Throughout the story the narrator continues to try to persuade the audience that he is sane: “Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me” (Poe 692). The narrator often uses hyperbole to demonstrate his sanity. Furthermore, the narrator also seems to believe that his hyperbolic statements are a reality, which strongly suggests that the narrator is mentally unstable. Poe's narrator also creates suspense by using hyperbole about time and sound: "A single dim ray, like a spider's thread" (Poe 693). This creates a false sense of time and space, which gives the audience a feeling of uncertainty. The narrator gives us examples of his “abilities,” “I have felt all things in heaven and earth,” as evidence that he is mentally stable (Poe 691). He sincerely believes that his "heightened" senses mean that he is sane or perhaps even more rational than his audience. This instead makes it clear to the audience that it is unstable and that the story is being told by an unreliable source. Poe's emphasis on the narrator's madness is useful in evoking terror and apprehension in his