The Tell-Tale Heart
Why does the narrator call himself "nervous" but not "mad"? What does this tell us about him?
He doesnt think that he is mad or insane.
What sound does the narrator hear after the murder? In reality, what could it be? Why does it get louder and louder?
He heard the muffled heart beat of the old man.
Do you think the narrator was insane, or was he fully aware of what he was doing? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
I think that the man was Insane but I also think he was fully aware of what he was doing because several times the narrator says that they were so clever so it makes it seem that he was fully aware. "It took me an hour to place my head in the opening so far so that I could see him" this shows that he was committed and would do anything to make sure he could kill the man. So hearing this i do think he was fully aware but towards the end he goes insane from hearing the constant sound of the man's heart.
The gender of the narrator is not revealed in the story, although many people assume it is a man. If the narrator were a woman, how would this change your interpretation of the story?
No because no matter men or women my perception of the story would stay the same.
Do you think the narrator would have killed the man if he did not have an "evil eye"? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
No, I don't think he would've killed him if he didn't have the "Vulture Eye" because he says "for it was not the old man who vexed me but his Evil Eye".
What is the significance of the title of the story "The Tell-Tale Heart"? What does the title mean?
The beating of a heart which causes the narrator to go insane that he confesses to his crimes. So the title means he's telling (Tell) the story of the old mans beating heart (Tale Heart) that drove him insane.
What do you think the relationship between the old man and the narrator is? What could have been the reason for the old man's "vulture eye"?
The narrator is his care taker. I think the vulture eye could have come from the old man just purely being old and maybe blind in that eye.
The two main symbols in the story are the eye and the heart. What do these symbols represent? Why are they important?
They eye represent the reason the man was killed and why the narrator bothered to kill him. The eye is the whole resean the story happened because if it weren't for that eye the man would not have been killed. The heart beat is also very important because the heart beat led the man to go insane and to confess his crimes.
