Deciding if the protagonist in the Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poes is mentally insane or a calculated killer. I think that he is mentally insane because the Old Man’s steely blue eye make him mad, that is not something that would make a normal person mad. He consistently tries to convince you that he is not a madman, for instance he says “Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded…”. He also is very impulsive which is not usually normal if you are a calculated killer. “He shrieked once --once only. In an instant I pulled the heavy bed over him. I smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done.” that is rather evident of someone who is mentally insane. And later when the police come to house