Transition: The Tell Tale Heart What prevents the narrator from killing the old man during the first seven nights? Explain how his inaction contributes to the suspense.

Since the narrator is only vexed with the old man's eye, he doesn't kill the old man because during the first seven nights, the eye was closed. Since the eye is closed, he had no problem with the old man, nor a reason to kill him.

the author motivation is to show the power of animal-human relationships.