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Cask of Amontillado and Unreliable Narrator
Mental Disorder and Poe's Unreliable Narrator
Edgar Allan Poe is most known for his fascinating tales of the macabre and grotesque. Many of Poe's short tales are told from an unreliable perspective in which the narrator tells the events that have occurred as he interprets them. Furthermore, these tales of the macabre often explore the concepts of paranoia and murder. These themes are prevalent in "The Cask of Amontillado," the tale of Montressor, a man who lures his supposed friend, Fortunato, to his death because of an unknown slight against him. Several elements make the narrator a fascinating and unreliable character including his psychological state and the imp of the perverse; unlike in "The Imp of the Perverse" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" in which the narrators accept they are inflicted with some sort of mental disorder, in "The Cask of Amontillado," Montressor is not…
Works Cited
Liliefeld, Scott O. And Hal Arkowitz. "What 'Psychopath' Means." Scientific American.
December 2007. Web. 14 November 2012.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Electronic Text Center. University of Virginia
Library. Web. 14 November 2012.
Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe uses vivid dialogue to give his characters life. He begins his tale by speaking directly to the reader. He pulls the reader in by saying that "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat" (Poe, 191). The reader knows that the main character is speaking to him. And the reader understands that the tale will be one of darkness. The main character is looking for revenge. He seeks to punish. The reader knows that the punishment will be brutal.
The main character has thought out his plan carefully. He says that he has not let on to Fortunato that he is angry. The main character was full of venom as he smiled in Fortunato's face. He lets the reader in on his grave secret. The tone is one of a conspirator.…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. Complete Stores and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Doubleday.
Cask of Amontillado" Edga Allen Poe uses a numbe of elements to incease the shock value of the mude pepetated by Monteso. The victim is Fotunato, whom Monteso attempts until the vey end to convince of nothing but his own fiendship and goodwill. Thee ae seveal elements of setting and situation that aid Monteso in his intention to mude Fotunato. The shock value of this event is futhe enhanced by the motive, which appeas petty at best. Pehaps it says something of Monteso's natue that he is motivated by nothing bette than an unspecified insult to mude a man by enclosing him alive behind a stone wall. Thoughout the stoy Poe shows how the setting, situation, and Fotunato's own flawed natue contibute to his mude.
The most devious method that Monteso uses to lue Fotunato to his eventual death is the petense of his continued fiendship. Fotunato's own tusting natue…
references to the latter's expertise in matters of culture and art, and by offering him more wine. When they reach their destination, both Fortunato and the reader find that the "pipe" of Amontillado was in fact to be Fortunato's final resting-place -- the cask. The depth of Montresor's cruelty and deception then shows itself in the last lines of the story, where he echoes with relish Fortunato's final cries of despair.
The title of Poe's story then reflects Montresor's true intentions, even as the speaker himself does, from the beginning. His actions throughout the story shows him to be a cruel and perhaps even petty man, murdering a so-called friend for a reason no better than an insult. This is also indicative of Montresor's value system and state of mind, which is as dark as the catacombs and the niche in which he eventually buries Fortunato alive. Poe thus succeeds in shocking his readers through his use of the dark and foreboding setting, which is then echoed in the mind and actions of the narrator.
Cask of Amontillado to the U.S. National Debt
Comparing the Symbolism in The Cask of Amontillado by E.A. Poe to the U.S. National Debt
In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe addresses a man who lures his friend down to a cellar with the promise of a fine wine and then walls him up and leaves him there because he feels the friend has wronged him (Poe's, 2003). Metaphorically, the national debt that the U.S. currently has is "walling up" the country and will kill the United States financially if something is not done to lower the level of debt that is currently seen. By walling up the U.S. with debt, there will be no escape from financial struggles and other difficulties that are always faced when there is too much debt and not enough income (Wright, 2008). The American people are becoming trapped by what their government is…
References
Bonner, William & Wiggin, Addison. Empire of Debt: the Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis. New York: Wiley. 2006. Print.
Grayson, Erik. Weird Science, Weirder Unity: Phrenology and Physiognomy in Edgar Allan Poe. Mode 1: 56-77. 2005. Print.
Meyers, Jeffrey. Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy. New York, NY: Cooper Square Press. 1992. Print.
