Everything and everyone revolves around conflict, and that includes writing. Without conflict there’s nothing exciting or suspenseful, sometimes there’s not even a story without it. “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allen Poe, and “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell, have the same conflict that’s carried out differently. These short stories, based on man vs. man conflict, show there are various ways to use one type of conflict. It all starts off with one man, one man that has a lust for blood. In “The Cask of Amontillado” this man is Montresor. Montresor is seeking revenge and he isn’t the type of man to just slap his enemy on the wrist and let it go. He makes this clear stating “ I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.”(174). …show more content…
This is obviously accurate because without any prey or victims in this situation there would be no conflict. Starting off with “The Cask of Amontillado” it goes to show that the victim of this story is Fortunato. Montresor claims that Fortunato had “ventured upon insult” (174) and vowed revenge on the poor fool. Fortunato, being the drunk he is, more than likely never even to have noticed the vile words dripped off his tongue, and had now put himself in the most awful situation. Furthermore, in the other story “The Most Dangerous Game” there is also a victim that happens to be the polar opposite of Fortunato. This man is Rainsford, a skilled hunter who took a devastating fall off the side of a ship and ended up on the General’s island. On this island he’s not really seen as the victim, but instead as the prey. Rainsford also differs from Fortunato by knowing exactly how he’s going to get out of this alive, “I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable” (18). As previously stated, Rainsford is a skilled hunter, so he is his hunter’s equivalent unlike Fortunato and Montresor. Fortunato is an oblivious drunk and any sober man could have the best of him, including Montrestor. Each man’s life is in danger and yet they are in different situations in which they handle
Explain how the conflict arises and go on to discuss in detail how the writer uses it to explore an important theme.
Most killers do it for money. Others for jealousy, but not Montresor, at first glance he did it for revenge but as he reveals himself one realizes its self obsession. His crafty and enduring composure gives him all the tools needs for a perfect retribution.
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor made up in his mind that he would carry out his act of revenge on Fortunato. Whatever offense Fortunato committed against Montresor drove him to the brink. The hatred inside was somewhat poetic. Montresor schemed to every detail how to carry out his revenge. The setting of the story is a dark, gloomy night at a celebration during carnival season. Montresor would be detailed in describing the monetary status of his enemy, his wardrobe or costume he wore to the celebration. He would set the mood as cheerful. Despite the ill feelings he has towards the now drunken Fortunato, Montresor pretends to care for his company to lure him towards his cunning plan. He strokes Fortunato’s ego and his love for wine to draw him towards the cellar. The dark, damp halls, the claustrophobia, and the human skeletons lying about the earth were all a foreshadowing of Motresor’s plan for the drunken Fortunato. It enhanced suspense to the story, building up to the climax which would be Fortunato entering into his grave. As they further enter the hal...
They first appear as gentlemen in order to lure the potential victims into their trap, then when the victims believe their lies they reveal their cruelty and violence through a series of events. First, in “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor shows up as a caring friend to approach and beguile Fortunato, when Fortunato has built trust Montresor eliminates him brutally. For example, in the beginning of the story Montresor claims Fortunato’s “‘health is precious’” because he is “‘rich, respected, admired, [and] beloved’”. He wants Fortunato to “‘go back’” (Poe 3) and claims he will find Luchresi for help. Poe uses the interactions between Montresor and Fortunato in the early stage to create dramatic irony as well as an uncertain relationship to attract readers to continue the story. The masterminded Montresor pretends he actually cares about Fortunato’s health to gain trust and keeps on asking if Fortunato would like return, but indeed the caring and questioning are the use of reverse psychology that encourages Fortunato to be more determined to continue the journey. General Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous Game” has similarly shown civilized behaviour and brutality but to an even greater degree. In the story, General Zaroff is a well-educated man, who lives in a luxurious mansion with the finest lifestyle, but he has no ethics and morals. He hunts humans because they are “courage[ous], cunning,” (Connell
Conflict is the sole thing that pulls a story together and pushes it forward. Without conflict, there is no action or force moving the story. External conflict usually pushes the story forward with scenes such as fights and internal conflict pulls the story together with more insightful information about the characters’ personalities. However, they could do both pulling and pushing at times. In the fictional short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, there are many instances of conflict in the story between all the characters.
