Edgar Allan Poe's “The Tell-Tale Heart” is narrated by a mentally unstable murderer who goes crazy and tries to prove that he is completely normal. He does this by saying that he has an immaculate sense of hearing: “I have heard all things in heaven and on earth.” In a way, he considers himself a divine or pious being. He is very delusional and cannot sense that he is in mental pain. He keeps saying to himself: “If you think I am crazy, you will no longer think so when I describe to you the wise precautions I took to hide the body.” The main character tries to justify that there is nothing wrong with killing his old friend. He only kills him because he thinks his eye is “bad”. He loved it but for some reason that eye haunts him. He doesn't ask readers if they think it's crazy, but he tells us no. The main characters' delusions make him murder and act like a madman. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The narrator's life is as if he is stuck in a nightmare. He's sick, but he doesn't think it. This is justified when he hears the heartbeat of the old man he has just killed. The narrator's anxiety becomes so strong that he not only hears the dead man's heartbeat, but begins to think that everyone around him can hear it too. The heartbeat symbolizes the consciousness and state of the narrator. Of course, he couldn't hear the old man's heartbeat because he died. In reality, it could be his own heart beating and he doesn't seem to realize it. In times of fear, stress, adrenaline, our heart beats hard and we feel it beating very hard. For the narrator, he would have been stuck in this nightmare until he could no longer bear it. He ends up confessing to his "perfect crime" because he feels guilty and can't stand the pressure of knowing he murdered someone. When he confesses, he is somewhat freed from the nightmare he has caused himself. However, it will never end for him until the day he dies. He will constantly feel guilty and think about the crime. Poe wants readers to understand that people somehow control your dreams and nightmares. However, not in terms of when you sleep, but rather in terms of what may happen in your life. As the narrator could not distinguish between good and evil, his life turned into a nightmare. His nightmare spiraled out of control, making him psychotic and disillusioned. Humans are not perfect so we commit crimes, whether against ourselves or others. This in turn can be detrimental to us. History teaches us that it doesn't matter what our own sense of guilt might expose us to. For Poe, it is best that we avoid doing evil, seek help if necessary, and be an overall good person..