The Tell Tale Heart Questions

What is it about the old man that bothers the narrator?

• His personality
• His face
• His home
• His eye

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.1

CCSS.RL.7.6

The author builds suspense by--

• not revealing what the crime will be

• having the narrator watch the sleeping victim for seven nights in a row.

• having the narrator explain how clever he is

• describing what is done with the victim's body

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

It is difficult to believe the narrator when he says that he

• opened the creaky lantern carefully

• heard the old man groan in the dark

• treated the old man well before killing him

• moved slowly to keep from waking the old man

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

How is the narrator's sense of hearing important to the story?

• He hears the police coming

• The sound of the heartbeat pushes the narrator to kill and confess

• The sound of the heartbeat allows him to plan carefully, very carefully.

• He believes the heartbeat calms him.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which detail should be included in a summary of the story?

• The narrator murders the old man.

• The old man was sleeping when the narrator crept in to his room.

• The officers chatted about familiar things.

• The narrator is kind to the man

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Why is it important that the officers stay so long in the house?

• to show the reader how friendly they are.

• to allow the reader to characterize them as lazy.

• to provide enough time for the old man's body to decompose.

• to provide enough time for the narrator to become upset and confess.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What event causes the narrator to confess at the end of the story?

• The constant sound of watch ticking waiting for the police to leave

• The sound of his heartbeat that he believes is the dead man's

• The policemen laugh and mock the narrator in his home

• The neighbors heard a shriek late at night

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What is the central message of "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

• From love comes sacrifice

• Guilt can drive you mad.

• With murder comes joy.

• Do not trust your elders.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

By telling this story from the murderer's point of view, the author helps the reader

• recognize the narrator's insanity

• understand the old man's thoughts

• compare both of the character's thoughts

• understand why the police have come

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

The author describes the sound that narrator hears beneath the floorboards as a heartbeat. This is a symbol of what human emotion?

• Happiness

• Anger

• Despair

• Guilt

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4