The Narrator
Who is the author of 'The Tell-Tale Heart'?
Edgar Allan Poe
Is the narrator considered reliable? Why?
No, because he is insane.
He killed an old man because of his eye
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.”
cruel/compassionate/honest/calm
Cruel
How was dramatic irony used in the story?
1. we knew the narrator was planning on killing the old man but the old man didn't
2. We knew he killed the old man and the police didn't
What is dramatic irony?
When the audience knows something that the characters in the story don't know
What does the Villainous Narrator strongly want readers to believe?
That he is not insane
Or
That he is sane
Name 3 suspense techniques that we learned
Options:
Conflict, setting, foreshadowing, slow down, vivid language, showing anxiety in a character etc.
Which of the following is not a type of irony?
dramatic- verbal- personification- situational
Personification
What is suspense?
a state of tension or uncertainty
What had the madness done for the narrator's senses?
Sharpened them
Why did it take the narrator 7 days to kill the old man?
The old man was sleeping and the narrator couldn't see his eye.
Why does the old man sit up in bed and say,
"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." ?
he is trying to calm his own fears
Which suspense technique is used in the following:
“he had the eye of a vulture – a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold”
Vivid word choice
What does the word stealthily mean in the following sentence:
“ So I opened it – you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily – until, at length a single dim ray…”
in a cautious manner; sneaky; secretive
Why does the narrator want to kill the old man?
the old man's eye made him upset
What happens at the end of the story that was surprising?
the narrator told the cops what he did
Where does the narrator hide the old man's corpse?
in the flooring
Which suspense technique is being used in the following excerpt? (there are 2)
I moved it very slowly – very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man’s sleep
slow down & repetition
"For it was not the old man who vexed me"
What does vexed mean?
to annoy, to make upset, mad
What does the narrator think he is hearing at the end of the story?
the old man's heart
Which genre of writing is Edgar Allen Poe best known for?
Gothic, Horror
How does the narrator murder the old man?
he suffocates the old man to death
Why does the narrator think the police officers don’t hear the noise?
he thinks they’re mocking him by pretending not to hear it
What is Point of View? Which POV is The Tell Tale Heart told from?
the method of narration to tell a story.
1st person