Compare And Contrast Poe And The Cask Of Amontillado

The dark side of humans is revealed in both Poe and Oates stories as their characters move from an unrealistic view of their lives to a more realistic view. Dark Romanticism was a nineteenth century response to the Transcendentalist movement where Dark Romantic writers such as Poe and Hawthorne focused on the human nature predisposition to move towards sin and self destruction. The plots of Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where are you going, Where have you been?” and Poe's “The Cask of Amontillado” progress through the depiction of the aspects of Dark Romanticism and the power of human nature's dark side.
In Oates’ story, Connie is a vain fifteen year old girl living in a fanciful world in attempts to break away from the struggles of adolescence she

faces at home with her family. Her lack of identity and self is what leads her to feed off of the attention she receives from older men as a result of her desirability and sex appeal.

These quixotic ideals and expectations of Connie are what put her in a vulnerable position due to the unrealistic world of love and boys she lives in. Her adult like persona and constant need for validation from others of her beauty is what leads Connie’s “two sided” self to be disconnected from the harsh realities that come alongside being an adult. Connie is forced to face this harrowing reality when the malignant antagonist, Arnold Friend, decides to show up to her house one day while her family is away at a barbecue. Arnold is almost the personification of the Devil as he lures himself into a conversation with Connie through deceit and manipulation. At first Connie “couldn't decided if she liked him or if he was just a jerk,” this statement portrays her naivety and the imaginary world she lives in as she tries to flaunt her amorous attitude in attempts of playing hard to get with a complete stranger. To achieve his sinful desire to hurt Connie, Arnold disingenuously dresses younger than his age, stuffs his shoes to appear taller and manipulatively fakes sharing the same interest in music as Connie to achieve a false sense of comfort and intimacy with her. Connie is abruptly thrown into the reality of

the situation as it dawns upon her that “he wasn't a kid, he was much older,” , Oates uses imagery to describe Connie's overwhelmed stream of consciousness as she comes face to face with evil in the form of Arnold. As Arnold threatens and forces Connie to come with him , she “cried for her mother,” which is symbolic that regardless of how Connie tries to act like an adult, in reality she is inexperienced and gullible, traits that lead her towards her own demise. In effect, Connie transitions from viewing Arnold in a falsely imagined light for the realistic personification of evil that he truly is.
Edgar Allan Poe's, “ The Cask of Amontillado,” successfully illustrates the self-destruction of the antagonist by following the protagonist as he exploits the weak self-control of his nemesis and abruptly forces him into the sinful reality of his situation and eventual demise.

The irrational protagonist, Montresor, has vowed revenge upon his enemy Fortunato who has supposedly inflicted “thousand injuries” and “ventured upon insult” towards the narrator over the past years. The lack of details and vagueness in the beginning of the story is representative of the unrealistic view the narrator views his life in. In attempts to go through with his baleful plan of murdering Fortunato, Montresor “accidentally” comes across him at a carnival and lures him away with the promise of a divine wine known as “Amontillado.” As Fortunato mindlessly pursues his weakness and greed, he is thrown into a position of vulnerability that eventually leads to his demise. This succumbing to desire due to his pride on his “connoisseurship in wine” depicts an innate weakness of human nature to pursue his/her own selfish gain and interest without thinking of the consequences. This same greed and thought of Amontillado portrays both characters unrealistic and selfish perspective on life which Fortunato will ending up paying a hefty price for. Montresor's iniquitous motives and consummation by the thought of retribution is what leads him to follow his dark motives to manipulate and prey on Fortunato's

vulnerability for his own personal gain. In an intentional approach to exploit Fortunato's ego by making him feel weak through suggesting to “go back” , Montresor depicts the manipulative side of humans and how in Realism, man is evil and has a destructively selfish dark side. Fortunato's expectations and desire lead him down a path of being subjected to horrific evil, throwing him down a sudden shock from horrific reality.
In both short stories, the characters are blinded from reality due to their individual character flaws and desires, leading them to be fatally taken aback when faced with the brutal reality of the evil in the human world. In Connie's case, her naivety lead her to be preyed on by a perverse, sinful man who forcefully lures her away into death and destruction. The same applies to Fortunato, as his greed for wine in his inebriated state blinds his sense of danger allowing Montresor to exact revenge by harnessing his gullibility and eventually murdering him. This brutally honest and realistic reflection of human nature portrays the power of a dark side and the pitfall of vulnerability.