In the short stories “The cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Return” written by Naugi Wa Thiong’o both display the overall theme of abuse of power throughout a variety of different ways. The first way that the theme is displayed is through manipulation in the stories. In “The cask of Amontillado”, the main character Montresor manipulates Fortunato. Montresor is able to manipulate Fortunato by playing on his exceedingly well knowledge of wine. “He had a weak point” (Poe 3). Montresor states that Fortunato has a weak point in which he follows up with stating that his weak point is wine. In the story Montresor plays on this by offering him wine while they go into the catacombs in order for him to be drunk and not be in the right mind set as a better way to take his revenge. …show more content…
Another way that Montresor manipulates Fortunato in the story is through a sense of flattery.
Montresor talks to him in this high sense to feed into his arrogance and pride that is seen throughout the story. “You are a man to be missed. For me, it is no matter” (Poe 37). Montresor claims that Fortunato is more important than he is and that if anything happened to him, he will be missed. Montresor is able to feed into his arrogance and manipulate him into thinking that he thinks highly of Fortunato. In “The Return” manipulation is a theme strongly portrayed by the antagonist, Karanja. Karanja uses manipulation to make Kamu’s parents believe that he had died whilst he was in a detention centre. “Why, who told you I was dead?” (Thiong’o 49). Kamu asked his father this. His father then replied with: “Karanja, son of Njogu”. (Thiong’o 49). Karanja had told Kamu’s family that he had died, he had used his trust that his family had for him, and manipulated them by doing so. Karanja not only told his family, but also his girlfriend that he had died. “Then Karanja came and said that you were dead, your father believed him, and she believed him too” (Thiong’o
49). Karanja used his place and power to manipulate his girlfriend into also believing that Kamu had died. In order for him to get what he wanted. While both stories potently display a depiction of manipulation tying into the overall
These imperfections cause him to murder his former friend Fortunato, because “when he ventured upon insult, [Montresor] vowed revenge” (212). Montresor goes to severe measures in order to maintain his pride, demonstrating that he is arrogant, cruel, and a generally imperfect person. However, while Montresor appears cold and cruel on the outside, after he killed Fortunato “[his] heart grew sick” (216). Although Montresor perceives his emotional response as a physical reaction to the dampness of the catacombs, the reader sees it for what it truly is: a sign of remorse.The reader can discern that Montresor’s pride and cruelty are battling against his conscience, and that his flaws catalyze his actions. Observing Montresor’s faults instead of speculating he is comprehensively inhumane conceives him to be a profound and deep
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” the main character, Montresor, leads his enemy, Fortunato, into his catacombs, and there buries him alive by bricking him up in a niche in the wall; Poe gives no actual reason for this except to say that Montresor has been “insulted” in some way. In his Science Fiction work “Usher II,” Ray Bradbury adopts many of Poe’s works in creating his story—including pieces from “TCoA.” What separates Bradbury’s work from other authors who borrow works and re-imagine them (Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Geraldine Brooks’s March, and Peter Carrey’s Jack Maggs, for instance), is that “Usher II,” in its imaginative way, is trying to be one with its predecessor. Bradbury seeks to retain Poe’s love of the double and the secretive (Gothic mentalities where the reader is meant to be a bit uncertain about what they’re reading and what’s going on) while adding, most notably regarding “TCoA,” the things Poe never had much care for: a beginning, an end, and reason—thus making “Usher II” not only an homage to Poe’s work, but a companion piece whose beating heart lies within the original work.
There is a lot of suspense in this story and some foreshadowing that leads to it.The first thing we read is that Sanger Rainsford yacht is near an island called Ship Trap Island. We are told that sailors are very afraid of the place. A second bit of foreshadowing comes a bit later when Rainsford talks about hunting. He says that no one cares how the hunted animal feels. This foreshadows the fact that he will become a hunted animal himself.
In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses wine to show a class and power struggle between Montresor and Fortunato and the strong emotions that are tied to wealth in Italy around the 18th century.
