Evidence of Schizophrenia in the Narrator

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de kuya_sugoi

de kuya_sugoi

Schizophrenia can also cause violent behavior, as seen in "The Tell Tale Heart". He has many Delusions. He hears/sees things that shouldn't be there, and that a mentally sound person would notice. He also becomes violent. He kills a man due to an eye, which he says pierced into his soul.

An Blogger, Anissa Maulani, Believes the narrator of "The Tell Tale Heart" shows several main behaviors that are shown to be symptoms of schizophrenia. One symptom are the delusions the narrator experiences during the story. Such as, he shows signs of having referential delusions (Holding objects to have symbolic, gestures are pointed towards their person). He displays this delusion when he is talking to the policemen after the murder. "They heard! – They suspected! – They knew! – they were making a mockery of my horror!" (Poe, 2008, p. 206). He is convinced they were acting as if they knew nothing of the crime, and decided to make fun of his face, and that they truly knew he committed the murder. There is no proof that this happened. None of the men could have been aware of the murder before told.

Another clue that the narrator is a Schizophrenic Maniac, is his hallucinations throughout the story. Mostly auditory – the narrator can hear things from external worlds. It gets clear that he experiences it on the part he says "I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart" (Poe, 2008, p.204). It can also be seen on "It grew louder – louder – louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard it not?" (Poe, 2008, p.206), proving that the sound existed only for the murderer. There is also the fact that it is physically impossible for someone to hear the beating heart of another without equipment, so this noise was only imagination. This shows that the hypersensitivity of senses the man thought to be a proof of his sanity (Poe, 2008, p.203) was, in fact, his mind going crazy.

The last main symptom of schizophrenia the narrator presents is catatonic behavior – it can be either an extremely paralysis of the muscles of one's body or an hyperactivity conduct (The Free Dictionary), and this man presents both actions. The first time was when he was getting ready to kill the old man, and this one woke up: "I kept still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle" (Poe, 2008, p. 204). The other occasion was by the end of the story, when he was already talking to the policemen: "I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides [...] I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards" (Poe, 2008, p. 206). This behaviors can be described as catatonic, as they were inspired by his imagination – on the first case, the need of murder because of a pale blue eye; the second one, to stop an imaginary noise.

We can also assume that the narrator is in the age range, were schizophrenia is most common. In the early 1800's caretakers were usually young men (20's). The prime range for most form of schizophrenia is 16-30. SHowing that it is indeed plausible for the narrator to have schizophrenia

So overall, the reader can conclude the the narrator from "The Tell Tale Heart" has Schizophrenia.

Recources:

http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-symptoms-types

http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-violent-behavior

http://psychcentral.com/lib/whats-the-difference-between-a-delusion-and-a-hallucination/

http://schizophrenia.com/history.htm#

https://perksofaboringlife.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/signs-of-schizophrenia-in-edgar-allan-poes-the-tell-tale-heart/