“The Tell-Tale Heart”  by Edgar Allan Poe


1. From what point of view is Poe’s story told?  Why is this point of view particularly effective for “The Tell-Tale Heart”?

2. Point to details in the story that identify its speaker as an unreliable narrator.


3. What do we know about the old man in the story?  What motivates the narrator to kill him?

4. In spite of all his precautions, the narrator does not commit the perfect crime.  What trips him up?


5. How do you account for the police officers’ chatting calmly with the murderer instead of reacting to the sound that sirs the murderer into a frenzy?