In "The Tell-Tale Heart," what do we learn about the narrator from the following quote?:



“I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.”

In "The Tell-Tale Heart," what do we learn about the narrator from the following quote?:



“I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart.”

The narrator is compassionate.

The narrator is clever.

The narrator is calm.

The narrator is cruel.

1 answer

From the quote, “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart,” we can infer that the narrator is indeed cruel. Although the narrator claims to understand and pity the old man, the fact that he can chuckle at the same time reveals a disturbing detachment and sadistic enjoyment of the old man's fear. This contradiction indicates a lack of genuine compassion and highlights the narrator's twisted mindset, reinforcing the theme of madness in the story.