The Tell Tale Heart-Check In

Read the following selection from the text.

Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded — with what caution — with what foresight — with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it — oh so gently!

How does the selection contribute to the development of the narrator's state of mind?

• It summarizes the problems the narrator experienced before the murder.

• It reveals how the old man's and the narrator's relationship changed over time.

• It emphasizes the narrator's insanity through his insistence on the opposite idea.

• It introduces the idea that the old man's actions caused the narrator's reaction.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What text structure does the author use to develop the ideas in the text?

• By using a chronological telling of events framed as a flashback, the author illustrates the narrator's cold-blooded obsession.

• By using a cause-and-effect telling of events, the author foreshadows that the neighbors will call the police to arrest the narrator.

• By using a problem-and-solution structure that starts at the end, the author emphasizes the consequences for the narrator.

• By using a pro-and-con structure, the author suggests that the old man had time to stop the narrator while he made his plans.

Answer explanation

The first paragraph gives us the clue: "How, then, am I mad? Hearken! And observe how healthily — how calmly I can tell you the whole story."

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

How does the narrator’s point of view create suspense in the story?

• His sympathetic imagining of the old man's fear in the dark offers hope that he may spare his life.

• His rational explanation of the interaction with police suggests that he may harm them as well.

• His excited ranting reveals that he may have good reason to fear and loathe the old man's eye.

• His deliberate description of the old man's fears provides insight into the terrors of his own mind.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

In the story, the narrator hears the beating of his victim's heart through the floor. What is the intended impact of this event?

• It provides a moment of relief as the reader knows the old man is alive.

• It illustrates the rising tension of the narrator's guilt about his actions.

• It acknowledges that the police know what the narrator has done all along.

• It foreshadows the likelihood that the narrator will also be murdered.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Make a prediction: What do you think will happen at the end of the story? Do you think the narrator will get caught or get away with it?

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6