In Jules Dassin’s film version of The Tell-Tale Heart, the sound of the beating heart starts and stops at first instead of beating continuously. Which sentence BEST explains this decision by the director?

Question

He wanted to trick the audience into thinking that the protagonist had died of mental anguish.

He wanted to show that the sound was a product of the protagonist’s imagination.

He wanted to demonstrate the way that the sound took not only a mental but also a physical toll on the protagonist.

He wanted to indicate that the protagonist was free of torment only in his dreams.

Answer 1

The sentence that BEST explains the director's decision is:

He wanted to show that the sound was a product of the protagonist’s imagination.

This interpretation aligns with the psychological nature of the story and highlights the internal struggle of the protagonist, emphasizing how their own mind creates the torment represented by the heartbeat.