Poe's Prose: The Cask of Amontillado. Poe Perplex. 2003. Online.
Somehow, this made the story illustrate Fortunato's character and somehow has given me some thoughts on Fortunato's character, reasoning why Montresor bears bitterness to Fortunato.
The next scene in the story is the place where the crime will happen, at the catacombs of the Montresors, a place underneath the Montresor palazzo and where a lot of deceptions and verbal ironies were suggested. This includes the concern to Fortunato's health that Montresor shown behind the fact that he means harm to Fortunato. Another irony during the nearing death of Fortunato was the fact that he was wearing a funny costume of a court jester and yet he was unsuspecting that Montresor is already making a "fool" out of him. Moreover, the fact that Fortunato was the one who unknowingly insisted to go to the place of his death is a painful and yet humorous irony of the story.
Overall, The Cask…
Reference
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado (Text). http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/cask_amo.html
Symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado"
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" contains many rich symbols.
It is a story deeply shrouded in mystery and destruction for the character of Fortunato, and although Fortunato does not realize it, he is going to meet in his fate on the night of the carnival. hat is worse, is that he will meet this untimely death at the hands of someone he believes to be a friend.
Fortunato's friend Montressor is not really his friend at all, and he lures Fortunato down into the catacombs and dungeons in order to show him a cask of Amontillado that he has acquired. Believing Montressor to be his friend, Fortunato follows him into the catacombs. The first noticeable symbol in the Poe's story is the black silk mask and cape that Montressor puts on before he enters the catacombs. It is representative of…
Works Cited
McClelland, Robert. A Critical Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado. 2002. 18 March 2003. http://robert.mcclelland.net/port/amontillado.html.
Poe's Prose: The Cask of Amontillado. 2003. Poe Perplex. 18 March 2003. http://www.usna.edu/EnglishDept/poeperplex/amontil.htm .
The Cask of Amontillado: The Dangers of Pride. 2002. Essaybank. 18 March 2003. www.essaybank.co.uk/free_coursework/2633.html
Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Poe's short story - The Cask of Amontillado - is a violent tale of retaliation. The story's evil narrator, Montresor, vows to take revenge on Fortunato for offending him. In his opinion, his thirst for revenge is completely acceptable, in line with his notions of personal pride and reputation. Yet, he is aware of the fact that his action will be considered wrongful by the public, as evidenced in the tale's ending -- Montresor narrates his story as retribution (in a way). He aims at exacting vengeance in keeping with his family's motto, which appears on their crest: "Nemo me impune lacessit" (translated as "No one attacks me with impunity.") The crest depicts "a huge human foot d'or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are embedded in the heel." To Montresor, it was imperative that his…
Works Cited
eNotes. The Cask of Amontillado Analysis. 2016. Web. 26 June 2016
Lewis, Michael Jay. "Refining a Fortunato Amontillado." The Explicator 69.4 (2011): 179-183. Web. 26 June 2016
Platizky, Roger. "Poe's THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO." The Explicator 64.1 (1999): 206-209. Web. 26 June 2016
Spark Notes. "The Cask of Amontillado" (1846). 2016. Web. 26 June 2016
Montressor
Poe's the Cask of Amontillado
A Legal Brief against Montressor
In Poe's tale, Montressor does not necessarily convey the motives for killing Futunato directly; there is no mention of exactly what Futuanto did to Montressor to make him mad with revenge. However, the fact that revenge was the underlying motive could not be clearer in the story. Fortunato undoubtedly did much psychological harm to Montessor which is evident in the phrase mentioned when he refers to the "thousand injuries of Fortunato." Whatever the injuries actually were, it was these that lead the perpetrator to commit pre-meditated homicide. He believed that the injustices inflicted upon him were worthy of the ultimate revenge as states that "I must not only punish, but punish with impunity."
The actual crime was undoubtedly a vicious and well planned homicide. Motressor leads Fortunato down to the catacombs by playing to his ego and requesting his…
Introduction
If anyone was ever a master of gothic horror it was Poe. “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Poe’s most famous short stories: brutal, quick, vengeful, and unabashedly horrific, the story represents all that is most terrifying and prideful about the human condition. In this article, we’ll give you a dozen topics you could use to write a paper on this story. We’ll also give a summary, analysis, a short list of characters (hey, there are only 2), some good quotes, and an overview of the themes. Get ready—get set—get gothic!
