an unnamed narrator insists on their sanity while simultaneously confessing to a calculated murder. They fixate on the vulture-like eye of an old man they care for, leading to an obsession that culminates in the brutal killing.

1. “THE TELL-TALE HEART”
BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
Analysis

2. WARM-UP
Describe 5 things you expect to find in scary stories.
1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

3. WARM-UP
C O N T I N U E D …
• For these 5 elements, would you react emotionally
to these events, occasions, or things?
• For these 5 elements, would you react physically
to these events, occasions, or things??

4. SETTING
Setting is the time and place of a work of literature.
• Time = We do not know exactly when the actions take place
(in a historical context), but we can estimate the timeframe
to be over the course of a week with most events
happening around midnight.
• Place = The location is the home of an elderly man in which
the narrator has become a caretaker.

5. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• The following states reflect the personality of the narrator. Reflect
on how these statements could relate to the narrator’s personality.
• After we read the story, we will come back to these statements &
determine whether we think the author agrees or disagrees with each
statement.

6. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• People who are insane always know that they are insane.
Do you Agree or Disagree?

7. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• Sane people sometimes imagine that they hear things.
Do you Agree or Disagree?

8. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• If you commit a major crime, sooner or later you will be caught.
Do you Agree or Disagree?

9. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• When you’ve done something wrong, it’s agony to wonder if you’ll
be caught.
Do you Agree or Disagree?

10. AGREE OR DISAGREE?
• All people share the same fears (i.e., the same
things frighten all people.)
Do you Agree or Disagree?

11. CHARACTERS &
POINT OF VIEW
• Main Characters – an old man with one sightless, pale blue eye and
his murderer.
• The story is told in first-person from the point of view of the
murderer.
• What is it about the narrator that contributes to the overall effect
of horror in the story?

12. QUESTIONS??
• Why does the narrator have such a
problem with the “evil eye”?
• Why does the narrator say he isn’t crazy?
(True! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I
had been and am, but why will you say that I am
mad?” )
• Why do you believe that the subtle sound
of a heartbeat grabs his attention, rather
than the old man’s screams?

13. MORE QUESTIONS??
• Why did the narrator feel the need to cut the
old man up?
• Why does the narrator confess? Does the
heartbeat really tell the tale of the murder?
• Does this story mirror Poe’s life in any way?

14. THEME
• The Duality of Man
• Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Evil – every man has to find a way
to balance these out in the hopes that the light/good will be
the predominate side in his life.
• What is it within each person that causes the suppressed dark side
to come to the forefront?
• In the story, what causes the narrator to give in the dark side? Is it
mental illness? Explain.
• How does this illness prove to be the narrator’s downfall?