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`` The Cask Of Amontillado `` By Edgar Allen Poe Essay

Decent Essays

In contemporary short stories, protagonist’s tragic demises are often derived within their own self-destruct. Such occurrence are clearly developed in Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado,” in which a wealthy aristocrat falls victim to his fine taste of wine. Poe continues this theme in his work “The Black Cat,” by depicting a protagonist failing to realize the significance of his wrongdoings. By articulating characters with rather narrow mindsets, authors show the vulnerability of ignorance. Perhaps the greatest example is Jack London’s masterpiece, “To Build a Fire,” in which a protagonist a journey leagues above his capabilities. Perpetuating detrimental hubris, protagonist’s tragic flaws are exploited through the boastful conoseighership of wine, through the contempt satisfaction of crime, and through the unwillingness to listen to elders.

In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor lures in Fortunato, using Fortunato’s knowledge of wine as a catalyst, to his own death. Fortunato “prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine,” which suggests that he would go to great lengths in search of rare subjects (Poe 250). To, perhaps, the same “‘length’” Montresor would go for vengeance (250). Fortunato’s hubris nature serves as a vice in Montresor 's malicious scheme. Given an amplitude of opportunities to recede from the plot, John Freehafer asserts that “It is Fortunato, not Montresor, who is made to insist upon descending to the vaults and going down to

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