Related Topics
The Revenge Plot
Montresor identifies his thirst for revenge in the opening of the story. The rest of the narrative is the playing out of the revenge plot, which unfolds slowly and deliberately. The reader is never fully aware of what the revenge will be until the very end, which is why the story is…
Resources
Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. The Cask of Amontillado. Charlottesville, Va. : Boulder, Colo. :University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center ; NetLibrary, 1993. Print.
However, we get no inclination that Fortunato is in any way better situated than Montressor -- only that he has insulted him. Montressor's vanity has been stricken, and he will strike back. But there is the sense in Iago that he wants something the Moor has -- whether it is power, Desdemona, ability, etc. There is a look in his eye, a sound in his speech, a hint in his words that he is jealous of the Moor. Does this transfer to Montressor, a latter-day representation of the evil Iago? Is it fair to say so? Is it even fair to say jealousy is at the root of Iago's hatred? Critics for centuries have puzzled over the mystery of Iago's hate. "Motiveless malignance" is all the better they have been able to name it. Therefore, one might not wish to prosecute the perpetrator Montressor by laying the blame at jealousy.…
Works Cited
McHugh, Diana. "The Destructive Effects of Jealousy." Literary Reference Center,
2005. Web. 22 Feb 2011. .
Ruhl, Sarah. "Six Small Thoughts on Fornes, the Problem of Intention, and Willfulness." Theatre Topics -- 11.2 Sept 2001: 187-204. Print.
Shakespeare, William. "Othello." The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1972. Print.
Edgar Allen Poes story "The Cask Amontillado" You write, setting, theme story, point veiw, plt, language signifagace story. THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO Edgar Allan Poe (1846) THE thousand injuries Fortunato I borne I, ventured insult I vowed revenge.
Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" - analysis
Edgar Allen Poe's 1846 short story "The Cask of Amontillado" puts across an account involving a vindictive character who tries to reinforce his self-esteem by luring the person he considers his enemy into a situation that would do him justice. It is difficult to determine whether the aggressor actually has the reasons to punish his enemy or if he is simply insane and uses an unspecified event as a motive to go through with committing his crime. However, his insanity is controversial when considering the complex nature of the plot and the obvious feeling of satisfaction that the protagonist experiences as he acknowledges that his…
The most ironic thing we read in "The Black Cat," is the narrator's unstable state of mind. e should know that our first clue to his madness is his intent to assert that he is not. He writes, "Mad I am not" (Poe Black Cat 182), as he begins to pen one of the most insane narrations ever written. It is as if he is trying to convince himself of this lie. His alcoholism only makes matters worse as he wavers between extreme emotions. One moment, he loves the cat and the next moment, he hates the cat. He kills the cat to rid himself of it and, ironically, it haunts him. Of course, we cannot mention the story without mentioning how the narrator kills his wife in an effort to kill the cat. e can say that even this act is ironic because the narrator is so open about…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minnesota: Amaranth Press: 1984.
The Black Cat." Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minnesota: Amaranth Press: 1984.
Platizky, Roger. "Poe's the Cask of Amontillado." EBSCO Resource Database. Site Accessed August 01, 2008. http://search.epnet.com
Stevenson, Robert. "Literature: 'The Works of Edgar Allan Poe.'" GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 01, 2008 http://www.galegroup.com
If you think it is Amontillado, then it surely is." Instead, Fortunato seals his fate, because with all of his actions, he validates the notion that Montresor actually needs his opinion. This is the great injury Fortunato has committed, over and over: he believes that his skills at judging spirits are the equal of, or possibly superior to, those of Montresor. It reminds me of the wicked witch who is compelled to condemn Snow White to death because a magic mirror tells her Snow White is prettier than she, the witch, is.
