Essay Comparing The Cask Of Amontillado And Pancakes

Two stories; one sinister, and one more lighthearted. One dealing with life and death, and the other addresses perfectionism. One grim and sadistic, and one gentle and joyous. The two stories being compared here are “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Pancakes” by Joan Bauer. Written over one-hundred years apart, the two short stories have stark differences, as could be expected. But upon examination, they also have some striking similarities — even more than observable differences. First, both use the narrative voice to set an appropriate mood for the setting. We learn everything we know from the narrators, and the descriptions of the environment around them is the clearest picture we can get of the scene. Second, both literary

works use a narrator as a mediator. Furthermore, the two stories do this in similar ways. They both use a dramatized first-person active narrator. True, one narrator is reliable and one is unreliable — the latter is clearly insane. However, the two short stories use the first-person narrator as an emotional gateway. By creating a character who is relatable, they add another level of depth to their puppetry. The reader forms opinions and gets enticed into the story because of the type of narrator used. The first-person active dramatized narrator is the best type of narrator for both stories because we get a direct connection to the story and characters.
In “The Cask of Amontillado,” it is quickly evident that Montressor is trying to justify his extreme means of revenge. As readers listen to the narrative voice, they cringe at how evil and sadistic Montressor is. The ability of the first-person voice to make readers intensely engulfed in the story and form opinions make it perfect for this scene. For example, throughout the entirety
of the story, Fortunado is practically falling over in drunken stupor. However, Montressor continually feeds him more alcohol. This is akin to kicking someone when they’re down — Fortunado is already incapacitated, and Montessor only makes it worse. In a part of this scene, Montressor quotes, “My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes.” Readers everywhere have a strong adverse reaction to this. It comes across as inhumane and definitely something unacceptable. Likewise, in “Pancakes,” it can be clearly seen that Jill is indeed a perfectionist. At multiple points during the story, the reader sees how badly out of balance Jill is. The effect of this is that most readers connect to her by relating it to a similar situation they have had, such as doing a project last minute, but now knowing how to do it correctly. We become immersed because we want to see the resolution. An example of this connection to the story is that when Allen enters the pancake house, Jill quotes “I could her the taunts at school, the never-ending retelling of this.” We, as readers, also expect this to be the case because of the way Jill describes Allen.
Another effect of the first person narrator that is apparent in both short stories is how well this type of narrative voice creates a mood, generally through sensory imagery.

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montressor graphically describes the scene inside the catacombs with sensory imagery. Using phrases like “We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs.” and “Pass your hand over the wall; you cannot help feeling the niter. Indeed it is very damp,” sends a chill down the readers back. By incorporating these little pieces of descriptive dialogue, Poe succeeds in making the scene even more grim than it already was. He invokes an image into the readers mind of a damp, cold maze of bones. This use of imagery is also seen in “Pancakes.” At the end of the story there is a clear example of this as Jill states, “Hugo was speed-pouring boysenberry syrup, spilling everywhere.” He imagine a scene of a careless young boy recklessly pouring an aromatic, thick red syrup — and all of this came from a few words. This is the power of sensory imagery, and this is the reason both narrators used the first-person narrative voice. In combination with how readers come to view the narrator (innocent, sadistic, creepy, biased, etc), the sensory imagery gives us a sense of the setting and how it affects the active

narrator.
These two dynamic stories deal with very different scenarios, but are very similar in how they use the narrative voice. Both use the first-person voice to engross readers into the story by presenting something, such as an opinion or action, that is controversial so that readers will pick a side and continually read on to confirm or deny their thoughts. Second, the use of the narrative voice is strengthened immensely by the first-person active dramatized narrator. We can enter the character’s mind and see how they perceive the setting. Because of these two points, these two stories are among the best I have ever read.