In "The Tell-Tale Heart," what evidence suggests the narrator is insane?

One of the first pieces of evidence that indicates that the unnamed narrator is insane is his obsession with the old man's "vulture" eye. The narrator explains his reasoning by saying,

Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye!

The narrator is clearly mentally unstable and even contradicts himself by stating that he "loved the old man." Why would anyone want to murder the person they claim to love? It is also concerning that the old man's pale blue eye is the primary reason the narrator is motivated to kill him.

In addition to the narrator's questionable motive, the narrator also comes across as desperate. The narrator is continually attempting to prove his sanity. Why would a rational, stable person need to convince someone that they are sane? Another piece of evidence that indicates the narrator is insane concerns the syntax of his narrative. The narrator speaks in fragmented sentences, which create a halting cadence that suggests agitation. This makes the narrator come across as neurotic and mentally unstable.

One of the most significant pieces of evidence that indicates the narrator's insanity is the brutality of his crime. The narrator not only stalks and suffocates the old man, but also dismembers his body and places his limbs underneath the floorboards of his home. Only a mentally insane individual would be capable of committing such an atrocious act. The narrator once again displays his insanity by claiming to hear the old man's heartbeat.

In "The Tell-Tale Heart," what evidence suggests the narrator is insane?

There are several red flags that suggest the narrator is insane and mentally deranged in the first paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." The abrupt, staccato sentences, repetitive questioning, and use of the words "nervous" and "mad" immediately give the reader the impression that a neurotic, mentally unstable individual is speaking. The fact that the narrator is attempting to prove his sanity is also unsettling, as well as his apparent supernatural hearing powers. Mentioning that he could hear "all things in the heaven" and "many things in hell" is clear evidence that the narrator is mentally unstable and insane. The narrator goes on to contradict himself by saying that he loved the old man before mentioning that he decided to kill him in the same paragraph.

The narrator's reason for killing the old man, which is the old man's "Evil Eye," is further evidence that he is insane. When the narrator enters the old man's room to murder him, he mentions that he understood the old man's terror because he had also experienced a "dreadful echo" in his "own bosom" at night. This statement is particularly disturbing and coincides with the other numerous pieces of evidence that suggest the narrator is insane. The narrator's frequent pleas for his sanity and excuse that he simply experiences "over-acuteness of the senses" also indicates that he is mad. The final piece of evidence that proves the narrator is mentally deranged is the fact that he believes he hears the deceased old man's heart beating beneath the floorboards.

In "The Tell-Tale Heart," what evidence suggests the narrator is insane?

One of our first clues that the narrator is not in his right mind is that he has become obsessed with the old man's "vulture eye," as he calls it.  He says that once he conceived of the idea to kill the old man, he becomes obsessed with it.  However, he says, "Object there was none.  Passion there was none.  I loved the old man.  He had never wronged me.  He had never given me insult.  For his gold I had no desire."  First, he wants to murder the old man, a big clue to his insanity on its own.  In addition, the only reason he has to kill him is to get rid of the man's eye; it freaks the narrator out.  If there is such a thing as a good reason to kill someone, this is not it.  We might be able to comprehend greed or passion or something like this, but murdering someone because their eye is offensive to you is not sane.

Another clue is the narrator's obsessive, seemingly compulsive repetition, night after night, of approaching the old man's door "just at midnight" and the slow process of inserting his head and lantern into the old man's room.  A totally sane person would simply not feel such satisfaction in this repetition, or the need to continually repeat the same process again and again.  Further, he cannot kill the old man when he is sleeping, with his eye closed.  It is the rage produced by the sight of the eye that finally enables the narrator to complete the deed.

Further, the narrator believes that he is hearing the old man's heartbeat, first across the room when the old man lies awake and listening, next after the narrator has actually killed and dismembered the man and buried him beneath the floorboards.  A sane person would realize that someone's heart cannot continue to beat after they have died.

The narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a murderer. What are examples of his insanity?

First and foremost, the murder is premeditated.  The narrator visits the old man's bedroom nightly simply to stare at him as he sleeps.  On the occasion that the man awakes, the narrator tortures him by standing still, noiseless, while the old man lies petrified listening for any hint that someone is in his room.  The narrator is obsessed with the old man's eye..."that hideous eye!" It seems it is the eye that compels the narrator to murder the old man in cold blood.  During and immediately after the murder, the narrator has the awareness that the noise may have been heard by the neighbors, so he hastily seeks the "perfect" hiding place for the evidence of his crime--under the floor boards of the bedroom.