Montresor has taken precautions all along the way to make sure he will be able to handle his friend when the time comes, plying him with alcohol along the way, so that by the time Fortunato gets to the end of the final passage, he is unsteady on his feet, either from the wine, or his illness, or…
Bibliography
Poe, Edward Allen. "The Cask of Amontillado." Accessed via the Internet 9/13/05. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=PoeCask.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
He had sent all the servants for a leave with an excuse that it was carnival time, though his intention was to conceal his action (Rawls 54). He managed to convince Fortunato to put on a cloak so that nobody would recognize him on the way and this was another way of concealing the intended action.
Some of the remarks that Fortunate made on the way hurt Montresor making him to justify and accomplish his mission. At one time Fortunato told Montresor that he does not remember Montresor's court of arms. He tried to illustrate as containing a human foot that crushes a serpent with words such as no one that has impunity that can attack. The illustration and the message was a way of showing that Montresor's family was always on revenge mission. Montresor considered it as an insult and triggered his urge to revenge. On the way, they…
Work Cited
Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press, 1999. Print.
Sandel, Michael J. Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010. Print.
" It just so happens that the Carnival is in season, what better time to launch such a plot? This dramatic irony allows the audience to perceive something that Fortunato does not -- the relentless pursuit and planning that is occurring as Fortunato enjoys himself celebrating Carnival. Even the name Fortunato (the fortunate) is ironic, since he is anything but fortunate as the intended victim of murder. This theme of irony will present itself again and again, and is Poe's technique for allowing the reader to both follow the story from the murderer's point-of-view, since it is he who is narrating, and to distance oneself and feel the true horror of the approach of death. The web/trap is set when Montresor dangles a rare wine, Amontillado, in front of Fortunato, but is cynical enough about it that he toys with Fortunato's greed and avarice.
It is perhaps the merging of…
REFERENCES
Poe, E. (1846). The Cask of Amontillado. Literature.org -- the Online Library.
Cited in: http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html
Poe's sound -- makes sound stories covered class: "Cask Amontillado" "The Tell-Tale Heart." Some things: sound relates stories ( plots, characters) effect reader efficiency a tool ( Poe's working) story lack include element.
Edgar Allen Poe's use of sound in "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Edgar Allen Poe used sound as a principal and yet subtle technique meant to intensify the feelings that his texts put across. The American author concentrated on developing a more intimate connection with his readers by making use of a series of elements that some might consider uncharacteristic when regarding a short story. "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" are both designed to use sound with the purpose of intriguing and frightening readers, as sounds intensify each feeling and build up suspense up to the point where readers feel horrified as they try to anticipate what comes next.
From the…
Biliography:
Poe, E.A. (2010). The Cask of Amontillado. BompaCrazy.com.
Poe, E.A. (2002). The Tell-tale Heart. AcademicJump.com.
killer and his victim has been one of the most enduring topics throughout horror and suspense fiction, and it is this relationship which ties together three ostensibly distinct stories: Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find," Joyce Carol Oates' "here Are You Going, here Have You Been," and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In each case, the majority of the story consists of the killer talking to his victim(s), some of whom are unaware of their fate at the beginning of the conversation, but who gradually come to realize the killer's true intention. The relationship which develops between killer and victim (however brief) in each story reveals something about how killers are treated by society, as people, and within society, as characters and archetypes. Considering how each of these stories intersect and diverge in their treatment of the relationship between killer and victim will serve to…
Works Cited
de Cappell Brooke, Arthur. Sketches in Spain and Morocco: in two volumes: Volume 1. London:
Colburn and Bentley, 1831.
Moser, Don. "The Pied Piper of Tuscon." Life. 4 Mar 1966: 19-24, 80. Print.
Oates, Joyce Carol. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?." Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, Ed. William Burto and Ed. William Cain. 9. Toronto:
Paradoxically, based on the outcome of the story, it can be argued that the snake in the crest is not poisonous or else Fortunato's "bite" would have had more severe consequences on Montressor; however, the story ends with Montressor getting away in Fortunato's murder.
Symbolic foreshadowing can also be seen in the conversation about masons between Montressor and Fortunato. As Fortunato questions Montressor about being a mason, Montressor assures his victim that he is and pulls out a trowel "from beneath the folds of [his] roquelaire" (277). Ironically, Fortunato is asking if Montressor is a Freemason and not a mason by trade. Furthermore, Montressor's assertion that he is a mason also hints at how he will carry out his revenge.
