El corazón delator de Edgar Allan Poe

A Quick Synopsis of “The Tell-Tale Heart” (Contains Plot Spoilers)

The story begins with the unnamed narrator wanting to prove his sanity to the readers. He lived in the same building as an old man with a “vulture eye”. As the story progresses, the reader learns that the narrator has become upset by the old man’s eye, which is a piercing blue color, with a white film over it. Tension builds as the narrator describes how his obsession has taken over, and he plots to kill the old man to get rid of the eye's gaze. Each night, the narrator goes into the old man’s room as he sleeps, intending to kill him. He cannot do it when the man is asleep, because his eyes are shut, and he looks peaceful. One night, the narrator creeps in and startles the old man, who screams. As the narrator glares at the eye, he finally musters the strength to rid himself of the eye and smothers the old man with his mattress. The narrator meticulously hides the body under the floorboards.

Soon after, the police arrive because a neighbor heard a scream. The narrator covers up the incident by saying the old man is out of town, and that the scream came from him. As the police are looking around, the narrator begins to hear a peculiar ticking sound; he quickly becomes mad as the sound grows fiercer in his mind. To the narrator, he believes he is hearing the sound of the old man’s heart still beating, finally leading him to confess in a moment of insanity.

Essential Questions for “The Tell-Tale Heart”

1. What are ways that an author can build suspense?
2. How do effective writers create mood in their short stories?

Other Lesson Plan Ideas

1. Use storyboards to specifically show cause and effect in "The Tell-Tale Heart".
2. Create a storyboard just depicting the rising action to demonstrate how the author built suspense.
3. Add a presentation to any storyboard project.

Preguntas Frecuentes Sobre El Corazón Delator de Edgar Allan Poe

¿Quién es el personaje principal de “El corazón delator”?

El narrador de la historia y el personaje principal nunca se identifican por completo. Su insistencia en su propia cordura y su relato meticuloso, incluso obsesivo, del crimen que cometieron lo distinguen. Los estudiantes pueden centrarse más en la mentalidad y la personalidad del narrador que en su apariencia física y sus antecedentes para comprender sus motivaciones y objetivos.

¿Qué conflicto hay en el centro de "El corazón delator"?

La batalla que libra el narrador en su interior es el principal conflicto de la novela. Entre su necesidad de demostrar su cordura y su remordimiento por el crimen que perpetró, está dividido. Los estudiantes pueden discutir las tendencias sociópatas del narrador y la razón por la que está luchando consigo mismo.

¿Por qué el narrador de "El corazón delator" desea asesinar al anciano?

El ojo de buitre del anciano es el foco de atención del narrador, que encuentra repugnante e interpreta como un signo de la depravación del anciano. Al final, su fijación los lleva al asesinato.