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Compare And Contrast Tell Tale Heart And The Cask Of Amontillado

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Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe is a famous poet and writer who has published many famous works. Of all these works “A Tell-tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are notorious for setting the standard in horror literature. These two short stories tell narratives of men who are driven mad and snap into extremely aggressive behaviors. The two men lure their victims to a dangerous state of complacency that could have easily aided in the rise of the phrase “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. Although they both share this similarity they both handle and respond to their situations quite differently. Poe very easily writes in a way that makes the readers uncomfortable because they can appreciate the narrator’s perspective. Poe …show more content…

The start of the story even begins with the narrator articulating that he had finally had enough abuse from Fortunato. What is common in both stories is that after snapping both men continued to smile and play nice in the face of their victims for several weeks. However in “The Cask of Amontillado” this is given in much greater detail. Montresor not only remains civil with his victim but allows him into his home to his cellar. Poe expresses clearly that Montresor not only wanted Fortunato to suffer but to know why he was suffering in every step of the process. Although this is to lure his victim to his untimely fate, Fortunato goes to his death with much ignorance and thereby joy. Poe’s writing for Fortunato is far more grave than that of the old man. One doesn’t appreciate the death as much because of how deadly of a game he is playing into. From a readers perspective, Fortunato walking down to the cellar is like watching a lamb walk into a wolf den; wholly unsuspecting of their outright fate both are set to be slaughtered from their very arrival. The whole tone of “The Cask of Amontillado” is more gruesome in every way compared to “A Tell-tale Heart”. The madness displayed by Montresor is far more intimidating than that of the madman. The reader is less likely to appreciate the madness of Montresor as it is colder and more cruel as they did with the madman. The reader does not

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168 Words | 1 Pages

Poe’s stories “Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” display the dark romantic theme of a man’s soul by the development of the setting, plot, and characterization. As both stories begin, the initial device used to advance the theme is setting, which remains grim and sinister throughout the duration of both stories. Accompanying these physical details is the plot, each of which includes the murder of an innocent man. Most notably, the characterization of each piece’s narrator allows the audience to fully understand their internal struggle and its final resolution. While “Cask of Amontillado” contains an overall intriguing and unexpected plot as well as setting, the narrator’s characterization proves this story to conclude in a less

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372 Words | 2 Pages

In the story ¨The Cask of Amontillado¨ by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful story about revenge that takes readers into the mind of a murderer. Montresor is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator because he was capable of burying Fortunato into a vault. He vows revenge on Fortunato for an insult. He can’t be trusted, even if he’d be lying about Fortunato’s death. Fortunato´s name means ¨fortunate¨ which in reality, he didn 't really turn out that way.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

Montresor states, “I continued , as was my in to smile in his face and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe 1). Montresor devises an intricate and well thought out plan to murder someone he considers a friend, he highlights the evil of humanity when the thought of killing Fortunato brings a smile to his face.

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97 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe displays the theme of revenge and manipulation. The narrator Montresor pledges revenge on Fortunato for an insult that is never explained. He maintains an appearance of goodwill towards Fortunato and decides to make use of Fortunato's weakness for fine wines against him. During the carnival season, the narrator approaches Fortunato, telling him that he has come across something that could pass for Amontillado a rare and expensive wine. Fortunato being excited about the news insists on accompanying Montresor to the vaults to determine whether it is Amontillado or not.

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832 Words | 4 Pages

Montresor is the narrator of The Cask of Amontillado and never gives a single piece of evidence of Fortunato’s crimes. He simply states “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne best I could; But when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. The lack of evidence paired with the fact that the act of retribution occured “half of a century” ago doesn’t paint Montresor’s case in a good light. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Chiu’s mistreatment. Not only is he abused and neglected with a serious medical condition throughout the story, but his colleague is imprisoned for trying to bail him out.

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690 Words | 3 Pages

Everybody will eventually want revenge on an old friend or just someone they know. Montressor, similar to many people in the world, wants revenge on one of his old friends, Fortunato. The story opens with, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 212). In this statement, Montressor tells the reader what the cause of his revenge against Fortunato is. “The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, tells the story of how Montressor brings Fortunato into the catacombs to bury him alive.

