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WorksheetsThe Tell-Tale Heart
Total questions: 30
Worksheet time: 15mins
1. What does the narrator want people to think about him at the BEGINNING of the story?
That he is mentally unstable, and therefore his crime is not his fault.
That he suffers from anxiety (nervousness), but that he is not a madman.
That he is angry at the old man, and the old man deserves death.
That he has been driven to madness by the beating of the old man’s heart.
2. Select the piece of evidence that best supports your answer in #1.
I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?
I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?
It was a low, dull, quick sound --much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the officers heard it not.
3. Read the excerpt below. What conclusion can you draw about the narrator?
Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.
He is a cruel person who enjoys torturing others.
He is an unhappy person who longs for human connection.
He finds joy and pleasure in stalking the old man.
He can relate to the old man’s terror because of the madness that haunts him.
4. Select the piece of evidence that best supports your answer in #3.
Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror.
It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe.
I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me.
I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.
5. Read the excerpt below. Which of the following would you NOT INFER (something you can't say) about the narrator’s character?
TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them.
The narrator suffers from anxiety (nervousness).
The narrator suffers from mental instability.
The narrator is likely insane.
The narrator has a life-threatening disease.
6. Why do you infer the narrator greets the old man so heartily every morning?
Because the narrator truly cares about him
Because it is a habit
Because the narrator is a very cheerful person
Because the narrator doesn’t want the old man to be suspicious
7. Read the excerpt below. What can you infer about the narrator?
It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed.
He is very intelligent.
He is very curious.
He is very cautious / careful.
He is very threatening.
8. Why do you think the narrator finally admitted to his crime at the end of the story?
He realized he was wrong and knew he should pay for his crime.
The ghost of the old man was haunting him, and he wanted it to stop.
The officers tricked him into admitting the deed.
The noises he was hearing were driving him insane and he couldn’t take it.
9. Consider the noises the narrator was haunted by at the end of the story. What do you infer they could represent?
The old man’s ghost
The narrator’s guilt
The amount of time the narrator has left to live
The suspicion of the police
10. Read the excerpt below. What is the narrator’s tone (the author's attitude toward the writing)?
And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.
confident
suspicious
happy
terrifying
11. Select the words that best support the tone you chose for #10.
Excerpt: And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept.
broke, inquiring, passed, profound (wisdom)
morning, chamber, spoke, suspect
boldly, courageously, hearty (cheerfully), inquiring (questioning)
suspect, profound (wisdom), night, boldly
12. Read the excerpt below. What is the mood (the feeling the reader gets) of the passage?
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. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself --"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel --although he neither saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head within the room.
calm / confident
tense / suspenseful
unclear / confusing
evil / malevolent
13. Read the excerpt below. What can you infer the meaning of the word vexed is?
And this I did for seven long nights --every night just at midnight --but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye.
troubled
hated
difficult
surprised
14. Read the excerpt below. What can you infer the meaning of the word deputed is?
A shriek had been heard by a neighbour during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been lodged at the police office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises.
hired
assigned
allowed
welcomed
15. Read the excerpt below. What can you infer the meaning of the word audacity is?
I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.
bold (without fear)
shy
inconsequential (not important)
enthusiasm (eager interest)
What had the madness done for the narrator's senses?
dulled them
nothing of note
destroyed them
sharpened them
What was the reason the narrator killed the old man?
his house
his gold
his eye
he insulted the narrator
During the week before the narrator killed the old man, how did he act towards him?
it never says
cruel
kind
indifferent
How long did it take the narrator to place his head into the door so that he could see the old man?
an hour
45 minutes
a half hour
an hour and half
For how many nights did the narrator look in upon the old man?
four
eight
six
ten
Why couldn't the narrator kill the old man on the first night?
the old man wasn't asleep by midnight on the first night
there was someone else in the house
the eye was closed
he didn't have the courage the first night
What did the narrator do by accident-as a result of waking the old man?
his thumb slipped on the lantern
he slipped and fell
he sneezed
he cough
What did the old man cry out when awakened?
"Who is it?"
"What was that?"
"Who's there?"
"Is anyone there?"
What was the low, dull, quick sound that the narrator heard?
knocking on the door
the old man's heartbeat
his watch
the clock
The beating grew louder--what was the new anxiety that seized the narrator at this point?
the sound being heard by neighbors
the noise waking the old man
someone coming the house to investigate the noise
there was no anxiety at this time
How many times did the old man shriek?
twice
three times
none
once
After the old man was dead, what was the first thing the narrator did to conceal the body?
dismember it
hid it in the closet
buried it beneath the floor
threw it out
What was the second thing he did to conceal the body?
burned
threw it out
buried it beneath the floor
buried it outside
Why were the police sent to the house?
someone had seen the narrator
a shriek was heard
an argument was heard
a gunshot was heard
And finally, what was it (according to the narrator) that made him confess to the crime?
the police suspected him
the policeman's heartbeat
the old man's heartbeat
his ears began to ring
