Poe's Batch of Psychos
We all know Edgar Allen Poe is a master of unreliable narration.
"The Tell-Tale Heart" capitalizes not only on Poe's well-versed talent in narration but also in the psychology of the narrator. This man goes insane over a glass eye from a neighbor. It bothers him to the point he sneaks in and murders the guy then buries him in the floorboards. The narrator has this false sense of confidence. It is hard to say whether the man felt the confidence he gave off or if it was all an elaborate show. Regardless, the man invites the police officers in under the conviction and wishes them a well search. When they find nothing, they ask the man some questions. This is when we really see the psychological effects of the narrator. He is convinced he hears the heartbeat under the floorboards, and that the officers can hear it too. He believes they are making a game out of his pain. Eventually, he admits to his deed, and the story ends. The narrator is unreliable, we cannot trust much of what he says. He suits the aspect of a psycho by being manipulative, dishonest, slightly narcissistic, and charms the police with his mannerisms. I also will argue he does not feel guilty. Yes, I know many think there is some sort of guilt that causes the heartbeat hallucinations. However, I think differently. The delusion came from his fear. He was scared the officers were making a game out of his misery, which set him off. Not out of guilt, but the desire to prove he was more than some pawn in a game is why he lost it.
In "The Cask of Amontillado," we watch a different approach. Montresor plots the murder of Fortunato. Whereas, in " The Tell-Tale Heart," it was a more opportune crime. Montresor keeps his victim drunk and easy to control. Once some sort of coughing fit develops, he offers to turn back. Fortunato is cockier than we all give him and decides the cough is nothing of importance. We get some foreshadowing with the suit motto, " Nemo me impune lacessit."There is also some heavy symbolism with the jester costume that the other noble is wearing. Psychopathic trait wise, Montresor fits right in. He is confident, planned, dishonest, and manipulative. There is the last bit, where he feels something in his heart but brushes it off as the catacombs. It is hard to say whether that is some sort of guilt, even for a brief moment. Montresor mocks his victim's cries and knows that Fortunato's fate is sealed. He closes him up and even notes fifty years later, Fortunato's body is still chained. Montresor watched his victim struggle, heard the bells on the jester costume, and mocked him, all premeditated. A true psycho.
Finally, we get to a more traditional sense with a man who kills an animal first. "The Black Cat" is much more supernatural at first, to me. Yes, while psycho and supernatural can fit well together as sub-genres, our narrator never had any direct interest in killing his wife. It just happened. He was drunk, went for the cat, and killed his wife instead. Had the cat not been there to instigate, I doubt she would have been murdered. However, that does not make up for the narrator's ability to sleep fine and be confident in his crime. This guy is definitely a psycho. We can link back to his drunk abuse of the first cat, Pluto. He took one of its eyes out and later hung the cat. Second, he does eventually feel guilty about it and even misses the cat. So, when he finds another one, that is exceptionally similar to Pluto, aside from a white mark. I felt there was a supernatural link to this cat and Pluto. The cat gets underneath him in on the stairs. In his drunken rage, he assumes the cat is trying to trip him down the stairs. So, he grabs an ax and tries to kill the cat, but can't. The next best thing is his wife. Is he violent on his own without alcohol? Hard to say. I feel he would have escalated. He clearly displayed a lack of remorse and planned to kill the cat he couldn't find too. I feel a psycho of potential would describe him best. He had it but got caught.
"The Tell-Tale Heart" capitalizes not only on Poe's well-versed talent in narration but also in the psychology of the narrator. This man goes insane over a glass eye from a neighbor. It bothers him to the point he sneaks in and murders the guy then buries him in the floorboards. The narrator has this false sense of confidence. It is hard to say whether the man felt the confidence he gave off or if it was all an elaborate show. Regardless, the man invites the police officers in under the conviction and wishes them a well search. When they find nothing, they ask the man some questions. This is when we really see the psychological effects of the narrator. He is convinced he hears the heartbeat under the floorboards, and that the officers can hear it too. He believes they are making a game out of his pain. Eventually, he admits to his deed, and the story ends. The narrator is unreliable, we cannot trust much of what he says. He suits the aspect of a psycho by being manipulative, dishonest, slightly narcissistic, and charms the police with his mannerisms. I also will argue he does not feel guilty. Yes, I know many think there is some sort of guilt that causes the heartbeat hallucinations. However, I think differently. The delusion came from his fear. He was scared the officers were making a game out of his misery, which set him off. Not out of guilt, but the desire to prove he was more than some pawn in a game is why he lost it.
In "The Cask of Amontillado," we watch a different approach. Montresor plots the murder of Fortunato. Whereas, in " The Tell-Tale Heart," it was a more opportune crime. Montresor keeps his victim drunk and easy to control. Once some sort of coughing fit develops, he offers to turn back. Fortunato is cockier than we all give him and decides the cough is nothing of importance. We get some foreshadowing with the suit motto, " Nemo me impune lacessit."There is also some heavy symbolism with the jester costume that the other noble is wearing. Psychopathic trait wise, Montresor fits right in. He is confident, planned, dishonest, and manipulative. There is the last bit, where he feels something in his heart but brushes it off as the catacombs. It is hard to say whether that is some sort of guilt, even for a brief moment. Montresor mocks his victim's cries and knows that Fortunato's fate is sealed. He closes him up and even notes fifty years later, Fortunato's body is still chained. Montresor watched his victim struggle, heard the bells on the jester costume, and mocked him, all premeditated. A true psycho.
Finally, we get to a more traditional sense with a man who kills an animal first. "The Black Cat" is much more supernatural at first, to me. Yes, while psycho and supernatural can fit well together as sub-genres, our narrator never had any direct interest in killing his wife. It just happened. He was drunk, went for the cat, and killed his wife instead. Had the cat not been there to instigate, I doubt she would have been murdered. However, that does not make up for the narrator's ability to sleep fine and be confident in his crime. This guy is definitely a psycho. We can link back to his drunk abuse of the first cat, Pluto. He took one of its eyes out and later hung the cat. Second, he does eventually feel guilty about it and even misses the cat. So, when he finds another one, that is exceptionally similar to Pluto, aside from a white mark. I felt there was a supernatural link to this cat and Pluto. The cat gets underneath him in on the stairs. In his drunken rage, he assumes the cat is trying to trip him down the stairs. So, he grabs an ax and tries to kill the cat, but can't. The next best thing is his wife. Is he violent on his own without alcohol? Hard to say. I feel he would have escalated. He clearly displayed a lack of remorse and planned to kill the cat he couldn't find too. I feel a psycho of potential would describe him best. He had it but got caught.
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