Selection Test Questions- "The Tell-Tale Heart"/ "The Monkey's Paw" Flashcards
What sort of prediction is the reader most likely able to make after reading the opening lines of “The Tell-Tale Heart”?
The narrator is crazy, mad, insane, etc.
What does the narrator say the disease has done to him?
It has sharpened his senses.
By not immediately telling the reader why the narrator is sneaking the lantern into the old man’s bedroom, Poe creates an element of _________.
Suspense
What can be interpreted from the narrator’s actions when he describes moving very slowly and taking an “hour to place my whole head within the opening…”?
He is being extremely cautious/ careful
Why is the narrator so kind to the old man every morning?
To reassure the old man so that he doesn’t suspect anything
Explain how the narrator feels when he enters the old man’s room on the eighth night.
He had never felt the extent of his powers of his sagacity
When the narrator says, “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although, I chuckled at heart,” shows what characteristic about the narrator?
He is cruel.
What sound is being described when the story states, “… now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton”? What does this symbolize?
The narrator’s even though he thinks it’s the old man’s. The narrator has adrenaline.
Why does the narrator wait a week before killing the old man?
He couldn’t see the old man’s vulture eye.
What ultimately causes the narrator to confess?
He believes the cops are pretending not to hear the heart and he realizes his guilty conscience.
How is it that one can best evaluate the narrator’s state of mind as unreliable?
The narrator kills the old man just because of his vulture eye.
Why is the narrator upset with the police at the end of the story?
He believes they are pretending not to hear the heart.
Use details from the story to describe the appearance of the old man’s eye and how it affects the narrator. What does the eye symbolize?
The eye is a pale blue with a red film over it. It resembles a vulture eye. The narrator’s blood runs cold when he looks at it. He is vexed by the eye. The eye symbolizes what is the narrator is trying to keep hidden- The murder plot/madness
In what way does the narrator try to prove that he is sane?
The narrator tells the story calmly. No one mad could have planned the murder so wisely/carefully. He hides the body cleverly
How is the reader able to infer that SMM thinks that the monkey’s paw is dangerous?
He seems very hesitant and nervous to discuss the matter. He is trembling and his teeth chatter against his glass. He cautions them repeatedly.
What detail foreshadows that Morris’s story about the monkey’s paw may be true?
SMM throws the paw in the fire.
Why does Mr. White wish for 200 pounds?
To pay off the house
Why does Mr. White refuse to help his wife open the door at the end of the story?
He believes it will be his mutilated son at the door.
Explain the theme of the story
Interfering with fate could bring about sorrow or death.
For what and why does Herbert suggest what his father should wish?
Herbert suggests that they should wish for 200 pounds to pay off the house
Explain how and why the mood is different the morning after Morris’s visit from the previous night after Mr. White makes the wish
Night= waiting anxiously for the money to appear Morning= thought they were foolish for thinking that the paw would work/ don't believe that it will work Morning= bright, sun-filled
What is the difference between the way that Mr. and Mrs. White make decisions on what and how the wishes should be dealt with?
Mrs. White= driven only by her emotions/ only wants Herbert back
Mr. White= looks at things logically/ knows something bad will happen if they continue to wish for things
