Which theme is conveyed in this excerpt from "the tell-tale heart" by edgar allan poe? true! —nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous i had been and am; but why will you say that i am mad? the disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. above all was the sense of hearing acute. i heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. i heard many things in hell. how, then, am i mad? hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly i can tell you the whole story. it is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. object there was none. passion there was none. i loved the old man. he had never wronged me. he had never given me insult. for his gold i had no desire. 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.