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The Tell-Tale of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe was "a respected critic and editor" (Kennedy, Gioia 41), and like most writers, he had a typical style of writing that made each of his stories similar and unique in their own way. Edgar Allan Poe's writing style was dramatic, and most of his stories dealt with death. For example, Edgar Allan Poe wrote "The Cask of Amontillado" which revolved around Montresor who "vowed revenge" (Poe 1141) against his old friend Fortunato, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" which told the story of how and why the narrator killed the old man which he "loved" (Poe 41). Both of the narrators of this stories have similitudes and differences.
"The Cask of Amontillado" was told by a narrator who was the protagonist of the story. The narrator of "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor, wanted to kill Fortunato because
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Montresor had borne "a thousand injuries of Fortunato… but when he ventured upon insult Montresor vowed revenge" (Poe 1141).
Montresor succeeded in killing Fortunato by tricking Fortunato with his weak point which was that Fortunato "…prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine" (Poe 1141), and Montresor manipulated that weak point in his plan. Montresor was clever in executing his plan because "neither by word nor deed had he given Fortunato cause to doubt his goodwill" (Poe 1141). Montresor executed his malicious plan on "the carnival season, where Montresor encountered Fortunato drunk, sick and dress as a clown" (Poe 1141) which worked in Montresor favor. Montresor asked Fortunato to try the Amontillado that he had bought, but then Montresor said, "As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn, it is he…" (Poe 1142).
Montresor intention of mentioning Luchesi was to hurt Fortunato's pride, and Montresor accomplished to do so because Fortunato said that he had no engagement and he neglected that he was sick all because he wanted to be the one who tried the Amontillado, so he willingly went to Montresor vaults. Montresor and Fortunato went to the vaults and when they reached the end Montresor chained Fortunato and covered him with 11 tires. Montresor successfully killed Fortunato, and no one found out what Montresor had done to Fortunato for "half a century" (Poe 11146) because Montresor was able to hide the truth of what he had done unlike the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart." Like the narrator in "The Cask of Amontillado," the protagonist of "The Tell-Tale Heart" was the narrator of the story who claimed that he was not mad by stating, "…nervous I had been… but why will you say that I am mad… observe how healthily-how calmly, I can tell you the whole story" (Poe 41). The narrator began explaining that he wanted to kill the old man because "one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture… and whenever it fell upon him, his blood ran cold…" (Poe 41). The narrator explained how he "opened the door…put in a dark lantern… so that no light shone out, and he thrust his head" (Poe 41). The narrator said, "It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay on his bed… would a madman have been so wise…" (Poe 42). The narrator explained how he watch the old man "for seven nights every night at midnight, but he found the eyes always closed, and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed him, but the old man's evil eye" (Poe 42). On the eighth night, the old man woke up and the narrator "…kept quite still… for a whole hour…" (Poe 42). The narrator said, "when I had waited a long time… I resolved to open a little… the lantern… and I fell upon the vulture eye" (Poe 43). The narrator succeeded in committing murder by placing a "heavy bed over" (Poe 43) the old man; however, unlike Montresor, the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" was not able to hide the truth of what he had done. The old man's neighbor called the police on the night because the neighbor heard the old man screamed. The next morning tree policeman appeared at the front door of the old man's house. The narrator told the policemen that he was the one who screamed because he had a nightmare and that the old man "…was absent in the country" (Poe 44). The narrator invited the policemen in the house to search because the narrator thought, for what I had I to fear" (Poe 44). The narrator had led them into the old man's room and "he brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest… while he placed his seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim" (Poe 44). The narrator thought, "My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease" (Poe 44), but that changed when the narrator began to hear a sound that he claimed that it was the old man's heartbeat. After a while of hearing the sound, the narrator told the policemen that he was the one who murdered the old man. Both of the narrators had similarities and differences, but so did their plots. Both "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" were stories that were being told by the narrator to someone, and both stories do not say to whom the narrators were telling the story. Both stories went step by step explaining how the protagonist carefully killed the other character of the story. Both stories were very similar, but both stories did have their differences. The story of "The Cask of Amontillado" was about how Montresor tricked Fortunato into his dead, and the "The Tell-Tale Heart" explained how the narrator killed the old man and how the narrator was discovered as the murderer. This similarity and differences between the stories incorporated the similarities of the narrators.