Accordingly, Poe is well responsive to this psychological trait of the human brain. Likewise, Poe employs the perception of perversity and remorse in “The Cask of Amontillado.” The reason of burying Fortunato is not only vengeance, but also a robust reaction that is described in “The Black Cat”. There is a passionate yearning in Montresor to hurt Fortunato even if he has not made any harm to him. Although Montresor asserts that he has been injured several times by Fortunato, he cannot defy calling him “respected, admired, beloved,” admitting his “good nature,” and also calling him “noble” (Little 212). These expressions confirmed that Fortunato is a good quality person and the expression “injuries” used in the first phase of the story is simply a hyperbole that Montresor’s psyche has fabricated. Furthermore, wickedness does not come unaccompanied, but it carries itself a sense of remorse. Even if Montresor reflects himself as the diplomat of his family for deafening down rivals, he suffers remorse while walling up Fortunato. Consequently, Poe’s clasp of unreasonableness and culpability of the human mind is
Anything not taken in moderation can be damaging. In one of Edgar Allen Poe's best-known tales of horror, "The Cask of Amontillado," he suggests that pride can be a very dangerous thing, when one is overwhelmed with it. Through the use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism, Poe presents a horrific drama of two men. One who will stop at nothing to get the revenge that he deems himself and his family worthy of, and another who's pride will ultimately be the fall of his own death. Fortunato falls prey to Montressor's plans because he is so proud of his connoisseurship of wine, and it is for the sake of his own pride that Montressor takes revenge on Fortunato. Poe utilizes the theme of pride and many other literary techniques such as foreshadowing, revenge, and irony, in order to create a horrific and suspenseful masterpiece.
Alcoholism is the addiction to the intake of alcoholic liquor or the psychological illness and neurotic behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. There is a time and place for alcohol consumption in every culture. It’s a growing problem in America’s society and culture today. Revenge and trust are an issue in this short story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor symbolizes Poe’s alcoholism, whereas Fortunato represents himself, the man who is trying to reach satisfaction and eventually gets imprisoned by his minute habit. He is attempting to get revenge on someone else because of the insults he had been given. Revenge, trust, and alcohol are all apparent in today’s society, even though this was over 150 years ago, America’s population can still relate to it.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor who has been so humiliated by Fortunato that the only way Montresor can be satisfied is with revenge. So Montresor decides that Fortunato is going to get the worst punishment ever. Therefore the night of the Carnival Montresor invites Fortunato to this palazzo. He tells him that he needs help with an Amontillado (sherry wine) because he has doubts about it. Montresor decides to tease Fortunato because he knows Fortunato has too much pride and he tells him “ I am in my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me.” (Poe 20) There was
An important element in any story is setting. Authors use setting to convey certain feelings brought on by the character’s surroundings. It also subliminally serves to illustrate the character’s intentions. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe uses the dark, imposing setting to do just that, communicate the underlying theme of the story, being death, revenge and deception.
Among Poe's most intriguing tales is "The Cask of Amontillado," first published in Godey's Lady's Book in November of 1847. A surface reading of that story reveals only a simple description by Montresor (the narrator) of how he kills another man who was called, ironically, Fortunato. Montresor exploits Fortunato's vanity concerning the connoiseurship of wine; specifically, Montresor pretends to want a wine cask of Amontillado verified as genuine. Montresor chooses a time when Fortunato is drunk to dupe him into going down the spiral stairs into the catacombs, which serve as a sort of family burial grounds for the race of Montresors. But rather than a mere cask of wine, Fortunato finds his death; for Montresor bricks him into a niche of the catacombs which has remained undisturbed for the fifty years since the murder was performed. How simple!
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is a dark and frightening tale of revenge, temptation and murder. The victim of the heinous crime, Fortunato, is a respectable gentleman with a weakness. He has flaws like any other human being, but the difference lies in the severity of his imperfections. For poor Fortunato, his vulnerabilities prove to be the cause of his death. If Fortunato had not been drunk at the time of his homicide, he would not have been susceptible to the enticements of his murderer, Montressor, and would not have been killed.
Often, too much power can go to that particular person’s head, and he/she can become corrupt. As readers have seen in literature, abuses of power are often harmful to the abuser and their subjects. Corrupted authority and abuses of power eventually lead to the collapse of society. This concept is shown many times throughout the novel Lord Of the Flies and the short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone”. Displayed through characters and actions, abusive power has dominated what should be morally correct in literature.
This immediate familiarity helps the reader to see inside the calculating mind of Montresor, whom we later learn is a killer. When talking about the past insults of Fortunato, he takes on a cold, determined tone: “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled […] I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe, 618).