The Tell-Tale Heart Important Questions Answers Class 12

Q) Why does the narrator kill the old man? How does he feel after the murder?

The narrator and the old man live in the same house. At the beginning, the narrator loves the old man very much. But when he sees the old man’s pale blue eyes like a vulture, the eyes start vexing him. Though the old man has not insulted him, has not done any wrong to him and does not have any greed to his property, he does not like the old man’s eyes. In spite of his love towards the old man, he kills the old man in order to get rid of his evil eyes.

After the murder, the narrator does not feel relaxed and controlled. He feels himself guilty. Due to his guilty mentality, everything turns to be unbearable for him. He starts feeling nervous and helpless, so he mistakes his own heart beat for the old man’s heart beat. His hideous crime, a sense of his guilt and his repent force him to confess his crime in front of the police officers.

Q) What caused the narrator to confess his crime? Explain.

The narrator struggled for killing the old man up to seven nights. Finally, he became able to kill him on the eighth night. After killing him, he cut the old man’s body into pieces and hid under the planks. But due to his guilt, suspicion and extra hearing power forced him to confess his crime. He actually confessed his crime because his heart did not give him relieve. When the police officers were talking, he heard a disturbance in his ears. For him, the sound was like the ticking sound of clock enveloped in cotton. So, for avoiding that sound he started talking with the officers in a loud voice and wanted them to go away. But the officers were talking with one another smilingly instead of going away from there. Finally, due to his hideous crime, a sense of his guilt, his unconscious state of mind and the officer’s smile made him confess crime.

Q) How long did the narrator plan to kill the old man? Why couldn’t he kill him all those nights?

The narrator planned to kill the old man up to seven nights. He became unable to kill him all those nights. But on the eighth night, he became able to kill the old man. Up to the seven nights, he could not kill him because he could not get power and see the old man’s evil eyes even after waiting for a long time. He wanted to kill him after seeing his wicked eyes. Finally, on the eighth night when the narrator opened the door of the old man’s room and saw his pale blue eyes, he got his power, turned into mad, felt that the whole world was asleep and got confident. Then he entered the room and killed the old man mercilessly.

Q) Would you call the narrator mad? Give reason for your answer.

Certainly, I would call the narrator mad because he kills the old man for no apparent reason. He is a victim of nervous disease. He lives with the old man and also loves him very much. But as he sees the old man’s pale blue eyes like a vulture, he can’t control himself. So, to get rid of his evil look, the narrator kills the old man. Though the narrator loves him, he murders the old man in his mad sense. Besides, the old man has not insulted him, has not done any wrong to him and does not have any greed to his property, but to be free from the old man’s eyes he kills him mercilessly. More, the narrator’s behaviour and activities are quite abnormal. So, I would call him totally mad.