Exploring the Haunting Themes of The Tell-Tale Heart

The narrator, claiming heightened senses, becomes obsessed with an old man's vulture-like eye. He plans and executes the murder of the old man to rid himself of the eye. After dismembering and hiding the body, the narrator is visited by police. Despite initially feeling confident, he is driven to confess by the imagined sound of the old man's beating heart.

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

• He is calm and collected.

• He is nervous but not mad.

• He is confused.

• He is mad.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What sense does the narrator claim has become most acute due to his 'disease'?

• Smell

• Hearing

• Sight

• Touch

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

• His eye

• His behavior

• His voice

• His wealth

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

How many nights did the narrator watch the old man before committing the murder?

• Three nights

• Five nights

• Seven nights

• Eight nights

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

What does the narrator do every night at midnight?

• He talks to the old man.

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

• He reads a book.

• He goes for a walk.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What sound ultimately drives the narrator to commit the murder?

• The ticking of a clock

• The creaking of the door

• The old man's groan

• The old man's heartbeat

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

How does the narrator conceal the old man's body?

• He throws it into a river.

• He buries it in the garden.

• He hides it in the attic.

• He dismembers it and hides it under the floorboards.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

What explanation does the narrator give to the police for the noise heard by the neighbor?

• It was a mouse.

• It was a cat.

• It was the old man shouting.

• It was a dream.

What causes the narrator to finally confess to the murder?

• The police find the body.

• He hears the old man's heartbeat and believes the police can hear it too.

• He feels guilty.

• The old man wakes up.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Where does the narrator place his chair when talking to the police?

• In the kitchen

• On the spot where the body is hidden

• By the window

• In the hallway

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6