The narrator calmly entertains the police and boldly places them directly over the hiding place of the man's remains.  It is his guilt and the noise of the heartbeat which he perceives grows louder with each passing minute of the interview that is the bane of his existence.  Unable to take it anymore, he confesses his crime by tearing up the floorboards before the police.

His actions, his erratic thought process, the periods of lucidity and madness should be enough to prove his unstable mental health.

Good Luck!

The narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a murderer. What are examples of his insanity?

The narrator is indeed mad, which also makes him an unreliable narrator. We know he is mad because he has no real reason to murder the old, defenseless man other than the fact that he has a peculiar eye. The palish-blue eye taunts and irks the narrator to the point of insanity. The man decides to murder the bearer of the eye but cannot do so when his eyes are closed. The insane narrator rationalizes that his crime must be committed when the eye is in view because he is in fact antagonized by the eye and not by the old man. This rationalization, although perfectly normal to the story teller, makes no sense to a sane person.

For eight nights, the madman stalks his victim as he meticulously plans his crime. Ironically, this carefulness to him is a sign of his sanity, and he assures the reader that no madman would be able to be so keen. However, the reader sees the man's reasoning of the ploy as utterly lunatic, and we watch the narrator on his path through madness.

Once the murder has been committed, the narrator demonstrates his insanity once again by imagining the sound of the victim's heart. It beats louder and louder until he finally confesses.

What are three examples that reveal how the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is insane?

Good question! We get the general impression that the narrator has totally lost touch with reality, but what evidence can we point to that supports this idea? Let's see:

1. "True!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am, but why will you say that I am mad?"

Here, the narrator is saying, "Yeah, yeah, I'm nervous, but—crazy? No, not crazy!" The fact that he's denying that he's crazy ("mad") is a good hint that he truly is crazy. Why else would he bring it up, or be so defensive about it?

2. "I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it."

In the quote above, the narrator is saying that the old man is a good guy, a friend even, and there's no reason to hate him or want to kill him. Yet he's got a weird-looking eye. That's insane! Sure, someone's physical flaw might creep you out or make you feel uncomfortable, but if you're in your right mind, that flaw won't make you want to kill that other person.

3. "You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work!"

Here, the narrator is saying, "Well, you think I'm crazy, but I'm not, because look how carefully I planned this murder!" This is both funny and a perfect example of insane reasoning. You can't disprove craziness by pointing out how detailed the murder plan is. That just supports the idea that the narrator has lost his mind.

How does the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" show signs of questioning his sanity?

Well, the first cue is in the first lines of the story:
"TRUE!—NERVOUS—VERY, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?"

Notice the phrasing. The narrator does not say "Why do you say I am mad?" He says "...why will you..." It hasn't happened yet. He's projecting, because he knows he is mad.

He also continues to project this suspicion—this fear—about his own condition throughout the story. Later in the story, near the end, the narrator says, " If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body."

Again, nothing has been said. He's defending himself against an internal accusation. He knows he is mad, and he's trying to convince himself he's not.

What are three evidences of sanity in the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

Evidence there might be, but the evidence pointing to the narrator's insanity is more reliable.  Still, that's not the question you asked, so let's see what we can make of it.

First, while we can't put much stock in the character's own assertions of sanity, his rational does make some sense.  "Madmen know nothing," he says, going on to describe in detail the preparations he made for doing away with the old codger. He has a point.  His ability to calculate and plan could be seen as evidence that he is not insane.

Secondly, he is able to understand right and wrong. This is very important, as it is often the crux of an insanity defense.  He knows that what he is doing is wrong because he takes care to dismember and hide the body.  Were he truly insane, the concept of right and wrong would elude him and he wouldn't go through such efforts to avoid detection.

Thirdly, guilt. The level of guilt he feels is enough to cause him to confess at the end of the story, even though he has every chance of getting away with the crime.  Guilt shows a certain level of conscience, and this is not a hallmark of the insane.

I suppose it depends a lot on the definition of insanity.  Most of us would call him crazy, but legally it could be argued that he's not.  A crazy person would act on impulse, not attempt to conceal the crime, and not feel guilty about it.  The narrator here defies all these conventions.

How does the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" try to prove his sanity, and where is it questioned?

The narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's story opens the tale by insisting that he is not only sane, but also stronger because of a recent illness that has rendered his "mind ... feelings ... senses stronger, more powerful." In particular, he claims that his "sense of hearing especially became more powerful." A thoughtful reader will understand right away that the narrator's protestations of his sanity are a red flag that something is wrong with his thought process. Generally speaking, people who are well-adjusted and healthy don't need to verbally affirm their mental fitness. The narrator, however, assures his audience that he will, in fact, prove "how healthy [his] mind is."

Readers' suspicion that the narrator is indeed insane is confirmed when he explains that because he found the old man's eye disturbing and vulture-like, he knew he had to kill him. He tries to rationalize his irrational act and, in doing so, offers irrefutable proof of his derangement. He employs a logical fallacy by claiming "a madman cannot plan" and then proceeds to describe how he stalked the old man for several nights and watched him sleep until the night he murdered and dismembered him. He is strangely proud of his stealth and ruthlessness and displays neither pity nor compassion for his elderly and helpless victim.

Ultimately, the narrator's belief that he can hear the heart of his victim beating through the floorboards is his undoing. His departure from reality is complete as he shouts his confession.

How does the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" try to prove his sanity, and where is it questioned?

In “The Tell-tale Heart” the narrator seems to believe that the reader doubts his sanity, because he is constantly asking if we think he’s mad and reminding us that he is not.

The narrator tries to convince us he is not insane.

1. Just as he begins the story by making us think he is mad, the narrator also begins the story by insisting that he is not.

The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. (enotes etext p. 4)

He tries to convince us that the sickness has not hurt his sanity.

2. The narrator goes on to explain that he is not mad because “madmen know nothing,” yet he is brilliant.  He tries to convince us of his brilliance.

But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what caution—with what foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work! (p. 4)

The narrator explains that he kept peeking in on the old man and the old man had no idea.

3. The narrator explains how clever he was when the police arrived, and he led them right to where the body was and had a nice conversation with them.

I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim. (p. 6)

The narrator explains that the police never suspected him, but it is likely they did.  Why else would they stay and chat with this guy?  They were just waiting for him to crack.

Yet we doubt the narrator’s sanity.

1. The narrator’s sanity is called into question immediately.  As the story begins, the narrator is demanding why we think he’s mad.

[Very] dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?  (p. 4)

By bringing up a disease right away, the reader begins to think that there really is something wrong with the narrator.  He might have gotten sick and that caused him to lose his mind, or he might be describing mental illness.  The narrator brags about how calmly he can tell the story.

2. We also question the narrator’s sanity when he explains why he had to kill the old man.  It was the old man’s eye, of course.  The narrator becomes obsessed with it.

Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. (p. 4)

To fixate on an old man’s eye, and want him dead for no reason, is clearly crazy.  The narrator admits that he has nothing against the man except that eye.

3. Of course, when he kills the old man we know he’s crazy.

If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs. (p. 5)

No sane person would hide a body under the floor.  Obviously it will begin to smell!  Clearly we are not convinced that the man is sane, and his continual protests that he is not mad just convince us that he is.

Text:  http://www.enotes.com/tell-tale-heart-text

What quotes from "The Tell-Tale Heart" prove the narrator's sanity?

The main difficulty in answering this question is that, as currerbell16 points out, the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe is rather clearly not sane. In fact, the very efforts by the narrator to convince us of his sanity contribute to our doubts about his mental stability. Instead, what we should look at is how the narrator's attempts to convince us that he is sane actually contribute to our conviction that he is not sane. 

The story opens by raising the issue of sanity. The narrator states:

TRUE! —nervous —very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses ... Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?

First, the narrator seems to be responding to an interlocutor who has accused him of being mad. Thus we are confronted with a choice of whether to trust the narrator or the unknown interlocutor on this point. The immediate admission that the narrator is "very, very, dreadfully nervous" inspires immediate doubts, and his claim to be able to hear all things in heaven and earth and even some in hell, far from being proof of sanity, show the narrator to be out of touch with reality.

The next type of evidence that the narrator gives is the cleverness with which he plotted against the old man. He states:

You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded —with what caution —with what foresight —with what dissimulation...

While on the one hand, the narrator argues that all of this patient plotting is evidence of his sanity, the idea of carefully plotting to kill a kind, feeble, elderly man who has never harmed the narrator is itself insane.

