Exploring The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Christopher Lee narrates Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic tale, focusing on a narrator who insists on his sanity while describing his obsession with an old man's vulture-like eye. The narrator meticulously plans and executes the murder of the old man to rid himself of the eye. He hides the body under the floorboards, but when the police visit, his guilt manifests as the sound of the old man's beating heart, leading him to confess.

What does the narrator claim about his mental state at the beginning of the story?

• He is confused and disoriented.

• He is completely insane.

• He is calm and collected.

• He is nervous but not mad.

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What specifically about the old man drives the narrator to contemplate murder?

• The old man's wealth.

• The old man's vulture-like eye.

• The old man's constant insults.

• The old man's mysterious behavior.

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How does the narrator describe his actions towards the old man in the week leading up to the murder?

• He was indifferent.

• He was openly hostile.

• He was unusually kind.

• He was distant and cold.

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CCSS.RL.5.6

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What does the narrator do every night at midnight?

• He talks to the old man.

• He leaves the house.

• He opens the old man's door and watches him sleep.

• He writes in his journal.

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On the eighth night, what causes the old man to wake up?

• A sudden gust of wind.

• The old man's own nightmares.

• A loud noise outside.

• The narrator's thumb slipping on the lantern.

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CCSS.RI.6.10

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How does the narrator kill the old man?

• By shooting him.

• By suffocating him with the bed.

• By stabbing him.

• By poisoning him.

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CCSS.RL.5.6

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What does the narrator do with the old man's body?

• He leaves it in the old man's bed.

• He buries it in the garden.

• He throws it in the river.

• He dismembers it and hides it under the floorboards.

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CCSS.RL.5.6

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How does the narrator react when the police arrive?

• He calmly invites them in and shows them around.

• He panics and tries to escape.

• He hides in the attic.

• He confesses immediately.

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What sound drives the narrator to confess to the murder?

• The old man's voice.

• The ticking of a clock.

• The beating of the old man's heart.

• The footsteps of the police.

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CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

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What does the narrator do at the end of the story?

• He destroys the evidence.

• He finds another victim.

• He confesses to the murder.

• He escapes from the police.

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CCSS.RL.5.6

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