tell tale heart

TELL TALE HEARTBy Edgar Allan Poe

DEEPENING: DISCUSSION

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

•What do you think is the relationship between the narrator and the old man? Are they friends or enemies?

•What specifically is it about the old man that troubles the narrator? Why does it trouble him?

•What does the narrator do every night? Why?

•How does the narrator feel after he commits the murder? Is he worried about being caught?

•Why does the killer confess?

•The narrator seems unaware of the reason behind his killing, how can you describe his state of mind?

•Do you believe in the words and statements of the narrator?

•What does the narrator’s mind reveal about human beings in general?

•How can you describe the main conflict in the story? Is it an external or internal conflict?

•What other behaviors in real life can be associated with the narrator’s obsession?

•What does the narrator’s condition reveal about the nature of man’s wrong doings to each other?

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

•What does the short story reveal about the author?

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