Eliana Rioz: Attempt 2 Question 1 (2 points)

Although a falling action and resolution isn't really included in The Tell-Tale Heart, what can the

reader likely infer?

The narrator will be arrested and punished for killing the old man.

The narrator will get away with killing the old man.

The narrator will keep killing others until the police arrest him.

The narrator will realize that he is insane and feel remorseful for killing the old man.

The reader can infer that:

A. The narrator will be arrested and punished for killing the old man.

Explanation:

Suddenly I could bear it no longer. I pointed at the boards and cried,  “Yes! Yes, I killed him. Pull up the boards and you shall see! I killed  him. But why does his heart not stop beating?! Why does it not stop!?”

At the end of the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart", by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator reveals his crime, as seen above. He reveals it to three police officers that have come to his house, which most likely means he will be arrested and punished.

It turns out that the narrator is mentally ill. He confidently claims to be sane as he tells the story, however. He admits to having killed an old man who had done nothing to harm him. The reason why he killed is that he believed the old man to have an evil, vulture-like eye. He also believed he could hear the man's heart beating. After killing him, the narrator hides his body parts under the floor boards, proud of himself for having carried it all out so meticulously.

However, once the officers arrive at his house, the narrator begins to hear the heart beating again. The sound grows louder and louder until, not being able to stand it anymore, he ends up confessing his crime.