The stories “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe possess many similarities and differences in the forms of their complications, conflicts, moods and settings. Both stories have similar complications in that there are characters who are temporarily unaware of what is happening around them, though they discover the truth at different moments in their arcs. Each tale has a central conflict built around a journey, but Phoenix’s journey is altruistic, whereas Montresor’s is selfish. The central mood in both pieces is one of determination, but Phoenix’s determination relates to her grandson, while Montresor’s relates to his sense of vengeance. The settings of both stories take their characters toward singular …show more content…
The extremes of human nature are realized through Phoenix’s sheer will to get somewhere, even though she does not remember why. Welty was known for using stories which illustrated such facets of the human condition (“A Worn Path.” 313). The same human extremeness peers through the lens of drunkenness when Fortunato can not fathom the danger he is in until death is imminent. Both Phoenix and Montresor experience conflict in the form of their journeys, but the reason they engage in those conflicts, or journeys, could not be more different. Phoenix’s journey is one of physical pitfalls in the outdoors, racism, and her own frailty due to the aging process. Phoenix’s altruism keeps her going, driven by the selfless act of acquiring medicine for her grandson, Welty. Meanwhile, Montresor’s journey is all about revenge, and the seemingly endless depths he is willing to sink to in order to get it (Poe 1019). Getting someone drunk and chaining them in a crypt to die slowly, as evil as it may be, is still a journey fraught with personal danger should the killer fail. Both conflicts demonstrate the extremes of human nature by showing the distance a frail, benevolent person will travel through Phoenix, and the lengths to which the evil, plotting, Montresor will go to achieve revenge. The underlying mood in both stories is one of determination, expressed by Phoenix in her need to help her grandson, and by Montresor in his determination to kill Fortunato. Phoenix is almost single-minded in her determination, telling even the animals on her journey to stay out of her way. As weak as she may seem, she is a force of nature on behalf of her grandson. Meanwhile, Montresor, a force in his own right, is unphased by Fortunato’s physical strength, a possible loss of freedom, or the crypts themselves (Poe 1019-1021). Extreme human nature, portrayed through each character’s mood, appears in Phoenix’s raw