Poe
1. What is the narrator’s primary reason for deciding to kill the old man?
A) He wants to steal the old man’s hidden gold and treasures.
B) He is offended by a mean comment the old man made to him.
C) He is terrified and repulsed by the old man’s "vulture eye."
D) He wants to prove that he is not actually "mad" or insane.
C (It was the "Eye!")
As he continues talking to the police, in what way does the narrator start to feel odd?
A. His head aches.
B. He feels himself "getting pale."
C. He hears a ringing in his ears.
D. All of the above
D. All of the above
After he has pulled the bed onto the old man, how does the narrator feel about the continuing sound of the heartbeat?
A. It doesn’t bother him; he doesn’t think anyone will hear it.
B. It makes him nervous; he thinks it means the old man is alive.
C. It doesn’t worry him; he doesn’t care if anyone hears it.
D. It makes him sad; he is starting to feel guilty for his crime.
A. It doesn’t bother him; he doesn’t think anyone will hear it.
1. Which of the following sentences is a "run-on" sentence?
A) The storm clouds gathered quickly, so we headed inside.
B) I forgot my umbrella at school I got soaked in the rain.
C) Although it was raining, the soccer game was not canceled.
D) After the clouds cleared, a beautiful rainbow appeared.
B (This is a "fused sentence"—it needs a period, semicolon, or comma + conjunction to separate the two independent clauses.)
At the end of the story, the narrator calls the police officers "hypocrites" because he believes they are pretending not to hear the heartbeat. What is a "hypocrite"?
A) Someone who is an expert at solving crimes.
B) A person who acts in a way that goes against what they say or feel.
C) A doctor who specializes in heart conditions.
D) A witness who refuses to speak in court.
B (He thinks they hear the sound but are "smiling" to torture him.)
The narrator repeatedly insists he is sane. What evidence does he provide to support this claim?
A) The fact that he feels deep remorse and guilt for his actions.
B) The extreme caution, "foresight," and precision he used to plan the murder.
C) The claim that he loved the old man and treated him kindly.
D) His ability to hear sounds from heaven and hell.
B (He confuses "methodical planning" with "sanity.")
When the ringing becomes a different sound and seems to be getting louder, what does the narrator do?
A. He tries to encourage the police to listen to it.
B. He apologizes for the interruption.
C. He tries to make sure the police won't hear it.
D. He asks if anyone else hears it.
C. He tries to make sure the police won't hear it
While standing in the doorway of the old man’s room, the narrator keeps the light from the lantern
A. hidden from the old man
B. away from the window
C. shining on the lock of the door
D. shining on the old man's eye
D. shining on the old man's eye
Choose the correct word to complete this sentence: "The basketball team celebrated ____ victory after the final buzzer sounded."
A) there
B) they’re
C) their
D) theirs
C ( "Their" is the possessive pronoun.)
The narrator claims that his disease had "sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them." He specifically mentions his sense of hearing is "acute." What does "acute" mean in this context?
A) Small and unimportant
B) Highly sensitive and sharp
C) Damaged or broken
D) Slowly fading away
B (His "acute" hearing is why he thinks he can hear the heart.)
Poe uses "the beating heart" as a central symbol. By the end of the story, what does the sound of the heart most likely represent?
A) A literal ghost that has come back to haunt the house.
B) The narrator’s own overwhelming sense of guilt and paranoia.
C) The police officers’ footsteps as they search the room.
D) The old man’s supernatural ability to stay alive after death.
B (The sound grows louder as his panic increases.)
When the narrator says, “Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!—they were making a mockery of my horror!—this I thought, and this I think.” Here, the narrator seems to think the police are?
A. Completely fooled
B. Not interested
C. Unable to hear the noise
D. Making fun of him
D. Making fun of him
What does the narrator say the loud beating of the old man's heart is causing?
A. His own increase in fury and uncontrollable terror
B. The old man’s death from a heart attack
C. His own fear of death and his hatred of the old man
D. The old man falling from the bed onto the floor
A. His own increase in fury and uncontrollable terror
Which sentence uses the correct punctuation for a list?
A) We need to buy several items for the party; balloons, cake, and juice.
B) We need to buy: several items for the party balloons, cake, and juice.
C) We need to buy several items for the party, balloons, cake, and juice.
D) We need to buy several items for the party: balloons, cake, and juice.
D (A colon is used to introduce a list after a complete independent clause.)
While watching the old man, the narrator says he moved with "stealth." Which action best demonstrates "stealth"?
A) Loudly banging on the door to wake the neighbors.
B) Moving slowly and silently so as not to be detected.
C) Screaming in terror when he sees the "vulture eye."
D) Polishing the lantern until it shines brightly.
B (Stealth is required for his seven nights of creeping into the room.)
How does the narrator’s behavior change when the police officers arrive?
A) He is immediately nervous and tries to run out the back door.
B) He is initially calm and confident, even seating them right above the body.
C) He confesses immediately because he wants to get it over with.
D) He pretends to be the old man’s grandson and says the old man is on vacation.
B (His "over-acuteness" of senses leads to his bold overconfidence.)
The narrator’s final outburst to the police is to?
A. Confess to the crime
B. Ask them to leave
C. Beg them for mercy
D. Tell them to be quiet
A. Confess to the crime
What is the “new anxiety” that finally causes the narrator to leap at the old man?
A. That someone might come to the house
B. That the old man might have called the police
C. That someone might hear the heartbeat
D. That someone might see the lantern light
C. That someone might hear the heartbeat
Identify the "subject" and "predicate" in the following sentence: The energetic puppy barked at the mailman.
A) Subject: The energetic puppy; Predicate: barked at the mailman.
B) Subject: The puppy barked; Predicate: at the mailman.
C) Subject: barked; Predicate: The energetic puppy.
D) Subject: The mailman; Predicate: The energetic puppy barked.
A (The subject is who/what the sentence is about; the predicate is the action or state of being.)
The narrator describes his own "audacity" when he brings the police into the old man's room and sits directly over the hidden body. What does "audacity" mean?
A) Extreme boldness or daring
B) Intense fear or cowardice
C) Great sadness and regret
D) Physical exhaustion
A (It was "audacious" to put the chairs right on top of the evidence!)
Which literary device is most prominent when the narrator says, "I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him"?
A) Personification
B) Simile
C) Irony
D) Onomatopoeia
C (Specifically Situational Irony.)
What sound does the narrator hear right before he murders the old man?
The beating of a heart.
"He shrieked once—once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more."
Which sentence in this paragraph that shows how the narrator knows the old man is dead?
"I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation."
Which of the following sentences contains a "misplaced modifier"?
A) Walking to the store, I saw a stray cat.
B) I saw a stray cat walking to the store.
C) While I was walking to the store, I saw a stray cat.
D) A stray cat was seen by me while I walked to the store.
B (As written, it sounds like the cat was the one walking to the store to run errands!)
In The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator speaks with great "sagacity" when explaining his plan. Based on his actions, what does "sagacity" mean?
A) High intelligence or wisdom
B) Extreme anger or rage
C) Physical strength
D) Fear and hesitation
A (The narrator thinks he is being brilliant/wise, though we know he's actually losing it.)