Heart and Cat Questions

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe

BEFORE READING


Author Biography


Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by a wealthy family in Virginia. During his life, Poe endured personal tragedies, including the death of his mother, a difficult stay in his foster home, a college career shortened by debts and misconduct, the death of his wife at a young age, and years of poverty. These tragedies influenced Poe’s writing so that his short stories were filled with horror. He believed that a short story should be written to produce a single emotional effect for the reader: all events, characters, ideas, and words should be chosen and manipulated solely for the purpose of achieving this effect. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of the best examples of Poe’s tales of terror. 


Literary Focus:

Atmosphere and Mood
The atmosphere or mood of a story is the overall emotional feeling created by the details the author uses: Sometimes you may be able to describe the atmosphere in a single word – sad, frightening, or mysterious, for example. Authors create atmosphere by their descriptions of settings, characters, and events. They choose words carefully so that you will be affected by their writing in the way they want you to be. 


VOCABULARY 
Knowing the following words will help you as you read “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Before reading, preview the words and what they mean. It may also help if you scan through the story, find, and then underline the words in the text.

WORD	DEFINITION	WORD	DEFINITION
Acute	sensitive	over-acuteness	very keen, intense
foresight	thoughtful regard for the future	concealment	a means of hiding
dissimulation	the hiding of one’s feelings or purposes	waned	to grow gradually less
vexed	troubled, distressed, caused agitation	scantlings	small quantities or amounts
profound	seeing beyond what is obvious	suavity	graceful politeness
sagacity	sound judgment	bade	urged, compelled
hearkening	giving careful attention	audacity	bold courage, daring
awe	a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder	reposed	to lay at rest
crevice	a narrow opening	gesticulations	energetic hand or arm gestures
distinctness	unmistakable, clearly defined	derision	contempt, ridicule

Irony

Verbal Irony-occurs when there is a difference between what a character says and what another character understands

Ex. "The cake is as soft as concrete" - the person wants to tell that the cake is not so soft to eat.

 "Water is as clear as mud" - The person actually says that the water is not at all clear.

  "Isn't it as pleasant as a root canal?" - This implies that whatever occurred was not pleasant at all.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

(Hint: what does the narrator say about himself?)

1. The narrator says he is not insane but than it turns out that he is insane.

Situational Irony when the opposite of what one would expect to happen

actually happens

Ex. My dog Lucky was hit by a car.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

2. When he successfully killed people because of his beating heart which led him there. 

 

Dramatic Irony : when the reader/audience knows something that a character doesn’t

Ex.

Example from Tell-Tale Heart:

3. That the cops don't know that the narrator killed the old man, because they were just standing above where the man was buried.

4.   How does an author use sensory details to describe the atmosphere or mood of a short story?
 The heart beat and the eyes.

5.  In what ways do our choice of words create specific atmosphere and characterization?
Allen Poe used details that made you imagine that you were actually there in the story making the reader feel "creep-ed out" and afraid.

III. Literary Elements

6. Mood, or atmosphere, is the overall feeling in the story. How would you describe the mood in this story? What details does Poe use to create the mood?

He was either tempt or manic.

7. Symbolism: What does the heartbeat noise symbolize in the story? Provide evidence from the story.

It shows his guiltiness 

8. How does first paragraph foreshadow, or hint at, the events of the story? Be specific (use a quote)!

The very first sentence in the story says by the character himself that he is not crazy. "TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and  am;  but why will you say  that I  am mad?"

9. The final paragraph in the story builds to a kind of mad climax. How does the writer use words and punctuation to create?

Overuse of dashes makes the narrators

10.  What does the narrator repeatedly claim about himself? Why?
The narrator says that he is an alcoholic, and the alcohol changes him and makes him crazy.

“The Black Cat”

11.  An allusion is a reference to a person, place, or thing.  What allusion exists in the story?
The allusion of the black cat keeps appearing throughout the story.

12.  From what point of view is the story told?  What effect does this create?
 The story is told through first-person view. This makes us the reader feel more "in the character's situation."

13.  What’s the significance of the title animal?  Explain.
Pluto, the cat's name, is also the name of the Greek God of the Underworld.

14.  What foreshadowing could you find in the story?
The image of the noose.

15.  What similarities do you see in this story and “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
Both of these two stories involve eyes. Also both the stories involve hiding bodies.