted as either. Although to me, he seems quite sane, some people think otherwise and therefore, it is up to the reader which is the truth.
Although some things may make him seem insane, such as the fact he keeps trying to convince us he’s not, the narrator has a point in what he says. A madman would have simply charged the old man with a knife, but that was not the case. He proceeded quite carefully, dismembering the body so it could be hidden well, leaving no trace of his doings, and always acting in the pitch black cover of the night.
So although he may seem crazy at first, I don’t believe he is. To me the narrator seems like an intelligent person, with an eye for detail. He probably could have gotten away with it if he didn’t confess in the end. So, is he really insane? I think not.
