In "The Tell-Tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe presents an unreliable narrator, creating a blurred line between guilt and madness. Write a well-organized essay arguing that the narrator's psychological decline is mainly driven by guilt rather than insanity—or, alternatively, that his behavior arises from true madness instead of moral conscience. Support your argument with specific textual evidence, and consider the opposing viewpoint as a counterargument.

In "The Tell-Tale Heart," Edgar Allan Poe presents an unreliable narrator who blurs the line between guilt and madness. Write a well-developed argumentative essay in which you argue that the narrator's psychological decline — rather than any supernatural influence — is the real source of the "beating heart" he hears. Use specific textual evidence to back up your argument, and analyze how Poe utilizes narrative voice, diction, and pacing to illustrate the narrator's descent into guilt-driven delusion.