It is constantly seen that people take revenge on each other in the real world so it comes to no surprise that Montresor is taking revenge on Fortunato. Specifically in this story Montresor will feel better if he “not only punish but punish with impunity” (108 Poe). But further on what I found to even more realistic was that this wasn’t normal revenge, this was pure mastermind torture. Montresor knew that Fortunato was sick with Montresor saying “…but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted”(109 Poe) regarding that he didn’t want Fortunato to come down to his vaults, but Montresor true intentions were wanting Fortunato to fight Montresor request of not coming, and it worked. Montresor also knew how well Fortunato was at differencing wine “I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter” (109 Poe). By Montresor exploiting Fortunato’s sickness and skill of wines, Montresor knew that he could get Fortunato in the vaults where he could execute his revenge. At a first glance this may not seem lifelike because there’s an assumption to be made that people aren’t this immoral. But the truth is that the revenge that Montresor conducted is seen constantly in our culture. It’s undeniably real of the monstrosity that was made by Montresor when comparing it to the wicked
In the Edgar Allan Poe stories "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" the most prominent and important themes that are used are death, logic, and irony. The characters of the narrator and Montresor in these stories are both coldblooded murders who kill for selfish and inane reasons who firmly believe that their actions are justified even though their justifications only make sense in their own minds. They both try to convince their audience that they are sane by explaining to them their reasons for killing their victims and admitting how they did it, which only helps to prove their insanity. The narrator and Montresor are similar in that they both have impaired senses of judgment encouraged by perverse morals and believe that the horrible things that they do are justifiable.
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written by Edgar Allen Poe in the 18th century. Both of these stories are primarily focused on the mysterious and dark ways of the narrator. Since these stories were written by the same author, they tend to have several similarities such as the mood and narrative, but they also have a few differences. For instance, the characteristics of both narrators are different, but both stories portray the same idea of the narrator being obsessive over a certain thing.
Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his
While at the carnival, Montresor bought some of the finest Amontillado wine to use in his vengeful plan to murder Fortunato. He then meets his "friend," Fortunato. Fortunato is wearing "a tight fitting parti-striped dress and head is surmounted by the conical cap and bells" (Poe 528). By him wearing this outfit, makes it great for the narrator because he is going to make a fool out of Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative person. He challenges Fortunato's connoisseurship on wine tasting and leads him to his family estate.
In the ten years following 1836, Edgar Allan Poe established himself as a short story writer, writing the well known stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” in 1843 and “The Cask of Amontillado” in 1846. As dark as his nature was, the two stories were equally dark, one about a man killing an elderly man with a creepy eye, and the other about a rich dude killing someone who insulted him. As both of the tales possess main elements of murder and death, both of them also have elements that link the stories even more such as their protagonists, character motivations, and resolutions.
Montresor takes full advantage of the fact that Fortunato has a soft spot for fine wines. Montresor seeing that the only opportunity that he would have to exert revenge would be when wine is to be drunk in surplus decides to wait until the Carnival Season. We are told of one evening during the season when Montresor invites Fortunato over to his place. The major reason for the invite is to have Fortunato taste a sample of sherry that he had acquired to ascertain if the s...
In order to fully understand Poe’s use of the narrator the two previously mentioned stories must be summarized. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a tale about the narrator, Montresor, who desires to act revenge on his acquaintance Fortunato. He lures Fortunato into his basement in order for Fortunato to examine a rare wine called an Amontillado. While in the deep crypt Montresor offers Fortunato more and more wine so that by the time Fortunato gets to the area where the cask is kept he is heavily intoxicated. Montresor then chains Fortunato to a stone and begins to build a wall, trapping Fortunato inside the crypt to die while Fortunato screams and pleads for his life. Montresor, hearing his pleas for mercy and life, ignores them and continues to build the wall knowing that no one will ever find the body of the unfortunate Fortunato.