In The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of revenge is established at the start of the story, when the narrator states that he suffered irreversible insult by his associate, Fortunato, thus he vowed to avenge this action. This is evident in the following statement in the opening paragraph of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 7). Therefore, it is apparent to the reader from the onset of the story that revenge is a major driving force for Montresor for him to dreadfully murder his acquaintance,...
Have you ever met someone so clever, determined, and cruel to leave a man to die over an insult? Montresor is the perfect example of these character traits. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor uses all of these character traits to get revenge on Fortunado for insulting his family name. Montresor’s clever planning, determination for revenge, and cruel murder are the perfect combination for his unequaled revenge.
In his article “On Memory Forgetting, and Complicity in “the Cask of Amontillado”” Raymond DiSanza suggests that an act of wrongdoing is always at the heart of good horror stories. (194) DiSanza’s article on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes Poe’s writing in a way I didn’t think of myself. DiSanza finds Poe’s language in this story to “taste like amontillado: smooth, slightly sweet, and appropriately chilled”. (DiSanza 195) Throughout his article he mostly talks about what possibly could have been Montresor’s motive to kill Fortunato? And why did Montresor wait fifty years to tell the story?
The perfect revenge is an action so many scorned have attempted and what so many more have lusted after. Apt punishment for the offender, success without being discovered and fulfillment without regret are all elements for satisfactory vengeance. All were present in "The Cask of Amontillado." However, despite Montresor's actions seeming to be perfect, he does not fulfill the criteria for flawless revenge. Poe doesn't quite allow readers to feel convinced of his main character's peace of mind. Subtle indications are strewn throughout the story that suggest otherwise. Though Montresor intended to cleanse his honor of Fortunato's insults, it may very well be that he only succeeded in creating, for himself, a guilty conscience, forever depriving himself of the sweetness of revenge.
The Cask of Amontillado, one of Edgar Allen Poe’s most celebrated works, paints a very sinister and dark tale of revenge. It is riddled with symbolism of what is in store for Fortunato who has betrayed Montresor in what Montresor perceives to warrant a grievous end. Throughout their the interaction, there are subtleties in which one might think there is a way out, but ultimately greed takes over which leads to Fortunato 's undoing.
Accordingly, Poe is well responsive to this psychological trait of the human brain. Likewise, Poe employs the perception of perversity and remorse in “The Cask of Amontillado.” The reason of burying Fortunato is not only vengeance, but also a robust reaction that is described in “The Black Cat”. There is a passionate yearning in Montresor to hurt Fortunato even if he has not made any harm to him. Although Montresor asserts that he has been injured several times by Fortunato, he cannot defy calling him “respected, admired, beloved,” admitting his “good nature,” and also calling him “noble” (Little 212). These expressions confirmed that Fortunato is a good quality person and the expression “injuries” used in the first phase of the story is simply a hyperbole that Montresor’s psyche has fabricated. Furthermore, wickedness does not come unaccompanied, but it carries itself a sense of remorse. Even if Montresor reflects himself as the diplomat of his family for deafening down rivals, he suffers remorse while walling up Fortunato. Consequently, Poe’s clasp of unreasonableness and culpability of the human mind is
In "Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. "The thousand of injuries of Fortunato he has borne as he best could; but when he ventures upon insult, Montresor vows revenge" (Poe 528). As the story unfolds, "Montresor's idea of perfect revenge" is "characteristically precise and logical in detail" as to how he commits his crime (Delaney 1).
Conflict is the driving point for all exploits. Everyone faces dilemmas every time they decide on a course of action. Whether its what route you take to work or what you are going to major in, dilemmas are widespread and are vastly different in the degree with which they will affect one’s life. Dilemma is a very prevalent aspect of life, and as such it is equally as prevalent in literature. Conflict is a main component of good literature.
The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the driving force for the entire short story. The main character, Montresor, vows to take revenge against the other main character, Fortunato, because of an “insult” that Fortunato has apparently made against Montresor (Baraban). This is evident in the opening line of the short story when the narrator Montresor states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge (Poe 1612). This opening line makes it obvious that the insult is what directly led to Montresor’s insatiable desire for revenge, but there are also some underlying factors that could have indirectly led to this revenge as well.