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Choices In The Works Of Hawthorne And Brown, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The gloomy atmospheres of both stories, coupled with the negative connotations associated with each protagonist’s mindset, detrimentally affect the choices and decisions both Brown and Montresor make. These decisions alter the protagonist lives permanently by acting on actions that cannot be undone. The guide leading Brown on his journey takes him deeper into the heart of the forest, so that he may discover the truth about himself and the people he surrounds himself with. At the start of the story, the path was straight and narrow, a representation of the Puritan journey of life. Now, as Brown realizes the cruel truth about humanity which has sin and flaws, the path then suddenly alters to a “wilder and drearier” one (Hawthorne 8). When he …show more content…

This symbolizes Brown leaving his good conscience behind and becoming engulfed in the evil of his distorted reality. When he realizes this, he begins to deny the truth that he is also morally flawed. Therefore, the physical path disappears as well as his emotional path within himself that gives him direction to his life; when his emotional path disappears, he becomes spiritually lost and does not know how he should live his life anymore. Without a pure conscience, Brown does not know how to function as a member of a Puritan society which results in Brown being a social outcast and bitter toward his wife and the townspeople. Likewise, Montresor’s journey begins in a carnival where Fortunato, drunk and alone, becomes lured by Montresor by offering Fortunato some Amontillado. When they travel through the catacombs of Italy, he leads Fortunato to his planned location for the live burial. Beginning their journey into the catacombs, Poe writes, “‘Nitre?’ he asked, at length ‘Nitre,’ I …show more content…

Ugh! Ugh!—Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! — Ugh ! Ugh! Ugh! ...’ My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes. ‘It is nothing,’ he said, at last’” (Poe 5). The catacombs are used to bury people so nitre is formed out of the moisture in the air and is used to help seal the bodies into the walls of the catacombs. Just like sealing the bodies into the walls, Montresor is sealing his good conscience away by purposely preventing Fortunato from talking to him. Fortunato and Montresor’s name literally represent the meanings fortune and monster which can be interpreted as the meanings good and bad. Without the good in Fortunato talking to the bad in Montresor because of the nitre, Fortunato cannot reason with Montresor which would lead to Montresor having sympathy toward Fortunato and not have the motive to kill. By Montresor enforcing a fake relationship with Fortunato, not only does he betray Fortunato, but he betrays his good conscience by murdering Fortunato. Throughout both the journeys in the disheartened settings, each character experiences, their own type of self-reflection to help realize who they truly

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In the “Cask of Amontillado” Montressor is a very angry and vengeful man. He says that he was insulted by Fortunato, but fails to give a reason as to why or how. He begins to enact his revenge by luring Fortunato in with the rare wine and when his “friend” Fortunato is drunk, he t proceeds to bring him deeper and deeper underground, while telling him to turn around repeatedly. Once he reached a place where no one can hear them, Fortunato walked into what he thought was another corridor, but it would turn out to be his grave! For as soon as Fortunato hit the wall, Montressor chains him against it.

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He exploits this and deceives the man to go down into the caverns that housed the supposed Amontillado. Furthermore, Montresor never tells the reader what Fortunato actually did. He only states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, 360). Insults do not call for homicide.

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– They knew! – They were making a mockery of my horror! – This I thought, and this I think! But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision!

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It was damp, dark, and intimidating down there with the walls covered in human remains. It also says, “We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow” (52). Once again, Montresor is trying to be nice and welcoming in the scary setting to trick Fortunado into trusting him until he can make his move. With the combination of Montresor’s fake friendliness and the suspicious surrounding, the reader could infer Montresor’s intensions in the catacombs.

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Montresor tortures Fortunato, both physiologically and physically. Montresor clearly gives Fortunato “multiple chances to escape his fate” (Delany 34), as he gives Fortunato obvious clues to his true intensions. These include leading Fortunato into a place for the dead, telling Fortunato not to go due to his severe cough that made it “impossible to reply” (Poe 5) at times, reminding Fortunato of his family arms, mentioning Luchesi, and showing Fortunato a trowel. Montresor seems to receive morbid joy out of the fact that Fortunato is so intoxicated that, just like the foot on Montresor’s coat of arms, he is unintentionally “stepping into his own destruction” (Cervo

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A quest that is doomed from its inception will always cause irreparable damage to its participants. Whether failure comes in the form of death or abandonment, at the deepest level, the questers realize that their journey is hopeless, creating an emotion that alters their behavior and character. In Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, his analysis of quests in literature, and in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men’s tragic climax in which two companions must part ways in the form of murder, the harrowing effects of a journey with impossible aspirations are proven, both through the fundamental elements of quests across literature, and through the personal journeys of companions George and Lennie, the ending of which triggers

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To explain, Montresor was insulted by Fortunato, the resolution to this conflict should have been as simple as confronting Fortunato with his hurt feelings. Instead, Montresor decides “[he] would be avenged” (Poe 543). Because of the dramatic way Montresor decides to resolve the conflict between himself and his friend, his character is shifted towards an unruly one. Montresor has no regards for those around him, he has no insight to anyone but himself. As a result of the way he chooses to resolve conflicts, he allows the conflicts to take control of his every action.

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In the beginning of the story the author's choice of words in the descriptions makes the reader feel angry. Montresor tried to ignore Fortunato and his insults, but they were

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This shows that none of the members really care about the victims even if they are in their own families. Although some may think Montresor’s motive and remorse might prove that he is more evil, they are wrong. Montresor’s motive is that Fortunato insulted him one time so that means he must get revenge. However, as he is begging to brick him up in a wall and finds that Fortunato is most likely dead, he then feels the tiniest bit of remorse. He then acted as if it was only the dampness as he states, “My heart grew sick—on account of the dampness of the catacombs” (Poe 64).

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Montresor is a grudge holder. In the beginning, Montresor, explains why he is angry with Fortunato, but didn’t come into detail of what he did to him. Evidently, Fortunato injured and insulted Montresor, who says that he has endured peacefully as Fortunato repeatedly offended him thousands of time. Fifty year ago, Fortunato use to deny what Montresor would say about, who he was or what he had done, as if it was untrue. Montresor would argue back and forth with him explaining that it was true.

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Montresor told Fortunato that he is a “rich, respected, admired, beloved” (86) man. He does not actually think that. When he says he “must not only punish” (83) Fortunato, but he must “punish [him] with impunity” (83), which he does. The first step in Montresor's plan is to get Fortunato to go in the catacombs. He says to Fortunato, “Come, we will go back, your health is precious” (86).

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