Curated set · answers marked
What finally drives the narrator to confess to murdering the old man?
AThe police discover the body hidden under the floorboards.
BA neighbor sees the crime and reports it.
CThe narrator thinks he can hear the old man's heart beating louder and louder beneath the floor.✓
DThe narrator trips and accidentally reveals where he hid the body.
Rationale
Overwhelmed by guilt and paranoia, the narrator becomes convinced that he hears the old man's heart still beating beneath the floorboards. Unable to endure the sound, he rips up the floor planks and confesses to the police — even though the heartbeat is just a figment of his tormented mind.
What drives the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" to confess to murdering the old man?
AThe police discover the body hidden under the floorboards.
BA neighbor sees the crime and reports it.
CThe narrator thinks he can hear the old man's heart still beating beneath the floor.✓
DThe narrator is overwhelmed by guilt and calmly turns himself in.
Rationale
As the police officers question him, the narrator grows more and more agitated, convinced he hears the old man's heart thumping louder and louder beneath the floorboards — a phantom sound created by his guilty, troubled mind — leading him to ultimately scream out his confession.