The Tell-Tale Heart RR

Alan Sandul

The Tell-Tale Heart Question 1 Response

The protagonist in “The Tell-Tale Heart” insists from the very beginning of the story that he is not insane; constantly telling the reader as such. Through the telling of the story the protagonist gives examples of his wisdom and sagacity as sure proof that he is not insane; he tells us of his clever scheme to murder an old man simply for looking at him funny. The protagonist desperately pleads that the old mans eye was evil, and that the world needed to be rid of it no matter the cost. The masterful plan of sneaking into a bedroom at night and shining a tiny sliver of light onto a sleeping mans closed eye must insure that one is sane. This airtight strategy of doing nothing at midnight in another mans room finally comes to a head when said man wakes up; our protagonist is forced to adapt his plan from creepily stalking a very old man to creepily stalking a very old man and then killing him. These aforementioned actions are surely completely rational and not only prove sanity, but wisdom and sagacity in abundance. After the deed is done we are insured of our heros sanity further still by his completely flawless cleaning of the crime scene. By insuring there was no blood, the protagonist was able to neatly shove the body under the floorboards and replace them so cleanly that you wouldnt be able to tell that they were ever removed. When morning arrives our heros still somehow sane conscience starts to get the better of him. His attitude abruptly shifts. Perhaps the protagonist had some hidden subconscious shred of humanity left in him; for he starting hearing the beating of something that shouldnt have been beating. Even to the end the main character never realizes that the police couldnt hear the beating for the heart. Most likely because he was insane.