From the moment of birth every human has a seed of evil imbedded inside of them and sometimes this seed festers and grows into something horrific and truly evil. For the characters in Richard Conel’s “The Most Dangerous Game” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “ The Cask of Amontillado, this evil growth has indeed occurred. However, even though both characters are evil; their reasons for villainy are different and their actions differ from one another. Both characters, Zaroff and Montresor, can be classified as evil but with different motives; one bent on revenge the other addicted to to a vile game. Through reading The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell, the reader truly gets a sense of what true evil is when they come upon the character Zaroff. The reader first glimpses at Zaroff’s evilness by reading the setting and finding out that he lives on this creepy island. The story begins with this statement, “The old charts call it ‘Ship-Trap Island,’” Whitney replied. “A suggestive name, isn’t it? Sailors have a curious dread of the place. I don’t know why. Some superstition.” (Connel 144) The story also says, “Dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. What perils that tangle of trees and underbrush might hold for him did not concern” ( Connel 148). When the reader reads this they gets a sense of creepiness and a foreboding feeling and then they find out that Zaroff lives on this island which gives him a cloak of mystery and edginess around him. Also, Zaroff has a giant
In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell and the poem “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning, the authors use characterization and imagery to convey that the desire for power can drive man to psychotic actions.
Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration. Both General Zaroff from “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, and Fortunato from “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe exhibit these qualities, when General Zaroff killed his prey and when Montresor got revenge on Fortunato. They were too absorbed in themselves to see how their humanity was impaired. In both texts, the authors utilize a violent conflict, an isolated setting, and vivid characterization to illustrate how excessive pride can distort one’s judgement, demonstrating the importance of humility and humaneness.
Conflict in The Cask of Amontillado and A Poison Tree also reveals the theme that suppressed anger can sometimes lead to revenge which can result in explosive violence. The man vs. man conflicts in both of the writings are examples of revenge fueled violence.
In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a journey into the mind of a mad man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. In a short space and with ultimate technical skill, Poe creates a nightmare, guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night.
The lavish black roquelaire absorbed nearly all of the light in the surrounding area which perfectly made a silhouette of Montresor’s figure. The smell of nitre permeated throughout the air like a plague. The smell was so overpowering that I nearly passed out. As I hung there, bound to the wall by cold rusted chains, I could make out the twisted smile of Montresor as he removed his silken mask. I looked him in the eye and could see the hate behind them. It seemed to be more primal and real than anything else I had ever seen. After staring me down, Montresor hastily produced that godforsaken trowel from underneath his cloak and started to lay layer after layer of brick, starting to enclose me into this horrible room. My last view of Montresor
“The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are two stories that take your mind through the darkest moments a human can experience. Darkness, fear, and survival, these are just a few things a man can experience on a island with an atrocious psychopath, Zaroff. Rainsford, a famous hunter washes up on the enigmatic island with Zaroff for three nights. Now imagine you’re deep in the streets of Italy, a carnival makes the perfect distraction to lead away victims of murder. Montresor, the ‘friend’ of Fortunato, leads the drunken man below the surface into the bony Catacombs.
The deranged, but brilliant Edgar Allan Poe once said “The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls...” Poe’s notions of the evil within are found in both “The Cask Of Amontillado” by Poe, and “A Poison Tree” by William Blake. The authors write about how revenge can create this insane creature within that will only settle for betrayal and destruction. For example, the speakers in both features are wronged by someone and their way of handling it is deceitful murder. The killers on the outside are characterized as calm people; while on the inside, they are characterized truly as people who enjoy watching those who “deserve it” suffer. Poe and Blake use characterization to convey a theme that man takes violent revenge when they are wronged.
It is Edgar Allan Poe's intense use of symbolism and irony throughout the Cask of Amontillado that establishes the short story as an indeed interesting candidate worthy of thorough analysis. The skillful use of these devices are utilized by the author to create this horrific and suspenseful masterpiece.
In the book Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin said, “I will hurt you for this. I don’t know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.” Revenge is a dangerous act and can lead to death and injury. Edgar Allan Poe wrote an eerie and sinister short story called “The Cask of Amontillado.” This story is told by a narrator named Montresor. He was insulted many times by a man named Fortunato. Montresor goes to great lengths to get revenge against his enemy. Montresor lures him into the Montresor family catacombs, keeps him drunk, and ends his life with chains and a trowel. Through his use of carefully constructed
It is often said that revenge is sweet, but that phrase does not hold to be extremely true throughout The Cask of Amontillado. There are various themes and lessons throughout the story, but there is one theme that seems to be shown more than others. The most prevalent theme is that jealousy can lead to vengeance, and ultimately lead to the downfall, or even death, of a person. This theme is clearly evident through the two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. By looking closer at Montresor’s words and actions toward Fortunato, it is apparent that there is a superfluous amount of jealousy between them. This jealousy that is between them ends up playing a major part in Montresor ultimately killing Fortunato, someone who was thought to be one of his best friends. The author uses the characters and their actions to develop a solid plot line and prove the point that jealousy and revenge can destroy a person, both figuratively and literally.
"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." With these ferverous words from the introductory paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's Cask of Amontillado, the story of Montresor's revenge begins. Poe repeatedly stresses the need for revenge due to bitterness and resentment in Montresor's character towards Fortunato, but more importantly, stress is placed on revenge by which the victim realizes their injustice towards the redresser. Unfortunately, it seems that Montresor is denied this pure and encompassing revenge when his victim,
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.
Violence is a vice that drives individuals to engage in immoral or criminal behaviors and actions. Often, violent individuals conduct violent acts whose outcomes they had not meant to occur. The literature piece The Cask of Amontillado has its storyline based on a carefully premeditated murder scheme orchestrated by Montresor on Fortunato. Throughout this story, it is made clear to the reader that violence takes not only physical but also emotional and psychological forms of harm. Montresor’s thirst for violent revenge against Fortunato does not just arise from nowhere. The story starts off with a statement offered by Montresor, where he reveals to the
People are constantly being commanded by the temptation of revenge and demolished by the aftermath of taking it. “I forced the last stone into place; I plastered it up. – For more than a half century no one has disturbed them” (Poe 8). In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is so hopelessly controlled by his desire for revenge, that he brutally murders his
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.