Lastly, symbolism and irony are evident in the characters' names. Montressor's name can be loosely translated into my treasure, which can refer to the type of slight that was committed…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar a. "The Cask of Amontillado." The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.
New York: Vintage Books, 1975. pp. 274-279. Print.
Edga Allen Poe tale of pemeditated mude such as "The Cask of Amontillado," eades will immediately delight in the autho's skill at suspense. Like wandeing though dakened and ancient catacombs, eading "The Cask of Amontillado" stis the imagination and maintains tension thoughout its eeie passages. Deepe analysis lends insight into Poe's employment of vaious liteay techniques to impat this sense of the tale being a campfie ghost stoy. Poe's cleve use of iony, both damatic and vebal, contibutes to the shot stoy's suspenseful mood. The opening line of "The Cask of Amontillado" whispe Monteso's plan of evenge: "The thousand injuies of Fotunato I had bone as I best could, but when he ventued upon insult, I vowed evenge," (Poe,). Befoe any action occus, the eade is made awae of the intentions of the naato. This damatic display of iony allows the eade to fully engage and paticipate in the tale.…
references to the nitre affecting his victim's health (Poe,). Montresor entombs Fortunato with impunity, and Fortunato laughs nervously, still hoping that the burial is a practical joke: "We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo...over our wine!" Montresor humors the dying man: they will celebrate over the Amontillado. When Montresor seals the crypt with the final stone and erects the "rampart of bones" to guard it, he utters an ironic victory cry: "In pace requiescat," or "rest in peace." Montresor achieved his brutal revenge, adding the bones of his friend to the hundreds that already lay still in the catacombs. Poe's tale manages to remain suspenseful until the final words because the story rests firmly on a sound literary use of dramatic and verbal irony coupled with eerie symbolism.
You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was" (92). This statement is significant because it reveals Montresor's sense of revenge as well as another motive for his actions - his health. It would seem that Montresor blames Fortunato for his ill health - whatever that may be. Montresor has no angst regarding what he will do. This is evident when Fortunato assures Montresor that a cough will not kill him and Montresor answers, "True -- true" (93). Here we see the depth of Montresor's madness because he is willing to go to any lengths to commit murder. Even as Fortunato realizes what has happened to him and is begging for mercy, Montresor has already accomplished his task and we can almost see him dusting his hands. To validate his madness, Montresor exclaims, "In pace requiescat!" (95). Even after Fortunato is buried behind the wall, shrieking,…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "Ligeia." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981. pp. 132-42.
The Black Cat." The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2004.
The Cask of Amontillado." Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
William Wilson." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
The unusual event of resurrection is a theme particularly apparent within the stories "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "Ligeia." In the latter story resurrection occurs after the Lady Rowena's corpse finally resurrects itself into the form of Lady Ligeia. In the former story "resurrection" actually occurs when the Lady Madeline, after recovering from her cataleptic state, manages to escape from her tomb. In two of Poe's stories certain unusual and grotesque events occur that are unique to those tales. The story "illiam ilson" contains a doppelganger theme, which is unique to it. In the story "The Masque of the Red Death" the uniquely violent and unusual event is the characters unknowingly making an unfortunate encounter with the personification of the Red Death disease while they are busily engaged in their festivities.
Bizarre forms of death are a pervasive feature in Poe's short stories. Nowhere is it more…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar a. "Ligeia." E.A. Poe Society of Baltimore. Oct. 23, 1999. Retrieved April 16, 2007:
http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/ligeiab.htm
Poe, Edgar a. "The cask of Amontillado." E.A. Poe Society of Baltimore. Nov. 22, 1998. Retrieved April 16, 2007:
http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/caska.htm
The narrator cleverly with holds information from the reader. He knows he will die at the hands of a hangman and his is final punishment.
