Tell-tale Heart

The analyzers of Tell-tale Heart on SparkNotes state that Edgar Allan Poe has written this story with vague descriptions and a indecisive point of view. However, that was the type of narration Poe wanted to portray. Also, this story "provides a study of paranoia and mental deterioration". I totally agree that the story exemplifies the paranoia and mental deterioration of the main character. In the story, the man who killed the old man let his paranoia take over himself. The man thought that the old man was still alive because he "heard" the thumping of the old man's heart even though he, himself, confirmed that the old man was dead before he buried him under the floor boards. After reading the story, I thought it was his own heart beat that he heard because was so nervous. Also, when the character stated "I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides", I think he imagined himself pacing back and forth, but in reality he was just sitting in the chair thinking and imagining it all. Nonetheless, the main character thought that the policemen were mocking him by sitting there calmly while he was going crazy and pacing back and forth. This was merely the main characters perception. Often times people imagine situation in there head and they also imagine the outcome of those situations. However, it seems like he took his made-up situation as if it really happened and the policemens' reaction towards his imagined situation was not what he expected. Thus causing the main character to tell the officers where the body is because he was too paranoid.