Madness Within The Speaker example essay topic

In Edgar Allan Does short-story, The Tell-Tale Heart, the speaker of the story tries to convince the reader that he is not mad. But by the speaker telling the story as he does, he answers his own question that he asks the reader at the start of the story, ... why will you say I am mad ( Introduction to Literature, page 415). He attempts to tell his story in a calm manner, but as he describes various parts, he begins ranting with a great level of passion. The speaker pays particular attention to emphasize specific parts of his story. He is sure to highlight that he is simply nervous, and that he could not possibly be mad because as he says, the disease had sharpened my senses (415). Rather the disease, as he refers to his madness, only allowed him to hear more clearly those sounds of his imagination, to see what his mind wanted him to see.

He kills the old man because the old man had an evil eye of that of a vulture which would make the speakers blood run cold when he was looked upon. He even says he loved the old man, never does the speaker refer to him as anything else, but because of how the old mans eye looked the speaker needed to destroy it. This is the start of the speakers madness, and as the reader listens to what the speaker says, the madness within the speaker becomes apparent. For eight nights in a row, the speaker went to the old mans chamber and cast a shred of light upon his eye that the speaker so hated. For seven nights, it was always shut, and the speaker could do nothing because it was only the eye that he hated.

On the eighth, the speaker makes some noise accidentally, and as a result when he finally shines the light upon the eye it is open for the speaker to see. At this point the level of the speakers madness heightens greatly, with his ears hearing th beating of the old mans heart (417). Every moment this sound grows louder and faster, pounding in the speakers ear like that of a drum and thus fueling his fury. Was it really the old mans heart though Even after the speaker kills the old man, he still hears the heart slowly pounding and then finally stopping. Was it the old mans heart, or rather was the speaker hearing his own heart beat in his ears As the speakers rage and excitement grew, so did the sound. It did not go away until after the speaker slowly calmed down, his deed of death being finished.

The speaker answers this question very quickly for the reader. The speaker goes to great lengths to conceal the act he has committed. He first dismembers the body, being sure to collect all the blood in a tub so that there are no blood stains anywhere within the house. The speaker tells the reader that he cannot be mad because he describes the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body (417). After cutting off the head and limbs, the speaker puts the body underneath a few planks of wood, replacing the planks so that it is not noticeable that there has been any change. Here again, the reader emphasizes his hatred of the old mans eye, saying that not even his eye could detect the change.

It is at this point in the story that the speaker is confronted by three police officers. Fearing nothing and trusting to his skills of hiding the body, the speaker invites the police officers into the house. Sitting and talking in the very room the body is hidden, the speaker once again shows the reader his madness. Throughout most of the story the speaker keeps his description calm except for a few parts.

At this part, the speaker losses all control over his emotions that he once had. He believes he hears the old mans heart beating louder and louder and that the police officers they heard! - they suspected! - they knew! - they were making a mockery of my horror! (418). Once again, the speaker is hearing not the old mans heart, but his own beating faster and louder with fear.

Resorting to ranting mindlessly as the speaker describes the situation to the reader, the speaker no longer seems concerned with if the reader believes that he is sane or not. Describing the situation seems to fill the speaker with the same fear, as he hears the sound again in his ears. Finally the reader can do nothing but break down and confess to his deed of death he has committed upon the old man. Though the speaker begs for sanity, it is obvious he has gone mad. Hearing his own heart and believing it is that of the old man, and killing the old man simply because he had the eye of a vulture is the physical proof. With the passion he speaks of the act, the reader can see that this is not the voice of a sane man speaking, but of a man gone mad and begging that he has held onto his sanity.

Poe, Edgar Allan, The Tell-Tale Heart. Introduction to Literature. 3rd ed. Ed. Gillian Thomas, Richard J.H. Perkins, Kenneth A. MacKinnon, and Wendy R. Katz.

Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1995.415-418.