The Tell-Tale Heart (HMH: Into Literature)

Which sentence best explains how Poe creates irony in the story?

• The narrator’s attempts to hide the murder actually result in him giving himself up to the police.

• The narrator chooses to commit the murder in the middle of the night, when the old man is asleep.

• The narrator’s neighbor hears the old man shriek and summons the police out of concern for his safety.

• The narrator admits that he could not stop thinking about the old man and about his pale, filmy eye.

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How does the narrator’s mention of his sharpened sense of hearing in paragraph 1 foreshadow the old man’s death?

• It foreshadows the point when the old man’s heartbeat drives the narrator to kill him.

• It foreshadows the narrator’s ability to hear the police coming to check on the old man.

• It foreshadows the narrator’s decision to murder the old man partly due to his loud voice.

• It foreshadows the time when the old man’s sleep is disturbed by the narrator at the door.

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How does the author create suspense in this excerpt from paragraph 2?

"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. . . "

• By identifying the source of the narrator’s irrational fear

• By explaining why the narrator wants to avoid the old man

• By describing how unhealthy the old man looks to the narrator

• By repeating words to emphasize the narrator’s skill as a criminal

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In paragraph 4, the narrator describes going to the old man’s room every night around midnight. Why is he unable to commit the murder for the first seven nights?

• He needs to have more light in order to see his victim.

• He cannot see the old man’s eye, so he lacks the motivation to act.

• He cannot sneak into the room because the old man is a restless sleeper.

• He wants to be merciful, so he gives the old man a few more days to live.

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How does the author create suspense in paragraph 4?

• By explaining the narrator’s reasons for the murder

• By having the narrator repeat the old man’s words

• By describing the narrator’s anxiety and fear

• By showing the narrator’s repetitive actions

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In paragraphs 14–15, the narrator’s tone in describing his cleanup and first encounter with the police is one of —

• anxiety

• confidence

• indifference

• melancholy

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Poe’s extensive use of dashes in the last two paragraphs is effective because it —

• slows down the story so it is easier for readers to understand

• suggests that the police know every detail about the crime

• helps readers to learn about the narrator’s true motives

• highlights the narrator’s increased nervousness

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The use of a first-person narrator in the story —

• allows readers to understand each character’s viewpoint

• helps explain how the characters are related to each other

• gives readers insight into the narrator’s unstable state of mind

• illustrates how the old man treats the narrator from day to day

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Which piece of evidence best shows that the narrator cannot escape his guilty conscience?

• "Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me." (paragraph 2)

• "I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work" (paragraph 4)

• "I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definitiveness—until at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears." (paragraph 17)

• "I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observation of the men—but the noise steadily increased." (paragraph 18)

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Which piece of evidence best shows that the murder does not have a traditional motive?

• "Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me." (paragraph 2)

• "I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work" (paragraph 4)

• "I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definitiveness—until at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears." (paragraph 17)

• "I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observation of the men—but the noise steadily increased." (paragraph 18)

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