Question

Read the excerpt from the climax of The Tell-Tale Heart. "Villains!” I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks! here, here!—It is the beating of his hideous heart!” Which theme does this climax most connect with?

It takes evil to catch evil.



Pride leads to eventual ruin.



Bad things happen in groups.



Evil cannot stay hidden for long.

Answer 1

Evil cannot stay hidden for long.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first one is wrong because the others were not evil.

The second is wrong because the villain was not prideful, only relieved.

The man was not in any groups, so the third is not possible.

Answer 2

Answer: D) Evil cannot stay hidden for long.

Explanation: In literature, the theme is the underlying message of a story, it is what critical belief about life is the author trying to convey in the writing of a novel, play, short story or poem. Usually this belief, or idea, is universal and transcends cultural barriers. In the given excerpt from "The Tell-Tale Heart" we can see developed the theme corresponding to option D: Evil cannot stay hidden for long, because the speaker admit his crime because he cannot stand the beating of the man's heart.