The Cask of Amontillado
The narrator of the Cask of Amontillado is also presented in the first person voice. How this narrative differs from the Black Cat is this narrator has more interaction and dialogue with his obsession. Much of the story takes place in the interaction and not in description. There is less poetry in the prose but still a tone of suspense. The set-up is realistic and not fanciful as before. It is not clear exactly what sex or age the narrator is but one can assume from the dialogue the narrator is male and upper class European. He refers to his friend as part of a brotherhood, which in those days was a common male practice. Still the narrator is quite mad…
In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," the setting is of a very different nature, but also concerns life, death, and the irony that often accompanies the interaction between the two. The main character and first-person narrator, Montresor, leads Fortunato to his grave for an unnamed trespass. Under the pretence of wanting his expertise regarding a cask of amontillado, Montresor leads his friend into the recesses of an extensive vault, which also serves as a grave for a centuries-old family. The story is filled with increasingly grim descriptions of damp darkness and "piled bones" belonging to the generations of Montresor's family. The increasing darkness then correlates with the theme of Fortunato's impending doom. At the final turn, Montresor traps him in a crypt and seals him inside. The darkness can then serve to indicate the darkness of Montresor's action as well as the horror of Fortunato's final doom.
In Hawthorne's story,…
.. They are neither man nor woman- They are neither brute nor human- They are Ghouls..."
Graham's (2003) analysis of "ells" show that Poe intentionally creates different categories of bells in order to illustrate the various emotional states individuals have had experienced in their life. She argues that the poem "not only...powerfully convey emotional effects to...readers, but also makes readers subconsciously convey those effects with facial expressions...," a characteristic found more strongly in Poe's depiction of the Iron and razen bells.
Indeed, through "ells," readers undergo what Poe identifies as 'excitements' that are "psychal necessity" or "transient." Emphasis on these point proves that shifts in emotions ultimately results to restlessness, instability of one's psyche, and ultimately, escape from this instability, which may be achieved by either succumbing to insanity or death. This is the natural state of the human mind that Poe provokes in his poem, a situation similar to…
Bibliography
Frank, F. (1997). The Poe Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Graham, K. (2003). Poe's "The Bells." Explicator, Vol. 62, Issue 1.
Magill, F. (1998). Notable Poets. CA: Salem Press.
Magistrale, T. (2001). Student Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Westport: Praeger.
Emily's only social imperfection in her eyes was remaining unmarried, and to remedy that when she could not possess Homer arron, she murdered him. The loss of her father is replaced by an obsession with another man. Emily literally cannot live without a man, even if she must become a kind of "threatening" and murderous harpy to have a husband (Clarke 6).
Faulkner's Emily lives for love. She follows the expectations of society in a perverse fashion: she kills a man so she will not lack a male presence in her life. In the story, there is no self-expression and freedom to live outside of social constraints and the expectations of how a woman must act. Love is not liberating. Emily is a symbol of a vengeful woman, and an outdated form of false Southern gentility. She seems to have no existence beyond the need for male approval. Although both…
Bibliography
Clarke, Deborah. Robbing the Mother: Women in Faulkner. University Press of Mississippi,
2006.
Fowler, Doreen & Ann J. Abadie. Faulkner and Women. University Press of Mississippi,
1986.
The irony here is that the crime he failed to commit -- the killing of this cat -- led to the narrator's doom. The irony is heightened in "The Cask of Amontillado" because the entire time the narrator, who is looking back on the incident fifty years later, evinces no lack of confidence or surety until the very end, where his feelings of guilt become suddenly and drastically clear. Even though the ultimate end of the story is pretty much foretold at the beginning as far as plot is concerned, the internal effects on the narrator create an ending that is ironically more unnerving than his external actions (Henninger 35).
Both of these stories also clearly illustrate the way guilt and punishment necessarily follow crime. The narrators of both stories end up feeling guilty for their actions, and both are surprised by their fates. In "The Black Cat," the narrator…
Works Cited
Baraban, Elena. "The Motive for Murder in "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe." Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 58, No. 2 (2004), pp. 47-62
Henninger, Francis. "The Bouquet of Poe's Amontillado." South Atlantic Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Mar., 1970), pp. 35-40
Matthiessen, F.O. "Poe." The Sewanee Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1946), pp. 175-205.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Accessed 16 November 2009. http://www.poestories.com/text.php?file=blackcat
The Raven
Poe's famous poem, "The Raven," to most readers is a straightforward yet haunting, chilling tale of the loss of someone loved, and the troubling emotions and inner sensations that go along with a loss, no matter how the loss occurred. In this case, the "rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore..." is the one lost. hy did an angel name Lenore, one has to wonder? Is there something associated with death or the afterlife in this image?
