Examples Of Betrayal In We Wear The Mask

Deceit, Betrayal, and Resentment In life, individuals are put through various difficult and stressful situations. To escape these situations, one might resort to using deceptive and deceitful behavior which ultimately could lead to betrayal. Paul Laurence Dunbar, author of the poem “We Wear the Mask,” believed that humans have a tendency to hide what they are truly feeling by putting on a fake smile while they are truly being sly and cunning (1:1-3:534). This means that individuals would have hide their true emotions to disguise what they felt. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator throughout the story always hid what she was truly feeling from John, her husband, and sister-in-law Jennie. Since

He carried this personality throughout the story until the end. Poe wrote “‘Yes,’ I said, ‘for the love of God!’ but to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient.” (19). This was important because it showed how Fortunato caught on and deprived Montresor of the revenge he wanted, the type a true avenger would have received. By Fortunato not answering the calls, Montresor grew sick to his stomach because he knew he would never get the chance again. Likewise, both characters had a change of personality. In contrast, Montresor changed from being cunning and enduring to careless and impatient; while in Gilman’s story, the narrator was passive and submissive then towards the end became impulsive and abrasive. This is because Montresor planned the perfect time to seek revenge on Fortunato, the perfect time, the perfect place, and the perfect distraction. This shows his cunning personality. However, as the story progressed and Montresor was getting closer and closer to his revenge, he grew impatient and gave Fortunato unintentional hints of the events that were going to transpire; showing Fortunato the trowel under his cloak. In Gilman’s story, the narrator would not express how she felt to John at the beginning of the story but towards the end she does not care anymore of what he thinks. Therefore, she ripped the hideous wall paper

Poe wrote “Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself on my arm. Putting on a mask of black silk, and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo” (15). This quotation described the attire Montresor wore, which the author took time to explain, showing its significance. Montresor was portrayed wearing a black mask with a cloak, which one could assume was black as well. Montresor hid his face and his body, trying to keep himself concealed from the ones around him. Also, the black color foreshadowed the impending doom which Fortunato had received. Similarly, both authors used symbolism to provide further insight for the protagonist of the story but in different ways. Gilman used symbolism to show the oppression of the female narrator during that time period and the lack of individuality she had and was forced to endure. In contrast, Poe used symbolism which showed the enigmatic personality of Montresor while he also foreshadowed the death of Fortunato with the persistent color of black