English Paper “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need an escape from-Seth Godin.” Both elaborate short stories; The Necklace and The cast of Amontillado illustrate complex characters and themes. One of which being dreams are just what they are – only dreams. For instance, in The Necklace, Loisil mourns for divine status and even goes to the extent of begging for a gorgeous necklace. Evidently, the necklace ended up being a fraud. Additionally, in The cast of Amontillado, Fortunatos’ desire for the elusive cast of amontillado ultimately leads to his demise. Although short stories leave out detailed information, The Necklace and The cast of Amontillado both use complex characters to …show more content…
For instance, Loisel sees herself as an angel, stuck in a life of an impoverished being. This is evident when the narrator states, “ She was one of those pretty, charming young women who are born, as if error by fate, into a petty officials family (Maupassant 333).” As an outsider, this seems perfectly normal to the reader, but to Liosel, her beauty is a bittersweet curse. In fact, Liosel longs for elegant accessories to complement her overwhelming beauty. This is apparent when she approaches her best friend, whom she envies for her immense wealth, and asks if she can borrow an exquisite necklace. Of course Liosel believes that this necklace would be enough to give her desired high status, to the readers surprise, it actually does. Liosel spends a glorious night receiving the glorious comments she could have only dreamed of. Her dream comes to a halt when she realizes she lost her friend’s necklace. Because of its elegant beauty, Liosel believed this necklace was worth a fortune. But to her surprise, this necklace was a fraud; it was worth 400 francs at the most. This shows Liosel that what seems to be an achievable goal, is really an unachievable …show more content…
Fortunato, a wealthy condaseour of wine, follows the elusive narrator into his catacombs with the promise of a rare cask of amontillado. The narrator quickly realizes Fortunatos love for wine, which he exploits by constantly feeding Fortanato wine. The narrator presently reminds Fortunato of his “ Cask of Amotillado”, and is shocked by Fortunatos drive for the cask. Fortunato believes the jokes on the narrator, because he sees himself as a master of wine and negations. Unfortunately his lust for wine overwhelms is sober state, resulting in his stewed mindset getting the best of him. This is shown when the narrator clamors, “Come my friend, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no madder. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides there is Luchesi.” To which the narrator responds with, “ the cough is mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough (Poe 64).” This quote illustrates Fortunatos relentless will to achieve the Amontillado. This also demonstrates Fortunato’s unique obsession with being the best. For instance, Fortuanto is so caught up with Luchesi, a fellow wine master, that he goes to the extent of traveling to the deadly catacombs to capture the “Cask of Amontillado.” Sadly, Fortunatos quest to the Cast, results in his
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is not the only character who displays an overwhelming and ultimately detrimental sense of pride. Fortunato is also a very prideful man who is willing to go to great lengths to maintain his honor and reputation. For him, it is his reputation as a fine wine expert that he must defend. Fortunato’s pride overrides his common sense and is the driving force of the deadly decisions he makes throughout the story. Montresor claims to possess a bottle of the expensive and highly regarded Amontillado wine. He tells Fortunato that he has called an expert, Luchresi, to inspect the wine. Fortunato forces Montresor to take him to the vaults because he is certain that “‘[Montresor has] been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot
Montresor uses his knowledge of Fortunato to lure him into his trap. He tells Fortunato that he bought a cask of Amontillado and that Luchesi, a man who Fortunato is not fond of, is going to taste test the wine for him. This hurts Fortunato’s pride, which is made obvious when he repetitively states that Luchesi cannot tell the difference between Amontillado and Sherry. Fortunato predictably insists on tasting the Amontillado rather than allowing Luchesi to do so in order to prove how useful and important he is. Montresor leads him into the catacombs where he claims the Amontillado is being stored. Montresor lures Fortunato further and further into the catacombs by using reverse psychology. Montresor insists that they must turn around or else Fortunato will become sick from the nitre on the walls, which causes Fortunato to obsess over tasting the wine himself. While walking
The Cask of Amontillado is the story of and envious man by the name of Montresor who has devised a plan to kill one of his long term friends Fortunato. Montresor devised this plan in the beginning of the story after Fortunato had pulled one joke to many while at a party surrounded by many of their close friends. Montresor while at the party remained calm however while still laughing and cheering with Fortunato he started to develop his plot to get his revenge on Fortunato. In the story Montresor while plotting his crime says, “I had to keep my true feelings to myself for not only must I punish but punish with impunity” (Poe). While Montresor plans the murder of Fortunato, Fortunato is simply enjoying life and his wealth. During carnival Montresor sees a drunk Fortunato and ceases his opportunity. A drunk Fortunato walks over to Montresor and gives him a friendly greeting. Montresor sees this as an opportunity to take Fortunato away from the festivities by using both his weakness for wine and his pride against him. Montresor does this by tricking Fortunato into thinking that he had recently brought a cask of Amontillado and he needed Luchesi to distinguish if it was actually Amontillado. Fortunato, who feels that he is the best wine tester in all of Italy quickly replies, “Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry” (Poe) . Montresor knowing the pride and arrogance of Fortunato then says, “"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own." (Poe) . That
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
When Montresor mentioned to him that he received the pipe of what passed to be for the Amontillado (179), he was completely astonished and nothing mattered more to him than holding and taking a look at it to make sure that it was the authentic cask of the Amontillado. The fact that this man was determined on actually taking a look at the cask, made him forget about what was really going on in his surroundings, nothing mattered more than that, not even his current health condition. This man was vulnerable. Poe states, “ ‘My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre.’ ‘Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado.’” (180). Fortunato becomes completely careless about himself, the only thing he truly cares about is taking a look at the Amontillado and he assures Montresor that only he could distinguish it, applying that he must take him and he must be the one who takes a look at it. He becomes completely obsessed and closed mined with the cask of Amontillado, nothing mattered, not even his own life. This cask becomes the casket for Fortunato’s hopes, dreams, and
Throughout the story, one of Fortunato’s main weaknesses is his pride in his knowledge of wine. Fortunato “[prides] himself on his connoisseurship in wine” due to the riches and status it gives him, and Montresor takes this into account in his plan when he tells Fortunato that he found amontillado, a rare wine, in the catacombs (Poe
In the short story, “The Cask of Ammontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator, Montresor, is friends with a man named Fortunato. Although, Montresor and Fortunato are friends Montresor begins by telling the reader how for many years Fortunato has hurt him by insulting him. Montresor then continues by telling the reader that he desires revenge. At this point the reader sees the narrator’s malicious plan unfold. On the night of a carnival celebration Fortunato is exceedingly drunk and Montresor lures Fortunato down to an underground graveyard where there also happens to be a rare wine called Ammontillado.
