Insanity vs.

Obsessed Claim - The Tell Tale Heart

Directions: Choose whether you believe the Narrator was insane or obsessed. Then,

identify the line(s) that best support him as either obsessed and insane. Next, explain why
you chose the quote(s) and how it relates to perception vs. reality. NO I when writing an
argumentative paper!

Claim Statement
Assert whether you believe the narrator is
obsessed or insane.

Background Information
Explain the basic plot of the story - pretend
like your reader hasnt read this story.
Provide information to show what was
happening before you introduce your text
evidence & give context for your examples.

Text Example #1
Choose evidence from the text to support
the narrator as obsessed or insane.

Claim:
I believe the narrator of The Tell Tale
Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is insane rather
than obsessed because of the many horrible
acts he portrays in the story that none
other than someone who is insane would
undertake.
Background Info:
The narrator in The Tell Tale Heart was
bothered by the eye of the old man. It made
him feel uneasy, and for that sake, he
decided to take the man's life. He stalked
him until he found the right moment to do
so. He then dismembered the man's body
and hid him under the floorboards of the old
mans home. When the police showed up, he
started to run himself mad because of the
secret growing inside of him. He then
admitted to his horrible deed.
Quote: 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. 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.
Paragraph #: 2

Explanation
Why does this example support the
narrator as obsessed or insane?

Explanation:
This shows how the man is truly insane. He
killed the old man because of the evil feeling
he got when he saw the mans eye. Right
minded humans would not take the life of
another because of the way they look. In
this case, the insane minded man did take
the life of the old man because of the feeling
he got when he saw his eye.

Insanity vs. Obsessed Claim - The Tell Tale Heart

Text Example #2
Choose evidence from the text to support
the narrator as obsessed or insane.

Quote: First of all I dismembered the

corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and
the legs. I then took up three planks from
the flooring of the chamber, and deposited
all between the scantlings. I then replaced
the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no
human eye --not even his --could have
detected anything wrong.
Paragraph #: 12 & 13

Explanation
Why does this example support the
narrator as obsessed or insane?

Conclusion
Wrap up your paragraph by restating your
claim in a new way and summarizing why
you believe the narrator is obsessed or
insane.

Explanation:
This quote from the story shows how none
other than an insane mind would chop up
someone's body into pieces and lay them
beneath the floorboards of one's home.
Conclusion:
Because of the horrible, disturbing acts the
narrator undertook in The Tell Tale Heart
I believe he is rather insane than obsessed.
The narrator found that the eye of the old
man was evil and it made him feel
uncomfortable. An obsessed mind would not
kill someone for this reason, where an
insane mind would. Also, after the narrator
had killed the old man, he butchered up his
body and shoved it beneath the slabs of
wood in the floor. Only an insane mind
would think of chopping one's body to
pieces in order to hide it beneath the floor.
For these reasons, I declare that the man
was not obsessed, but he was rather insane.
Read the story A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar
Allen Poe and decide how you would
perceive the narrator. Do you think he is
obsessed or insane?

Lastly, you will write a paragraph that has your claim statement as a topic sentence, setting
up your quote with background information from the story, and lastly supporting details for
the quote. Explain why you chose these quotes (do not use I) and how it supports insanity or
obsession, with a connection of our theme of perception vs. reality.

Write your paragraph below:

Insanity vs. Obsessed Claim - The Tell Tale Heart

I believe the narrator of The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is insane rather than
obsessed because of the many horrible acts he portrays in the story that none other than
someone who is insane would undertake. The narrator in The Tell Tale Heart was bothered by
the eye of the old man. It made him feel uneasy, and for that sake, he decided to take the
man's life. He stalked him until he found the right moment to do so. He then dismembered the
man's body and hid him under the floorboards of the old mans home. When the police showed
up, he started to run himself mad because of the secret growing inside of him. He then
admitted to his horrible deed. 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. 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. States the text in paragraph two. This shows how the man is truly
insane. He killed the old man because of the evil feeling he got when he saw the mans eye.
Right minded humans would not take the life of another because of the way they look. In this
case, the insane minded man did take the life of the old man because of the feeling he got
when he saw his eye. This relates to Perception vs. Reality because this wrong minded man saw
the old mans eye as creepy, but not all may have perceived it this way. In reality, it might make
one feel a different sense. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the
arms and the legs. I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited
all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human
eye --not even his --could have detected anything wrong. States paragraph 12 and 13. This
quote from the story shows how none other than an insane mind would chop up someone's
body into pieces and lay them beneath the floorboards of one's home. In reality this may be

Insanity vs. Obsessed Claim - The Tell Tale Heart

perceived as something so horrible, but the man did not perceive it this way. He believed that
this was a great and extremely smart way to kill the man who is bothering him and get rid of
the body in a very simple way. Because of the horrible, disturbing acts the narrator undertook
in The Tell Tale Heart I believe he is rather insane than obsessed. The narrator found that the
eye of the old man was evil and it made him feel uncomfortable. An obsessed mind would not
kill someone for this reason, where an insane mind would. Also, after the narrator had killed
the old man, he butchered up his body and shoved it beneath the slabs of wood in the floor.
Only an insane mind would think of chopping one's body to pieces in order to hide it beneath
the floor. For these reasons, I declare that the man was not obsessed, but he was rather insane.
Read the story A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe and decide how you would perceive the
narrator. Do you think he is obsessed or insane?

RUBRIC
W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Not Yet Meeting (1)

Approaching Standard (2)

Meeting Standard (3)

Exceeding Standard (4)

Introduced the claim(s).

Provided evidence that
was not relevant or
logical or was from
sources that were not
credible. Struggled to
maintain a formal style.
Provided a conclusion
that related to the

Introduced the claim(s)..

Provided evidence that was
sometimes relevant, logical,
and credible. Writing was
mostly formal and clear.
Provided a conclusion that
followed the arguments.

Introduced the claim(s).

Organized the reasons
and evidence clearly and
logically. Used evidence
that was logical, relevant,
and credible. Writing was
formal and clear. Provided
a conclusion that followed
and supported the

Introduced the claim(s) in

a way that was very clear..
Used very logical
reasoning and highly
credible sources. Showed
a deep understanding of
the topic. Writing was
formal, clear, and
engaging. Conclusion

Insanity vs. Obsessed Claim - The Tell Tale Heart

arguments.

arguments presented.

could lead the reader to

take action.