Fear of the unknown, and fear of what is to come in our lives, has generations of people wondering what will our lives be like tomorrow or the next day. Death is always there and we cannot escape it. Death is a scary thing. Our own mortality or the mortality of our loved ones scares us to the point that we sometimes cannot control how we are dealing with such a thing as the thought of death. Why do we fear such a thing as death? We don’t know what happens after we don’t how it feels. The fear of death is different for most but it is most certain to come and we cannot hide from it. For death is just around the corner and maybe it’s will come tomorrow or the next day! We fear not death, but the unknown that comes from death, that is the …show more content…
Both stories tell a of death and the fears of our mortal lives and what is to come next. Poe’s short story focuses on two characters that are of the same cloth, two Italian men of some stature and class, but one has insulted the other. Fortunato is on the unfortunate recipient of death and is unaware until the very end. Where his so-called friend, Montresor has tricked him into the dark and scary catacombs where Fortunato will soon be part of all the other remains that are there. Now that Fortunato has learned of his fate, he does something that final shows the fear that he has and in turn strikes fear into his new foe. Fortunato begins to laugh and in such a way that even he hopes this is a joke. The eerie laugh of a scared person just realizing what is happening. The screams are not heard for Montresor has buried him alive. And the last thing that Montresor hears is the sounds of Fortunatos bells on this Carnival outfit. The fear of what Montresor has done and is now living with that knowledge of killing a man would haunt him. Even 50 years later as he tells this story you can feel that it doesn’t feel right. I think that a man who holds such a monstrous secret inside such as feeding death to a friend over something so trifle as to be insulted, creates fear inside of one’s own mortality. In a …show more content…
We watch in horror as one man carries out this plan. Then we see another basically freak out as he learns his fate, and then calms down as he accepts what is now happening. Fortunato’s fear scares me more because of how he ironically walked right into this all by himself. He laughed at death “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” (Poe 741) he also toasts to himself in a way when he said, “I drink…to the buried that repose around us.” (Poe 741) how awful is that to be toasting to yourself. In “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” we see Thomas uses his words to explain how he feels about death, scared and angry at it. “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray…Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (Thomas 983). These two themes of death have shown us how death and fear come hand in hand but not always in the same way. We fear the unknown more than death itself, and even though death is scary to see someone go through or think of it happening to us the overwhelming fact of not knowing when and where death will come for us makes it the most suspenseful, fearful thought you can think of. It is always hovering above us there is nowhere to run from it and you can’t hide from it. You could be the richest, poorest, strongest and smartest but the bottom line is death will come for you no matter what. Death will find you where every you
The fear of the unknown is one of the most crucial issues about life after death. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7. The scripture is our surety that those who accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior then we will receive the gift of everlasting life according to John 3:16. The Abrahamic teaching of the resurrection is the foundation of the Christianity; And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith, I Corinthians 15:14.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
Imagine walking down the street alone and you see two men. You don’t know who they are and you encounter them. They ask a question, “Where do you live? Who are you?” This would make many people suspicious and nervous. Montresor and Fortunato are two men walking down the street in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” Montresor wants revenge on Fortunato. He offers Fortunato some nice wine to get him down into the catacombs. Poe uses suspense when the men are about to go down to the catacombs which creates nervous mood. In the short story the “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe the author uses suspense to create mood.
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest authors in American literature. His literary gift is confusing and difficult to understand. He often uses irony and death to create haunting and dismal tones for his stories. In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “ The Facts in the case of M. Valdemar” by Edgar Allan Poe, they both share the common theme of death and irony. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, according to Montresor, Fortunato has insulted him repeatedly and has vowed revenge on him. During carnival night, Fortunato has had a few drinks and Montresor takes advantage of this by enticing him about a new sherry wine named Amontillado. Fortunato is enticed by Montresor when he asked him to follow him to his “wine vault”, which was hard to reach because of the dampness where it was stored. Little did Fortunato know that this was part of Montresor’s revenge plan. Fortunato is so drunk that Montresor has managed
Edgar Allan Poe 's The Cask of Amontidillo is a horror tale that contains many gothic elements. Poe’s terror-inducing story is filled with dark imagery that includes underground chambers, a costume-filled carnival, and sudden betrayal. He creates a world in the mind of the reader by using gothic literature traditions like irony, puns, double entendre and foreshadowing. He also utilizes the themes of obsession, premature burials, and the temperance movements to share his thoughts with the reader (Richards 2). These different elements work together to show the underlying twist in the story. Although they differ, these elements also firmly connect, as one element leads into another. However, revenge is the main theme and motive in the tale that
Everyone has fears, but the most common fear around the world is death. No one really has a clue on how death works nor when it is coming. It is so freighting yet fascinating. Two stories that walks through an example of this is Edgar Allen Poe's " The Masque of the Red Death" and George Clayton's "Nothing in the Dark" , shows two characters who show the same similarities yet live in completely different worlds.
