Comparing The Amontillado And The Stone Mattress

It can be said that “Man is the cruellest animal”. This statement is heavily supported in both texts because there are multiple examples where individuals pursue cruel acts. In the texts ‘The Stone Mattress’ by Margaret Atwood and ‘The Cask of the Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe, the underlying theme of “Man is the cruellest animal” is highlighted evidently. However, different techniques are utilised to present this key idea such as committing cold murder, covering up tracks and feeling content with the idea of revenge.
This particular statement is true to a significant extent as it is supported similarly in both texts utilising the cruel and inhuman act of revenge and murder. In the text ‘The Stone Mattress’, the victim named Verna suffered serious psychological damage. This was due to being sexually assaulted in her teenage years by an individual whom she admired . Verna mentioned to herself before embarking

In ‘The Stone Mattress’ Verna had gone through extensive effort to cover every track of Bob’s existence. She turned Bob’s tag board from red to green, moving around objects in his cabin and filling out laundry slips to name a few. This was done to deceive the passengers and crew on the ship of the mirage that was Bob. In the text ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ a similar technique was utilised by the protagonist. The scheme in this story was to ensure the victim was intoxicated allowing them to be as vulnerable as possible and lure him to his deeply awaited fate to be buried alive. At first the victim had thought it were a joke stating “ .. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo”. (page 20) this also demonstrates that he had trust in his murderer. The Narrator left Fortunato to die in the most secluded and cruel manner. This act of death acts as a metaphor to how an individual feels when hurt by someone they