Panic, insanity or cynicism? In which of these categories the main character of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe falls? The narrator describes a "work" to be performed that would end the life of an old man. Is it evil, accident or just an incontrollable fear? The unnamed character that does not realize that his fear is taking over his entire body and mind, and murders an innocent man just for a sense of a diabolic presence. Thereafter, he tries to hide his crime, but finally his panic reveals the result of his fury. Although he took great safety measure to hide the old man's body, his panicky mind does not realize that his fear makes him listen to all kinds of voices and sounds and takes him to commit the wrong.
The narrator describes himself as a "dreadfully nervous" (1) person. His opening statement does not leave any doubts of his fears, "TRUE, nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am" (1). He is not jus saying that the moments prior to the crime he was nervous, or that the situation made him feel petrified. He is confessing that he has been a very panicky man all the time. But, what could an old man do in order to scare this man? "I think it was his eye!" (1). This man in his mind is trying to find a reason to kill the old man, and gets to an answer. The narrator analyzes his fear, and finds that there was no real reason to kill the old man. "Object there was none He had never wronged me", he certainly realizes that there was no motivation to murder this old man. But he did it anyway. Panic or psycho man? The simple presence of an evil eye took him to consume his fear. Evidences of schizophrenia came to light. If there was still any hesitation of his fear, he makes it clear again, "I have told you that I am nervous: so I am" (3). A fear that he does not care to accentuate and later makes him to disclose his crime. "No doubt I now grew VERY pale" (4).
