the tell tale heart
...ir right mind. This is not so; guilt is n emotion shared by all humans. The most demented individuals are not above the feelings of guilt and the havoc it causes to the psyche. Poe’s use of setting, character and language reveal that even an insane person feels guilt. The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the most basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself. Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is described as an obsession with the old man’s eye, which in turn leads to the loss of control and eventually results in violence. Ultimately, the narrator tells his story of killing his housemate. Although the narrator seems to be blatantly insane, and thinks he has freedom from guilt, the feeling of guilt over the murder is too overwhelming to bear. The narrator cannot tolerate it and eventually confesses his supposed perfect “ crime. People tend to think that insane persons are beyond the normal realm of reason shared by those who are in their right mind. This is not so; guilt is n emotion shared by all humans. The most demented individuals are not above the feelings of guilt and the havoc it causes to the psyche. Poe’s use of setting, character and language reveal that even an insane person feels guilt. The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the most basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself. Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is described...