Using an excitable and unreliable narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" allows Edgar Allan Poe to:

• A. Provide insight into the narrator's disturbed psyche, illustrating psychodynamic concepts such as unconscious motives and internal conflict.
• B. Focus solely on the external environment and setting, minimizing the importance of the narrator's inner experiences.
• C. Demonstrate the effectiveness of behaviorist principles in shaping personality.
• D. Present an objective and factual account of the events, free from personal bias.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the role of an excitable and unreliable narrator in literature, particularly in psychological terms. Such narrators often reveal their own mental and emotional instability through their storytelling.
2. Step 2: Recognize that Edgar Allan Poe uses this type of narrator to provide a window into the narrator's disturbed psyche, which aligns with psychodynamic concepts like unconscious motives and internal conflict.
3. Step 3: Contrast this with other options: focusing solely on external environment ignores the narrator's inner experiences, which is not the case here; behaviorist principles focus on observable behavior rather than internal states, so this is less relevant; and an unreliable narrator by definition does not present an objective, factual account free from bias.
4. Step 4: Conclude that the use of an excitable and unreliable narrator is a literary device to explore complex psychological themes, particularly those related to the unconscious mind and internal struggles.
5. Step 5: Summarize that the correct interpretation is that Poe uses this narrator to provide insight into the narrator's disturbed psyche, illustrating psychodynamic concepts such as unconscious motives and internal conflict.