In fact Poe builds up the beauty of "lost Lenore" in sharp contrast to him saying that it was a "bleak December," and "each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor" and adds that when he awoke from his nap, and looked out his chamber door, there was only darkness "and nothing more."
So the poet is giving a narrator's identity as a person who hears a…
Works Cited
Cervo, Nathan. "Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado.'" The Explicator 51.3 (1993): 155-157.
Delaney, Bill. "Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado.'" The Explicator 64.1 (2005): 33-36.
Graham, John Stott. "Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado.'" The Explicator 62.2 (2004): 85-89.
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "Death of Edgar Allan Poe." (New York Daily Tribune). Edgar
.. sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible."
YOUR EDITION of POE) the Narrator of the Fall of the House of Usher has turned the perspective of Tell-Tale Heart on its edge. In this instance, it is a perfectly sane man who is introducing us to the mind-destroying propensities of Roderick Usher's ancestral abode. From this point onward, we can "understand," or "sympathize," with the plight of the Usher family. As in so many other tales by Poe, the author is trying to tell us that insanity begins as sanity. e enter into the minds of the deranged and depraved - or those who observe them - and we come to comprehend the forces that cause that slow descent into the maelstrom of psychic torment. e learn, too, how difficult it is to come back up, once we have plunged…
Works Cited
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=27812334
Kennedy, J. Gerald. "The Limits of Reason: Poe's Deluded Detectives." On Poe: The Best from American Literature. Eds. Budd, Louis J. And Edwin H. Cady. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993. 172-184. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101359115
Magistrale, Tony. Student Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=94372516
In this story, we find this terror, especially at the end of the story when Fortunato sobers up. Montresor tells us that the cry he hears as he places the final bricks in the wall is "not the cry of a drunk man" (Poe 94). The drunk man and the crazy man are pitted against once another in this tale and there is nothing Fortunato can do when he realizes what has happened. The real terror emerges as Montresor follows through on his plan to the last detail without any hesitation.
Edgar Allan Poe allows us to realize how close to life terror actually becomes. His life was no ideal life but rather a playground for terror and death of all sorts. A young boy abandoned by both parents becomes an adult to witness death take his loved ones at much too early an age. By taking his life experiences…
Works Cited
Magistrale, Tony. American Writers. Parini, Jay. et al.New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 2003.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
The Masque of the Red Death." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
The Tell-tale Heart." The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Minneapolis: Amaranth Press. 1981.
This sentence, although it talks about bowels, is really describing the mother's love of the baby.
This story is written like a detective story. It is very difficult to determine which woman is telling the truth and to determine if King Solomon is actually a bad person or a good person. It does not give the names of the women. They are simple referred to as one woman and the other woman. It does say that they were "harlots," but it does not give any background information about who the women are or how they got involved in this argument. They were simply two women in the same place that had babies at the same time.
Also, it is not clear to the reader rather King Solomon is a bad person or a good person. He does propose to slay the baby and divide it into two half to settle…
monologue in Gilman's "The Yellow allpaper" and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Both Charlotte Perkins Filman's "The Yellow allpaper" and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontilado" involve copious amounts of monologue. Each of these tales is narrated by a single person whose viewpoints and opinions are issued directly to the reader, coloring the events of the plot accordingly. However, there are critical distinctions between both of these tales and in both of the monologues the narrator's employ. Gilman's story is narrated by a woman whose mental health slowly, inexorably unravels -- to her detriment, and that of those who purport to care for her. Poe's story is narrated by a man who is bent on exacting revenge upon another. Thus, despite the fact that there are monologues utilized in each short story, the principle difference between them is that the monologue of Gilman's narrator spirals at its conclusion…
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allen. The Cask of Amontillado. http://xroads.virginia.edu / 1846. Web.
