The Tell-Tale Heart (Part 2)

Which statement best describes a major theme of the story?

• People can never truly escape the terrible things they have done.

• People without remorse can commit terrible crimes without consequences.

• People often make a mistake while committing a crime because of their arrogance.

• People who are very lonely may turn their feelings on others and cause them harm.

In the story, what causes the conflict between the narrator and the old man?

• The narrator and the old man resent having to live together because of the narrator's disease, and so the narrator decides to murder the old man.

• The narrator is terrified of the old man's vulture eye and overwhelmed by the sound of his heartbeat, so the narrator kills the old man.

• The narrator is driven mad by the sound of the heart beating beneath the floorboards, and this causes him to kill the old man

• The narrator watches the old man sleep, and when the terrified old man discovers this, the narrator kills him to keep his madness hidden.

Which of the following quotes best explains why the narrator kills the old man?

• "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." (paragraph 1)

• "I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him." (paragraph 7)

• "But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought he heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me --- the sound would be heard by the neighbor! The old man's hour had come! " (paragraph 11)

• "Villains!' I shrieked, 'dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --- tear up the planks! --- here, here! --- It is the beating of his hideous heart!

Which of the following best describes the significance of the beating heart throughout the story.

• It represents the narrator's own death, like the old man's, drawing near as he faces punishment for his crime.

• This shows there is something supernatural happening to the narrator, for the ghost of the old man is haunting him.

• It represents the narrator's guilt and worsening sanity, for the beating heart serves as reminder of his crime.

• It signifies the narrator's anxiety about not burying he old man respectfully after killing him.

In paragraph 1, the author claims to have a disease that sharpens his senses. What can you infer is his disease?

• A mental illness because he stated he heard many things in heaven and hell, and that is impossible, unless you are mentally ill.

• An ear infection because he said he stated he heard many things in heaven and hell, and that only happens when you get ear infections.