The Tell-Tale Heart Group

Question:


jorja2u
Teacher
Middle School

Is the climax of "The Tell-Tale Heart" when the narrator kills the old man, or when his deed is discovered?

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Posted by jorja2u on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 8:23 AM and tagged with climax, the tell-tale heart.

Answers:

  1. slchanmo1885
    slchanmo1885 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The admission of guilt is generally considered the climax of "The Tell-Tale Heart." The story builds and builds to this point with the relentless beating of the heart after the man has died, until it has driven the narrator to confess his deed. This story is structured in a very focused and brief way, in which the climax takes place in the last paragraph. The climax and denouement are one and the same.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/tell-tale-heart/summary

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    Posted by slchanmo1885 on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 8:33 AM

  2. jan3in
    jan3in Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    Hearing the old man's heartbeat beating unusually and dangerously quick from terror, the narrator decides to strike, jumping out with a loud yell giving the old man a heart attack and then smothering the old man with his own bed. The narrator proceeds to chop up the body and conceal the pieces under the floorboards. The narrator makes certain to hide all signs of the crime. Even so, the old man's scream during the night causes a neighbor to call the police.

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    Posted by jan3in on Saturday January 10, 2009 at 4:51 PM