A Comparison of Two Murderers

The two short stories “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” share similar and different characteristics. Both written by Edgar Allen Poe, these stories involve murder, possibly insane narrators, and weak victims. They both also contain the theory of madness and obsession. Although these stories share many similar aspects, they differ in murder justification, murder execution, and final outcome of each situation.

The readers can pick up on Montresor’s crazy and vengeful, yet cunning, character from the feelings Montresor expresses on revenge. He is clever as he executes his plan to annihilate Fortunato. Montresor treats revenge very seriously. Montresor says when he plans to get revenge he has to follow through, it is never just a threat. He feels so strongly towards revenge and so insecure that when he says something he feels he has to do it; otherwise, others will think he just issues empty threats. Although he does not want to get caught, he says the victim needs to know who is getting the revenge. It should not be small it should be planned well. “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (87). Throughout the whole time leading up to Fortunato's immolation, Montresor says he must make sure Fortunato does not doubt his goodness. Montresor deceives Fortunato by smiling at him and continuing to act the same, all friendly like nothing happened. Montresor takes revenge so seriously, that

Fortunato,” ‘I should like your opinion. But if you are too busy, I will get Luchesi’s advice. If anyone is a good judge, he is’”(Poe 68). The citation shows Montresor's deceitfulness since he is trying to guilt Fortunato to come with him. By saying he would like Fortunato's advice, it’s guilting Fortunato to come into the catacombs; only a brilliant and deceitful man could come up with this proposal. I can deduce that without Montresor's deviance, he would’ve never been able to trick Fortunato into the catacombs and to his death. Montresor's deceitfulness also fooled Fortunato to help him in carrying out his own death. Montresor tricks Fortunato into drinking for his cough, intoxicating him more and more with each sip. “I do not wish to alarm you-but you should take care of yourself. A drink of this Medoc will defend you from the damp”( Poe 69). This cite reveals how Montresor is tricking Fortunato into killing himself practically, and helping Montresor succeed. I can summarize that Montresor planned from the beginning to fool Fortunato into helping him by

Montresor is trying to lure Fortunato to his vaults by telling him that Luchresi can just come and taste the Amontillado because he knows best. He knows Fortunato will freak out by this statement, and then show Montresor that he is wrong in saying that. Indeed, this leads Fortunato down into the catacombs, just so he can prove Montresor wrong. That 's when Montresor will take his final step in his plan to end Fortunato. This event leads to the most suspenseful part in the short story. The reader doesn’t know what Montresor’s next step is going to be in his plan, along with what stupid move is Fortunato going to take to leading himself closer to his death.

In the text montresor says”my heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(poe 67). Montresor is saying he feels bad for what he is doing and he feels sick in his heart To where he doesn't want to go through with it. But he thinks to the fact that he has made fun of him. In that case he continued down the catacombs and on with the murder. He thinks he is going to bring justice to himself but he loves the fact that he is taking Fortunato to his death. James F. Cooney says “ He seems to be unaware but the reader is not ,of the gleeful tone of his confession”(Cooney 15 ). At first Montresor acts as though he does not know what he is doing wrong. Suddenly he feels sick and knows he is wrong but thinks to when fortunato mad fun of him and feels no longer

The first device Poe uses in the story “Cask of Amontillado” is mood. Poe uses mood to analyze the story to show that mankind believes in the necessity of revenge and doing justice by their own hands. One quote that supports this claim is, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 1). This quote supports the claim because this quote displays that the mood of this story is developed through word choice, dialogue, sensory details, and description. In the first sentence of the quote “A thousand injuries I had suffered” (Poe 1) the author explains in the opening sentence, it gives a justification of the actions of Fortunato. The narrator of the story, Montresor is talking about his side of the story, by telling the reader that Fortunato has “ventured upon insult”, and crossed the line. The mood of the story “Cask of Amontillado” is dark and suspenseful. The mood of the story is dark and suspenseful because the strength of Montresor hatred for Fortunato is strong. The way Montresor manipulates Fortunato builds a great deal of tension. The mood of the story is dark and suspenseful because while Montresor executing his plan of getting revenge by Fortunato, by killing him, he didn’t feel guilty and not having any mercy on Fortunato. Another quote from the passage that supports the claim is, “We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow” (Poe 3). This quote sets up the mood of the story because the walls of the catacombs are covered with spider webs as they

From the very beginning of the story, one can obviously see that Montresor thinks that he has been wronged by Fortunato. His plan for vengeance is easily seen through his actions and his thoughts. "He had a weak

Montresor’s actions lend to his vengeful and manipulative nature. He lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home to carry out his plans to kill Fortunato. In the first step of his plan, he boosts Fortunato’s ego by saying that Luchesi was almost as worthy a judge of wine as he. Then Montresor tricks Fortunato into believing that there is an

<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is

Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.

The chances of being a victim of a mass shooting are a little less than your odds at being struck by lightning (Fund, 2012). If you take a look at our nation’s history you will see that the rate at which these killings take place are on the decline. This fact begs the question then what are the similarities with all these mass murderers? Is it the mental-health aspect of these murderers that link them all together? Is there a connection between the mass murderers that somehow will allow us to find these people before the acts? Finally, what is the reason that these mass murders are taking place? Are they doing it for fame, love, revenge or power? All of these questions have sparked several studies about these murderers in order to figure out

Feuds and arguments between individuals who may disagree with or dislike one another are a common occurrence in everyday life, often varying in degrees of intensity, but rarely reaching a point of extremity. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, This threshold of extremity is reached by the narrator of the story, Montresor, who explains that his acquaintance, Fortunato, has repeatedly and irreparably insulted him over the course of years, and uses it as justification to take justice into his own hands and seek retribution through murder, despite there being no proof of Fortunato's guilt other than Montresor’s claims. His motive for murdering Fortunato can be attributed to his state of mind, as Montresor’s lack of guilt, empathy, or remorse highlights him as a character with psychopathic tendencies. As the story progresses, Montresor’s cold and calculating nature leaves the audience full of dread and suspense while he lures the oblivious Fortunato towards his inevitable demise. The employment of rhetorical devices such as irony, theme, and structure builds the suspense for the ultimate climax of Poe’s gothic masterpiece.

Some of the irony used on this story can be seen when Montresor asks Fortunato about how he's feeling with the nitre and Montresor warns him by saying "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, and beloved. You are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill and I cannot be responsible." This phrases show all the irony necessary for a story to be ironic: first, Montresor saying that Fortunato's health is precious; second, when he says that Fortunato is a man to be missed; but after that, saying that to him it doesn't matter if he dies; and finally, saying that he will not be responsible.

Edgar Allan Poe is a prominent writer who wrote many peculiar and uncanny short stories and poems. One of the stories Poe wrote, “The Tell Tale Heart,” published in 1843, is about a narrator who is paranoid about an old man’s eye, so he decides to eradicate it. Another story by Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado,” published in 1846, is about a narrator who seeks revenge on his friend because, in the past, he was insulted by him. Both stories contain narrators, which are mentally unstable, but the narrator’s traits, their motives for the murder, and how their guilt is exhibited differ.

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.