Use Reading Strategies Ask Questions Use Reading Strategies Ask Questions Cultural Connection Insanity Defense Reading Proficiency Visual Learning

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1 B sk Questions Point out to students that good readers ask lots of questions as they work their way through a text. Model for students other questions that these first paragraphs might prompt a reader to ask: What does the narrator look like? Who is the narrator talking to? oes the narrator actually hear voices? sk Questions nswer: The narrator lacks the ordinary motives for murder such as greed and hatred. Instead, he fears the old man s vulture eye. Cultural Connection Insanity efense Several years before The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe had written a magazine article in which he reacted to the trial of a man named James Wood, who had killed his daughter. The jury acquitted Wood of the charge of murder for reasons of insanity, partly because of the seeming absence of motive in his act. Poe may have incorporated this element into his portrait of the murderer in The Tell-Tale Heart. Reading Proficiency Have students read along while listening to the dramatic recording in the udio Library. See also the English Language Learning instruction on page 148. Visual Learning Poe does not provide any physical details about the narrator. We do not even know whether the narrator is a man or a woman. Some students might like to create an imaginary portrait of the narrator. Others might prefer to storyboard some critical sequence in the action of the story such as the climax. 147

2 nalyze Literature Point of View nswer: The narrator s sense of his power and cunning suggests delusions of grandeur. nalyze Literature Point of View Point out to students that Poe was one of the first writers to use the technique of the unreliable narrator, one whose honesty or accuracy cannot be trusted by the reader. Model a response for students to such a narrator: To what extent can I rely on the narrator s account of the events? Make Connections nswer: Students might say that this observation makes them feel that the narrator is cold or unfeeling. Cultural Connection Treatment of the Mentally Ill t the time Poe wrote The Tell-Tale Heart, treatment of the mentally ill in the United States was often very brutal. Reporting to the Massachusetts state legislature in 1841, the reformer orothea ix described the present state of insane persons confined in this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience. C B English Language Learning Students learning English may need help with the following key words in order to grasp the character of the narrator. nervous fearful, tense, 147 acute sharp, intense, 147 dissimulation act of hiding, pretending, 147 cunning tricky, crafty, 147 chuckled laughed inwardly or quietly, 148 raved talked wildly, UNIT 2

3 E G F rt Connection Painted about 1818 and attributed to the French painter Théodore Géricault ( ), fter eath: Study of a Severed Head depicts the decapitated head of a criminal who has been executed by the guillotine. Géricault painted a number of grotesque subjects, including severed heads and limbs and portraits of insane people. rt ctivity Have students use the Internet or library to research Géricault s paintings of insane people, and discuss whether these portraits display sympathy for their subjects or are simply objective. Visualize sk students to consider what the scene with the lantern conveys about the character of the narrator. Model a possible response: It emphasizes his obsession with the old man s vulture eye. Make Predictions nswer: Considering the title, it seems as if the narrator s growing fear of the sound of the beating heart will reveal his crime. Use Reading Skills Context Clues nswer: The narrator s presentation of the sound of the beating heart as a potential problem provides context for vex. Commas with Quotations Point out to students that when a quotation is followed by a phrase indicating who is speaking, the comma setting off the quotation is enclosed within the quotation marks. For example: Many of Poe s stories first appeared in magazines, Sean told her. In the following sentences, decide whether the comma is correctly placed. 1. I have no idea what you mean, the women said angrily. (incorrect) 2. house divided, braham Lincoln observed, cannot stand. (correct) 3. on t drive so fast on this narrow street, he cautioned her. (incorrect) 149

4 Make Inferences Poe uses italics throughout The Tell-Tale Heart for emphasis as well as effect. irect students attention to Poe s use of italics in this sentence. sk them what the italicized now implies about the narrator s prior fear. If he believes that he has nothing to fear at this point, what was the singular fear plaguing him prior to this stage in the plot? Guide them in inferring that he feared only the old man s eye, and discuss why it is such a relief for the narrator to be free of it. History Connection Police Force Organized, professional police forces in the modern sense were coming into existence in merican cities, such as Philadelphia, Boston, and New York, during the time that Poe was writing the first detective stories. The New York City Police epartment, for example, was established in nalyze Literature Point of View nswer: The narrator has his own insanity to fear. Use Reading Skills Context Clues nswer: The narrator s use of the word wild and his description of the act of placing his chair right over the corpse of his victim provide context for audacity. C B Enrichment Interested students could research what might happen if a person, such as the narrator, were arrested for murder today. How would such a prisoner be evaluated as to his competence to stand trial? If he were put on trial, how might a lawyer conduct his defense on a plea of insanity? 150 UNIT 2

5 E F G Science Connection Hallucination The word hallucination refers to false visions, sounds, smells, or other sensory impressions that may result from physical or mental illness. In the 1840s, the period during which Poe wrote The Tell-Tale Heart, scientists were studying how hallucinations could be caused by physical and emotional stress, as well as by the action of certain drugs. Make Inferences sk students if the three policemen seem to notice the narrator s growing agitation in the final scene. What can they infer from this? Possible response: Much of the narrator s account of his own behavior must be largely imaginary or the policemen would have reacted to it. Make Inferences nswer: This detail shows the extent of the narrator s delusions. You may want to ask students to write a journal entry or quick write, or divide students into discussion groups or lead a whole-class discussion about this question. nswer: Responses will vary. Have students support personal responses with details from the selection. Primary and Secondary Sources Point out that in researching the life and career of a writer, such as Poe, students can make use of both primary and secondary sources. primary source is a firsthand account of an event; for example, a letter of Poe s would be a primary source for his life. Secondary sources are written by people who did not directly experience an event; for example, an encyclopedia article about Poe would be a secondary source. Have students identify which of the following materials related to Poe would be primary sources and which would be secondary sources. 1. diary entry about Poe by someone who met him (primary) 2. modern biography of Poe (secondary) 3. book review by Poe (primary) 151