This document contains discussion questions about Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". The questions probe the narrator's mental state and relationship with the old man, the narrator's actions and motivations in killing the old man, the internal conflict within the narrator's mind, and what the story reveals about human nature and behavior.

1. TELL TALE HEART
By Edgar Allan Poe
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

2. •At the beginning of the
story, how can you describe
the narrator in detail? What is
your impression of him?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

3. •What do you think is the
relationship between the
narrator and the old man? Are
they friends or enemies?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

4. •What specifically is it about the
old man that troubles the
narrator? Why does it trouble
him?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

5. •What does the narrator
do every night? Why?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

6. •How does the narrator feel after he
commits the murder? Is he worried
about being caught?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

7. •Why does the killer confess?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

8. •The narrator seems unaware of
the reason behind his killing,
how can you describe his state
of mind?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

9. •Do you believe in the words
and statements of the
narrator?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

10. •What does the narrator’s
mind reveal about human
beings in general?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

11. •How can you describe the
main conflict in the story? Is
it an external or internal
conflict?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

12. •What other behaviors in
real life can be associated
with the narrator’s
obsession?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

13. •What does the narrator’s
condition reveal about the
nature of man’s wrong doings
to each other?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

14. •How does the story play on the
concept of Freud’s structural
model of behavior (id, ego
and superego)?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

15. •What does the short story
reveal about the author?
DEEPENING: DISCUSSION