The final piece of evidence the narrator gives for his sanity is the way he carefully dismembered the body and placed it under the floorboards. Realistically, though, after several hours, the body would begin to decompose and the odors (as well as the insects and vermin it would attract) would give its presence away. Thus this is not only insane but not very clever.

What quotes from "The Tell-Tale Heart" prove the narrator's sanity?

The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is continually accusing us of thinking him mad. This, indeed, is how he opens the story.

True—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?

If, upon first meeting someone, the first words out of his mouth were a denial of madness or an accusation that you regard him as mad, you might regard yourself as justified in having doubts about his sanity. In the case of this narrator, the insistence with which he repeats his denials have a cumulative effect, building up our unease and suspicion. He denies that he is mad or accuses us of thinking so six times in a very brief story. At one point he says:

It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a madman have been so wise as this?

Here, an unbelievable assertion that he took an hour to put his head through the door is followed up with a question about whether a madman would done this thing which the reader probably does not believe he did.

Both insanity and guilt are suggested by the insistent assertions that the narrator loved the old man and would not have harmed him if he had not disliked one of his eyes. He protests:

It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire.

It does not seem to occur to the narrator that a detailed description of how you have killed a person you had no good reason to kill, coupled with an admission that you had no good reason to kill him, does not inspire confidence in the speaker's honesty or his sanity. The feverish tone of his narration throughout the story also adds to an oppressive sense of guilt and madness.

What does the narrator's first paragraph suggest about his sanity in "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

In the first paragraph, the narrator says a few things that lead us to question his mental stability.

First, he admits that he has a "disease" but that it has sharpened his senses. He proclaims that his mental acuity is not dimmed on account of this malady. The narrator's insistence that his disease has not affected him negatively inspires us to harbor skepticism about his veracity. After all, how can physical or mental debilitation or weakness sharpen one's senses? What the narrator says doesn't make any sense.

Next, he claims that his condition has strengthened his sense of hearing. He insists that he can now hear everything that goes on in heaven and on earth. The narrator also maintains that he has heard many things in hell. His preposterous claims lead us to question his sanity.

Lastly, he claims that his calm retelling of a still-obscure story (which will commence immediately) is proof of his health and sanity. His reasoning is flawed, however: we cannot conclude that an individual is sane just because they tell a story calmly.

What do the narrator's repeated sanity claims in "The Tell-Tale Heart" reveal about his character?

The narrator's repeated assurances to the reader that he is sane reminds me of the Shakespeare quote regarding "... thou dost protest too much, methinks." Why would a sane man have to constantly defend his sanity unless he already suspects that he might be descending into madness? His reasoning is jumbled: He claims that the owner of the house has never hurt him, yet he decides he must kill the innocent old man. It is the old man's evil eye, the narrator claims, that forces him into killing him. He admits that he is "very dreadfully nervous" for no other apparent reason than the old man's eye. And he admits to a disease that "sharpens" his mind. Perhaps it is not the old man's eye, but

... the narrator really wishes to destroy the "I," that is, himself... by destroying the old man's eye, the narrator indirectly destroys himself in the end by exposing himself as the murderer. (eNotes, "The Tell-Tale Heart," Themes and Characters) 

Little of the narrator's reasoning is sound. He makes detailed preparations for the murder and practices for days, but when the hour comes, his "foresight" fails to quietly subdue the old man. The solitary scream that is heard by a neighbor seals his fate. In addition to being a madman, our storyteller is also an unreliable narrator, one whose words must always be called into question.

What evidence in "The Tell-Tale Heart" suggests the narrator is a madman?

It's a good bet that when someone tries desperately to convince another that he is NOT mad, then the likelihood exists that he probably is. Such is the case with the narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's classic horror story, "The Tell-Tale Heart." In the first sentence, the narrator admits that he is "very, very dreadfully nervous," but then asks the reader if this alone makes him mad. He then claims to hear "all things in heaven and in the earth" as well as "many things in hell." Again, he questions his own sanity. The first lines solidify the likelihood that he is indeed insane.

Although he claims to have "loved the old man," the narrator's desire to kill him because of the evil eye--the "eye of a vulture"--again shows how he teeters on the edge of madness. The thoroughness with which the narrator prepares to kill the old man does not necessarily show his sanity; it instead displays his single-minded goal of murder. Once he accomplishes the act, the gruesome dismemberment only strengthens the argument. The final display of audibly detecting the dead man's still-beating heart is the clue which cements the certainty of his total derangement.