Insane In Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

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A deranged state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder (Merriam-Webster), is the definition of insanity. Insane is what I think of when the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” comes to mind. “The Tell-Tale Heart”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, is a short story where the narrator explains a murder that he committed while trying to explain his sanity. Even though the narrator constantly tries to convince the reader that he is not “mad”, he gives plenty of signs throughout the story that he is indeed insane. So, does this make the narrator unreliable, and can we trust what he has to say? I would say that he is very unreliable, and I wouldn’t trust a word that he says. Here’s why….
The narrator begins by saying, “True!---nervous---very, very dreadfully nervous I had been, and am; but why will you say that I am mad?(Poe 691)”. This quote alone …show more content…
He says, “You should have seen how wisely I proceeded---with what caution---with what foresight--- with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him (Poe 692).” Based on that quote, he seemed very proud of the fact that he cautiously planned the old man’s death. He did not have a valid reason to murder the old man, according to the narrator, he loved the old man, but it was the old man’s eye that he hated. After he killed the old man, he said, “I then sat upon the bed and smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done (Poe 693).” This quote tells me that he was very happy that he completed his mission. Gaily, meaning happy or cheerful, is how he described his feelings after the murder as if it were fulfilling to him. He then proceeded by checking to see if the old man was still alive, by checking his pulse. Then he decides to mutilate the old man and hide his body parts under the floor. This act alone screams out insane murderer! Never in a million years, would I trust someone like
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