【正文】
us planning and confidence, but ultimately his guilty conscience creates his downfall. For seven days, the narrator watches the old man while he sleeps and he even chuckled at the idea that the old man knows nothing of the narrators secret deeds or thoughts. The narrators ments show his confidence and audacity, even pride, in his plan to kill: Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. The narrators assurance in his evil deed continued even when the police came to check on the old man and investigate the loud noises neighbors heard the night before: I smiled,for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen wele. However, the narrators mind is quickly consumed with guilt, which creates his delusion of hearing the old mans heartbeat taunting him from under the flooring. His paranoia makes the heart beat louder louder louder! and in his state of delirium he confesses to killing the old man in hopes of ridding his life of the menacing heartbeat: I