Tell Tale Heart - Missed Questions

How does Poe’s choice of telling the story from the point of view of an unreliable narrator create suspense?

• It keeps the reader on edge by zooming in on two key moments of the narrative—the murder of the old man and the police investigation—both of which have uncertain outcomes.

• It prompts the reader to question everything the narrator says from his assertion that others think him mad to his explanation of why he thinks he is not.

• It creates suspense as it is unclear the events in the eight days leading to the murder are reality or a figment of the narrator’s imagination.

• It keeps the reader guessing about whether he will be able to appear sane enough to convince the police of his innocence.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Vex

• intense emotion

• ridicule

• smother

• to annoy

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which of the following words is the best synonym for sagacity?

• stupidity

• righteousness

• determination

• cleverness

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

The narrator shows that he is unreliable when he...

• explains that he did not kill the old man for his money

• describes his movements on the night of the murder

• says he is sane while saying how cleverly he hid the body

• confesses that he is nervous in the beginning of the story

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Once the narrator___________________ a plan to kill the old man, he was anxious to carry it out.

• conceived

• foresight

• object

• dissimulation

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

What do we learn about the narrator from the following line? “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.”

• he is cruel

• he is compassionate

• he is honest

• he is calm

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Read the excerpt from "The Tell-Tale Heart" then answer the question.

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.

• It emphasizes that the narrator is mad and cannot think or speak clearly.

• It emphasizes that the narrator took care in committing his crime.

• It emphasizes that the narrator hesitated in completing the murder.

• It emphasizes that the narrator feels guilty about the action he is about to take.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

The old man is killed in the story when he is _________ by the narrator.

• dismembered

• stabbed

• suffocated

• strangled

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What does the narrator say about his senses?

• They are dull.
• They've always been very strong.
• They've been sharpened by disease.
• They are bothersome.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

The narrator thrusts his head through a crack in the door_____________ for the sound of the old man's breathing.

• derision

• hearkening

• waned

• scantlings

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4