Fear of death comes from the unknown, unless we have a near-death experience, as that could possibly calm us and clear away the fear of death. If we have an experience of dying here, then we will be willing to die over and over again, because there is nothing to fear–as each breath ceases, then a new breath is coming in. It is a cycle of birth, old age, illness and death. When one’s dead, a new life comes about almost instantaneously. But, while we are still alive, we fear death as it is a mystery: nevertheless we do not like talking about it in a way parallel to discussions about ill-health. We avoid talking about it and view it as abhorrent or bad luck. It is a natural process that no one can deny or avoid, yet we all exist in the same way, whence we come and depart.
Many people seem to fear death, but philosophers such as Socrates and Epicurus would argue that one has no reason to fear it. Socrates sees death as a blessing to be wished for if death is either nothingness or a relocation of the soul, whereas Epicurus argues that one shouldn't worry themselves about death since, once we are gone, death is annihilation which is neither good nor bad. Epicurus believes that death itself is a total lack of perception, wherein there is no pleasure or pain. I agree with Epicurus because Socrates doesn't give a sound argument for death as a blessing, whereas Epicurus' argument is cogent. I would also argue personally that death is not something to be feared because, like Epicurus, I see no sufficient evidence showing we even exist after death.
The short story, The Cask of Amontillado, was made by Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar grew up in Richmond with his father after his mother died in 1811. After a short time of being at the University of Virginia, he went to Boston to start publishing his work. His adopted father sent him to West Point but was expelled, moving to New York. Poe would marry his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. One of his famous poems is the Raven, which was made in 1845, Poe died 4 years later due to alcoholism. Poe is known for his suspense and his symbolism. In the Cask of Amontillado the theme is that revenge can consume a man to the point of ultimate obsession. This will be shown in the setting, the characters, and the symbolism.
Fear resides in the hearts of every human, but no fear was ever greater than the fear of death. A reason why death appears so terrible to us is that we do not know what lies beyond it. It is in our nature to desire knowing everything, but whatever comes after death is a concept that evades our understanding. On the other hand, Epictetus assures us that there is nothing to fear about death, especially if we face death with a pious mindset. Since our fear is deeply ingrained in our aspiration to comprehend death and the afterlife, he also reminds us to vigilantly watch over our desires. Epictetus challenges us to shift our attitude from insistently hoping and desiring for a pleasant afterlife, to amending our actions so that we may live a virtuous life worthy of a pleasant afterlife.
Why do people fear death? Many say that the fear of death is based on not knowing where they will go after death. Some are more scared about the way that they will die. The fear of death is the second most popular phobia ranking at 68%. The fear of death is known as necrophobia. Death itself is not feared, more fear of the unknown and what will be missed after the time of death.
The setting of a story sets the tone for the entire piece. Without the appropriate setting, what the author is trying to express is lost. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting as a way to set the stage for the events that will come. Poe’s settings make his stories interesting, as well as easy to understand because of his descriptiveness and writing techniques. His use of vivid details and symbols in his settings intrigue the readers and set a particular tone. Each and every setting has a direct meaning and reason attached to that of the story and time.
Death is unavoidable no matter the circumstances. However, how one dies, that is a subject of the unknown. In the end, if one had the choice of how to die, the decisions could fluctuate between countless possibilities. It is a natural human instinct to fear death because of the unknown and Edgar Allan Poe does not deny this claim. In Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator of the story is tormented in a prison during the Spanish Inquisition; this fear of death is created from natural human instincts. The fear of the narrator creates a raw, psychological human reaction that, by natural instinct generates a confrontation with the unconscious Self.
Researchers have been contemplating the origin of fear for years. Theories about fear have been thrown around, but the concept of fear is still vague. Many people when asked, would say that they are afraid of death, that they try to avoid thinking about it all together. A group of scientist have