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841 Words | 4 Pages

As the story progresses it becomes exceptionally evident the role external conflict plays in creating Montresor’s character. To begin, Montresor mentions “the thousand injuries of Fortunato” and the revenge he is determined to get from the most recent injury, an insult (Poe 543). By Montresor choosing to open the story with remarks about Fortunato’s wrong doings towards him, it’s clear that he holds a grudge. These conflicts between the two men throughout their friendship have had such an impression on Montresor that it’s over taken him – it’s all he can think about; thus, he immediately mentions these conflicts at the beginning of the story. In result, Montresor as a character appears quite hostile and as a narrator appears unreliable.

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1054 Words | 5 Pages

The author's choice of words helps create the mood of shock because he describes Montresor’s actions after Fortunato gets a sense of what is being done to him. The author’s description keeps readers in shock because they can’t believe how cold Montresor was. Even though he never showed the side of him, he had it all along. The author’s use of words in the description makes the readers feel like they are in the story wondering what will happen next. Poe wanted the reader to understand what was going on in the “Cask of Amontillado”, so he wrote a detailed story choosing words that connected with his readers.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

The Cask of Amontillado Argumentative Essay Edgar Allen Poe is a famous writer who is well-known for his short stories. The Cask of Amontillado is one of Poe’s short stories which is about two men, Montresor and Fortunato. Fortunato did something to Montresor, the act is unknown, but it angered Montresor badly enough to make him feel the need to seek revenge. The story portrays Montresor’s long, drawn out plan to kill Fortunato. In the story, it is clear that he was set on killing Fortunato, because of his actions and emotions shown toward Fortunato.

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215 Words | 1 Pages

The Cask of Amontillado In the book The Cask of Amontillado by Edger Allan Poe, we can discover that the story is not reliable because the story is put into the perspective of Montresor he is obsessed with revenge and revenge is something that can take over and control us. To start with, the story is set on his perspective of revenge which shows us that once consumed with revenge, we cannot get away from it, and then once we are done, regrets may come forth. Montresor plots against Fortunato and once they meet, his plan is put into action. This is also able to take place since Fortunato is drunk.

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940 Words | 4 Pages

There is always something that bothers us in life, whether it’s others or even our own conscious. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator has a difficult time following through with his cruel acts because a part of him knows it’s truly wrong. Throughout the story, his crimes bring more tension between him and the old man. Suspense is created with his every move, leaving readers hanging on the edge of their seats. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe builds suspense by using symbolism, inner thinking, and revealing information to the reader that a character doesn’t know about.

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978 Words | 4 Pages

Whereas, in The Cask of Amontillado, the reason behind the murder is revenge, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” Additionally, Montressor’s jealousy is another reason because of which he murders Fortunato. The other difference noticed in the short stories, is that in both of the short stories the aftermath of the murder is different. In The Tell Tale Heart, in the near end of the story after the murder, the narrator feels very happy , and

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1208 Words | 5 Pages

In many stories and poems; such as the Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The House of Usher, and so many more timeless works, Edgar Allan Poe has been captivating his audiences with spine tingling thrillers through the words and style of his own twisted ways. The only way to describe where Poe’s writing belongs in history, would be classified as gothic genre. From the start of the 1800’s to present day and the future of literature, through irony, repetition, imagery, and symbolism Poe has been bewitching readers with his gore and insane writings. Poe’s life inspired so many of his poems, from focusing on taboo topics, such as death, revenge, love and loss. Poe’s life was painful and heartbreaking that

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2065 Words | 9 Pages

Alcohol is the bait used for Fortunato, which leads to his eventual death. This story can be interpreted as an internal struggle in regards to alcoholism. “The Cask of Amontillado” illustrates alcohol as a negative substance. Alcohol is the bait Montresor has set up for Fortunato in “The Cask of Amontillado”. Fortunato can’t help but get lured into the trap because of his thirst for alcohol.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

        In "The Cask of Amontillado", Montresor was the one that narrated the story. During his narration, it is known that he has a grudge against Fortunato and he never explained on why he had that grudge or what even caused it. Montresor eventually ends up chaining Fortunato to a wall and left him there to die. He also had built a newer wall to seal Fortunato in.

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