Tell-Tale Heart
What kind of conflict is used in this story? Is it external or internal? Give evidence from the story to support your response.
The conflict in this story is both internal and external. The internal, person vs. self conflict occurs within the narrator over whether or not to kill the old man and whether or not to confess his crimes. When he hears the beating heart, he "[feels] that [he] must scream or die!” The external person vs. person conflict occurs between the narrator and the old man. The narrator sneaks into his room, attacks, and "drags him to the floor, and pulls the heavy bed over him."
_____: (v.) to decrease in force or intensity
What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?
A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as" while a metaphor does not use "like" or "as."
Identify the positive, neutral and negative connotation between these three words: interested, nosy and curious
Postive: curious
Neutral: interested
Negative: nosy
What is a narrative structure/plot? (story mountain)
1. Introduction
2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Falling Action
5. Conclusion
Is Poe's narrator an example of a reliable or an unreliable narrator? Give evidence from the story to support your perspective.
Poe's narrator is not reliable. The reader knows this because the narrator's actions and thoughts suggest he is deranged or mentally unstable. The narrator is "haunted day and night" by his thoughts of killing a man who he claims to love. This is not the description of a reliable narrator, but rather one whose sanity is called into question.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY! What is the definition of confine, what is the root? What does the root mean?
Confine: (v.) keep or restrict someone or something within certain limits of (space, scope, quantity, or time).
Latin Root: fin = end
Give me an example of a hyperbole.
What is a word's denotation?
dictionary definition
What is a common back story of dystopian stories? List 3.
war, disease, natural disaster, government, and external threats (like aliens).
Why does the narrator commit his crime? Why does he wait 8 days before taking action?
The narrator does not conclusively know the reason for committing his crime. He makes it clear that he did love the old man who had never wronged him. The only reason he provides is the following: "I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture -- a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold." The narrator waits the 8 days because he could not kill the man while he slept as his eyes were closed. It was not until the 8th night and the eyes opened that the narrator committed his crime. The narrator states, "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."
_____: (n.) a usually adventurous action that runs counter to approved or conventional conduct
escapade
DOUBLE JEOPARDY! "Break a leg!" is an example of what figure of speech?
What ellipsis rule does this follow?
Everyone lived happily ever after... or did they?
To create a pause for effect
What was the theme of The Giver?
When individuality is removed from life, the true essence of human living is lost.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY! What do you think the narrator is really hearing at the end? What makes you think so?
The narrator hears "a low, dull, quick sound - much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton." He surmises that it is the old man's beating heart underneath the floorboards, and the policemen will discover his crimes. What the narrator most likely hears is his own heart beating as a result of the stress and paranoia he is feeling. As he becomes more frantic, the beating sound increases and grows louder.
What is the definition of astonish?
Astonish: (v.) to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise
"My feet are killing me!" is an example of what figure of speech?
Personification
What is an adverb?
A word that describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb, It usually answers the question of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY! Was the old man murdered? Please structure your argument using claim, evidence and reasoning.
Answers will vary.
What do the heart and the eye symbolize in the story? Explain with examples.
The eye of the old man in this story symbolizes evil for the narrator. The narrator says that “whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold,” and he often refers to it as an evil eye.
The heart in the story symbolizes the narrator’s guilt and conscience. Each beat of the heart is a reminder of what he has done to someone he claims to love and leads him to confessing his crime.
______: (adj.) capable of being extended or shaped by beating with a hammer or by the pressure of rollers
malleable
"Life is a roller coaster with all its ups and downs" is an example of what figure of speech?
metaphor
DOUBLE JEOPARDY! Write me a sentence in each perfect tense:
1. Past perfect
2. Present perfect
3. Future perfect
Past perfect: Subject + had + Verb + Object
Present perfect: Subject + has/have + Verb + Object
Future perfect: Subject + will have + Verb + Object
What does the italicized word mean?
“Anything was more tolerable than this derision!”
Derision: Ridicule or mockery