Lying Narrators
In all stories, there is a narrator. Sometimes the narrative comes from a first-person point of view. Other times its in third person. More times than most however, the story is narrated by the hero of the story. The hero is typically the main character and the character we are rooting for throughout the story. In Edgar Allen Poe's story's though, things are a bit different. Take "The Cask of Amontillado" for example. In this story, it is narrated in first person, however the narrator is definitely not a hero.
Like I said before, most narrators are trustworthy hero's who always save the day. Except, is that really what happens? Technically, there is no way to know if the narrator is telling the truth unless you ask the author. So maybe these so-called hero's aren't really who they seem to be. Think about it, have you ever been telling a story and accidentally exaggerated the details? I know I have, and truthfully, I think it's entirely possible that could be happening to these narrators.
…show more content…
Are they lying too? I think that heros and villains could both be lying to make themselves seem better. I've definitely never read a story narrated by a villain in which they tried to make themselves seem more crazy and dangerous. Most of the time, the villain tries to justify his or her actions by making their victims seem to be in the wrong. Typically, the victim in most stories is the hero. This brings us to a pretty mind-boggling question. If the hero's are really lying about who they are, is it possible that they could be worse than the villain? My answer to that conspiracy is, yes. I think that it's entirely possible that could be true. I also believe that thinking this way can help to make you a smarter, more advanced
Everyone has their own perception on what defines a hero; some may argue that they exhibit characteristics such as honesty or courage, while others may think that heroes have special power. Our society may have changed the values in which we associate heroes with, but one thing seems to have never changed: the main character of the book turns out as the hero. In my analyst, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is put on trial as we see through our own eyes how Caulfield can not be considered a hero in modern society.
A hero is defined as "someone admired for his bravery, great deeds or noble qualities". There are three categories to which all heroes can be classified into, one of which is the anti-hero genre.
Is there really a perfect crime? This is the main point in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” The story is a dark tale of a presumably insane man who suffers from, according to him, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (Poe 75). One of the major factors in telling this story is the setting. The story is set primarily in the Montresor family catacombs, which provides the dark setting, filled with human remains, and this reflects where Montresor commits his crime, where no one will expect. Furthermore, the narration also helps in telling the story. It is first person point of view, so the story is heard entirely from him. Readers will go into Montresor’s thoughts and be curious about why he wants to kill Fortunato so badly. Furthermore, the symbolism of the story is very important and many symbols in symbolizing Montresor killing Fortunato. Finally, the insane Montresor tried to pull the perfect crime but fails; he does not pull the perfect crime, he fails his goal when he realizes he is doing a bad thing.
What makes a hero or a villain? A hero is defined as a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. By this definition, there existed countless heroes in America during the 1800’s in relation to slavery. There were many abolitionists, particularly from the North, that exhibited courageous attitudes. It was these heroes that taught the southerners, who believed their lives could only prevail if slavery survived and expanded westward, what they knew was morally right (3, 92).
One of the most famous authors in American history is Edgar Allen Poe, thanks to his intricate and unsettling short stories and poems. One of the strongest aspects of Poe’s writing style is the allure and complexity of the narrator of the story. These narrators, ranging from innocent bystanders to psychotic murderers, add depth to such a short story and really allow Poe to explore the themes of death and murder which he seems to have an unhealthy obsession towards. Furthermore, he uses these narrators to give a different perspective in each of his many works and to really unsettle the reader by what is occurring throughout the story. The narrators, whether an innocent witness of death as in "The Fall of the House of Usher" or a twisted murderer as in "The Cask of Amontillado" are used by Poe to discuss the themes of death and murder within these stories and, depending on their point of view, give a different take on such a despicable act such as murder.
Treachery and revenge are the most horrific ways to express the anger toward friends, but what happens when they lead to a painful death? “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (5). This is how Montresor, the main character in Edgar Allane Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado, described his desire to kill his friend Fortunato, the second character. Montresor was seeking for vengeance of his friend Fortunato, because the latter had insulted him. The narrator during his telling the story did not refer to the reason that motivated him to kill his friend or even not mention to the readers what kind of insult he received form Fortunato. During the carnival festival, Fortunato is mesmerized by Montresor through reverse psychology.
Dramatic Irony is when an author allows the reader to know more than his/her characters in the story. This technique is used by the authors to add suspense to their literature. Edgar Allen Poe created many suspenseful stories using dramatic irony for the purpose of creating themes about human nature. In the short story “The Cask Of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe uses dramatic irony to develop the theme that one should be careful about insulting another because he/she will seek revenge.
n/a 4. A narrator is considered one who tells a story and if a narrator is unreliable, the story is most likely written in first person. An illustration that provides an unreliable narrator is “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. “The Cask of Amontillado” is told in a first person about a murderer that is demonstrating revenge. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is also told in first person about the drive in humans to commit murder.
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato
The setting of a story sets the tone for the entire piece. Without the appropriate setting, what the author is trying to express is lost. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting as a way to set the stage for the events that will come. Poe’s settings make his stories interesting, as well as easy to understand because of his descriptiveness and writing techniques. His use of vivid details and symbols in his settings intrigue the readers and set a particular tone. Each and every setting has a direct meaning and reason attached to that of the story and time.
According to John Steinbeck, "Heroes are innocent; villains are cunning." This statement likely regards the internal aspects of characters, such as intellect, reasoning/motivation, and morality/responsibility, as indicated by consistency in action and/or articulation, as in direct speech or soliloquy. An examination of the heroes and villains in Measure for Measure, Othello, and Hamlet can determine whether Steinbeck's generalization is applicable.
When people think of heroes and villains they think of the characters who play these roles in cartoon movies like Batman and Spiderman, but in reality, anyone can be a hero and anyone can be a villain. Heroes are considered to be inspirational and bold because of what they do to help others. While villains are typically defined as a wicked or evil person who makes others feel helpless.
For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.
It seems to me that both of these characters are heroes by the virtue of their agency, but this is not simple agency. They are agents because both of them are participating in something that Karen Barad calls “intra-action.” Intra-action does not separate human from non human aspect of world or understanding of the world. It does not put culture and nature into conflict, or try to submits one to another, but “the nature of observed phenomena – hero/character changes with corresponding changes in the apparatus – nature/society,“ as our heroes changed in two observing period, they remained to be heroes, only that Robinson Crusoe is now called a character instead of a hero, but the essence is the same.
This essay will be identifying the key elements of an effective hero and villain. I will argue that all heroes are psychologically the same and how they haven't truly changed since the time of Greek heroes such as Hercules and Prometheus. In addition, I will be arguing that villains also have psychological similarities, even if they have some qualities typical of heroes. These ideas will be in relation to Joseph Campbell mainly but will also relate to theorists like Otto Rank, Jung and Freud. The essay will prove that heroes and villains are all the same even if they appear diverse towards stereotypes.