To cover his tracks, Montresor plans his murder during the Carnival season, reasoning that during the festivities, Fortunato will drink wine and impair his judgement. During this time, Montresor encourages the servants to leave the house so there will be no witnesses to his crime (May). To lure Fortunato away, Montresor discerned that Fortunato's "weak point" is the great pride he takes in his "connoisseurship of wine" (Poe 91). Because Montresor, himself "skillful in the Italian vintages" (91), shares Fortunato's knowledge of and pleasure in wines, he is well positioned to exploit his victim's vulnerability (Mustafa). Montresor uses both of these incidents to create a perfect scenario by luring an already drunk Fortunato with the promise of a rare wine.
The narrator takes full advantage of this vice when, upon running into an already drunk Fortunato at a celebration during carnival season, he makes an offer he knows Fortunato cannot resist. The narrator tells him that he has received “a pipe of what passes for Amontillado” (392), and he asks Fortunato to come with him to verify the validity of the brandy. The narrator continues his parade of false concern for Fortunato when, before taking him to check the Amontillado, he expresses concern for a cough Fortunato has, and even offers to help him get it checked out (393). This display by the narrator causes Fortunato to not suspect what the narrator really has in store for him, and it serves as another examples of the narrator’s unreliable and deceitful
The cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe Edgar Allen Poe was an American author known for having a mysterious dark side. He mostly used creepy narrator’s to tell his story’s to add that eerie and disturbing feeling that makes the hairs on your neck stand up. Poe’s stories were typically tales using Irony. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe does not just use simple Irony, but he uses both verbal and dramatic irony to tell the tale of an evil killer and his gullible victim.
In The Necklace, Guy De Maupassant creates a suffering tone. He uses diction to further describe words and give better meaning to his statements, irony to tie the story together and give dramatic surprises, and imagery to show you what Mathilde (the wife) is dreaming of our talking about. He uses all of these literary devices to support the tone that is created throughout the story.
In a small recess; now heavily intoxicated, Fortunato heads toward the walls, searching for the wine, Montresor suddenly fetters Fortunato to the wall. While taunting Fortunato with thoughts Montresor began to wall up the entrance of the crypt, leaving Fortunato to suffer. The "cough" is one of the main ironic symbols in "The Cask of Amontillado". In the section on page four when Montresor explains to the readers his knowledge of the death of Fortunato; Poe uses foreshadowing of his death and verbal irony to build suspense and enhance the atmosphere. Edgar Allen Poe also uses dark humor in order to emphasize revenge, when Montresor responds "True, true" the reader can feel the tension in the story, and the fact that Montresor agrees with him isn't just foreshadowing but humor. Lastly, Poe adds Fortunato's illness into the story, so there's a bigger realistic impression, he added the coughing and the drinking into the short story so Fortunato wouldn't be wondering and asking more questions for example: When did you find the Amontillado? Who did you buy it
Though Fortunato is an intelligent wine expert, his expertise leads him to his death. In Italian the word Fortunato means fortunate, something that he is not by the end of the story. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe uses foreshadowing and dramatic irony and verbal irony to show Fortunato’s misfortunes which eventually lead to his death.
“The Necklace” Literary Analysis “In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth […] is dredged up only as a final resort when the alternative options of deception, threat and bribery have all been exhausted.” Michael Musto, a journalist, columnist, and author, understood many people tell the truth when all other options are unavailable. In “The Necklace”, a short fictional story written by Guy de Maupassant, a similar situation occurs. Characters are given the opportunity to speak the unvarnished truth; however, they choose a contrasting route. Essentially, Guy de Maupassant utilizes characterization, conflict, and irony to develop the theme, honesty is the best policy which, in turn, showcases itself throughout the story.
Both Guy de Maupassant and O.Henry are two very recognized short story writers and they wrote respectively The Necklace and The Gift Of The Magi which are going to be compared in this text. In the Necklace, Mathilde, the protagonist, is a jealous, poor, unhappy person and she does not give values to thing that she has. She is married with a young guy that is poor two but is not jealous. Her biggest fear was becoming poor and it turns reality at the final of the story when she realizes that the necklace was fake. The Gift Of The Magi is a story centered on a young couple living in a small apartment located in New York. They are poor so they have to sell something to buy each other a christmas gift. At the end of the story, the couple realize that they do not need gifts. Both stories deal with young and poor couples who face in a objective and are surprised with a unexpected, ironic turn. The objective of this report is to establish clear differences between the short stories and to provide