Edgar Allan Poe is known for some of the most horrifying stories ever written through out time. He worked with the natural world, animals, and weather to create chilling literature. Two most notable thrillers are “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Poe was infatuated with death, disfigurement, and dark characteristics of the world. He could mix characters, setting, theme,and mood in a way that readers are automatically drawn into reading. Both of these short stories have the same major aspects in common.
Poe presents the narrators of "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" as devious, obsessed characters. Both are overpowered by the need to consume the life of their victim. Though they use different strategies to carry out the murders in different ways, obsession is the driving force in both. It is this obsession that inspires them to design cunning strategies and carry out the executions.
Edgar Allan Poe has a style that is dark and morbid. His tone is very gloomy and obscure. The tone of “The Cask of Amontillado” is almost tame compared to the tone of “The Black Cat”, his other work we covered. The tone of that work is almost maddening. “The Cask of Amontillado” tone is very sinister and methodic. Whereas “The Black Cat”, has a pulse to a cadence and rhythm though no clear pattern is established. Poe’s style of writing seems so personal, as a reader I had to remind myself this was fiction. His first-person style of writing is so detailed and intricate it is very easy to become invested in the world he creates. “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” both have themes of revenge where the supposed victim is untimely
You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain (Poe 332)”. This revels Montresor notices that Fortunato is not able to tell Amontillado from Sherry as he is a great wine-lover. When Montresor is coughing, Fortunato is trying to convince him to leave: “Come,” I said with decision, “ we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was”. This shows jealousy and kindness of Montresor against Fortunato at the same time that is quite sarcastic. From this perspective, Montresor envious all of the things that Fortunato has and who is not reconciled to someone surpass him in the status. He mistakenly feels that this is the injury created by Fortunato resulting in his revenge. Therefore, he blame on Fortunato for all fault that he should eradicate him as soon as possible before he become a threatening when it is too late to take any action. Additionally, he does not even regret his choice and believes everything he does is right. This is because he tries so hard to makes an effort to draw Fortunato to his trap and put down his vigilance simultaneously by
Poe 's work as an editor, a poet, and a critic had a deep impact on American and international literature. His stories mark him as one of the originators of both horror and detective fiction. Many anthologies credit Edgar Allan Poe as the "architect" of the modern short story. Poe was the author of the two short stories “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart” the narrator has an obsession fixed on the old man’s “evil” eye which leads him into madness and hate, and to killing the man he claims that he loved. The Montresor of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” hates his enemy Fortunato and he becomes obsessed with the thought of getting back at Fortunato, his hate becomes increasingly
Edgar Allen Poe wrote “The Cask of Amontillado” which is a horror and a short story. Edgar Allen Poe was born in 1809 after his two siblings,and by the time Poe was one, his father had left the family. His mother died when he was three and, Poe was taken in by a wealthy John Allen from Richmond, who never fully adopted Poe or accepted him. The story “The Cask of Amontillado” is about the narrator, Montresor, who believes that he has been offended one too many times by his friend, Fortunato, yet he never tells exactly what insults occurred. Montresor feels he needs to get revenge on Fortunato. During an Italian celebration Montresor tricks Fortunato, who is very drunk, to go down to the catacombs with agreement, to taste some top-notch Amontillado (a type of wine). When they finally reach the spot where the so-called Amontillado is, Montresor chains Fortunato inside a hole in the catacombs, sealing the hole with bricks, and leaving Fortunato to die, deep inside the catacombs. Many similarities and differences occurred in the book and the movie, “The Cask of Amontillado.”
“The Tell-Tale Heart,” published in 1843, and “The Cask of Amontillado,” published in 1846, are two literary works of Gothic fiction written by Edgar Allan Poe. Both of these compelling stories have many prominent similarities and differences. Poe has developed unstable narrators in both “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado,” but the circumstances in each story are distinctively different. While an old man’s hideous eye drives the narrator to madness in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the thirst for revenge influences the narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado.” Although both stories contain a disturbed narrator, the narrator’s personality, the narrator’s motive for murder, and how the narrator displays their guilt is drastically different.