Poe "not only created art from the essence of his own personal suffering but also came to define himself through this suffering" (263). This is a sorrowful assessment but we can certainly see how Magstreale comes to this conclusion. Terror was not fiction in Poe's world; it was real and it pushed the pen on the paper. Poe took on what some artists might shy away from and that is death. Many of his characters die tragic and gruesome deaths but they are deaths we remember. An example of the power of death is in "The Masque of the Red Death." This tale is unique in that no one manages to escape the grip of death. This is oddly much like the individuals in Poe's life. Nothing could save them from their fate. Humanity's helplessness is demonstrated with Prospero's "strong and lofty wall" (Poe the Masque of the Red Death…
Works Cited
Bleilel, E.F. "Edgar Allan Poe." Supernatural Fiction Writers. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons. 1985. Print.
Carlson, Eric W. American Short-Story Writers Before 1880. The Gale Group, 1988. Information
Retrieved Dec 13, 2010. Web. GALE Resource Database.
Reading Profile of a Student
The student I selected is a 10-year-old 4th grade student who is a self-described “lover of books.” She views herself as a great reader and she is always carrying a book with her. I ask her if she thinks everyone should read more, and she says most emphatically, “Yes!” She maintains a very positive attitude toward reading—“Even when you don’t care for what you’re reading?” I ask. She says that she always finds something to like, no matter what she is reading. She says if someone took the time to write it, she can take the time to find something nice about it. “Sometimes I have to stop and think about what I read or I’ll think about a story for days wondering what I just read.” I ask what stories do that for her and she answers, “Poe! That guy is crazy!” I am…
Deportation at Breakfast by Larry Fondation. Specifically it will discuss the reasons why I dislike the story. "Deportation at Breakfast" is a very short story that shows a small diner where the owner is abruptly deported by a group of law enforcement, leaving it untended and unsupervised. The narrator "takes over" the kitchen and the diner, making his own and then other patron's breakfast. The story is unreal and even unethical because there are no other employees, no one seems to notice but the narrator, and the owner, "Javier," is taken away from the business he created, while the narrator picks up and takes over without any remorse or regret for the real owner and what's happening in his life.
I dislike this story for many reasons. First, there is no consideration for the owner, Javier. The narrator does not think "what will happen to him," or "what about his…
References
Fondation, Larry. "Deportation at Breakfast."
People can be affected by religion in different ways and The Misfit becomes the perfect character to uncover the grandmother's gullibility. She, in turn, is the perfect person to expose his evil nature. This contrast allows O'Connor uses to reveal the delicate nature of man. Somehow, in the midst of everything, the two people bond, leaving the grandmother with a false sense of hope. She believes, because she knows best, that she has transformed his life. She truly believes she can change him. Parini writes that at the moment he shots her, she realizes "they are connected, and through a horrible act of violence she has received a moment of understanding, if not grace" (Parini 231). The showdown becomes one between The Misfit's powerful convictions and the grandmother's shallow beliefs. O'Connor proves with these individuals the importance of being passionate about the right thing. Being passionate about Jesus is good,…
Works Cited
Denham Robert D. "The World of Guilt and Sorrow: Flannery O'Connor's 'Everything That
Rises Must Converge." The Flannery O'Connor Bulletin 4. 1975. Gale Resource Library.
01 May 2010. Web.
Malin, Irving. "O'Connor and the Grotesque." Flannery O'Connor. Broomall: Chelsea House
Tale as Told by another Character: Sweat - Zora Neale Hurston
Sweat
The spring came along with its flare of sunny afternoons in Florida on that particulate Sunday afternoon. For a given number of women in the small village populated by the black persons would be thinking of what the family would have for supper. However, for Delia Jones, she was still in bed, thinking of her previous life when she was still young and pretty. Then the thought of her poverty and suffering stricken husband hit her mind, and the trail of cursing and lamentations flowed from her mind; and eventually found their way into verbal words oozing from her mouth like the waters of the spring streams of the Amazon. Sure, this situation was getting to the peak of the humiliation and underpinning of poverty and suffering that she could take.
Delia sat up in her bed of…
References
Anders Bjorklund, Donna K. Ginther, and Marianne Sundstrom. "Family Structure and Child
Outcomes in the U.S.A. And Sweden." Journal of Population Economics 20.1 (2007):
183. ProQuest. Web. 24 Aug. 2013.
Hurston, Zora N. Novels and Stories. New York, NY: Libr. Of America, 1995. Print.