The stories in the genre of gothic fiction has been a favorite genre of countless since its popularity increased with the stories written by Edgar Allen Poe. The dark and mysterious elements of the story allure readers to the lines and evoke strong emotions. What truly makes a gothic story so appealing to a reader? For numerous it is the different descriptions of the setting and for others it may even be the twisted mind of the unnamed narrator. Whatever it may be, gothic stories continuously pull different readers to its story. The renowned gothic writer Poe, is known to be the greatest gothic writer and his two short stories, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “The Cask of Amontillado” are some of his best known. As it is well known, both …show more content…
The naming of one narrator and the no-name of the other also leaves readers at a loss. The narrator, Montresor, has just decided, from his own perspective and no real evidence, that Fortunato is his rival and has decided to use his love of wine against him. The narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado”, is seen to be cold and detached from the events happening around him. The narrator, Montresor, is only interested in getting Fortunato down to his cellar to murder him. These are not qualities of a sane and reliable narrator. The naming of this character gives readers an entity who is doing wrong without any real reason, in contrast to “The Fall of the House of Usher”, where the narrator remains unnamed and only tells the tale of the actions happening in the house. In this story, the narrator is an outsider looking in on the Usher family, a close friend of the head of the house. The narrator can be seen as a compassionate friend who is worried about the increasing decay of his friend’s mind. The narrator of this story is treated as though he does not exist at this point in the story, while in the opposing story, Montresor is at the center of attention. The differing narrators truly change the way that the story progresses from beginning to