Poes Narrators in Cask of Amontillado and Fall of the...

One of the most famous authors in American history is Edgar Allen Poe, thanks to his intricate and unsettling short stories and poems. One of the strongest aspects of Poe’s writing style is the allure and complexity of the narrator of the story. These narrators, ranging from innocent bystanders to psychotic murderers, add depth to such a short story and really allow Poe to explore the themes of death and murder which he seems to have an unhealthy obsession towards. Furthermore, he uses these narrators to give a different perspective in each of his many works and to really unsettle the reader by what is occurring throughout the story. The narrators, whether an innocent witness of death as in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† or a twisted†¦show more content†¦While the previous passage from â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† shows the narrator’s malice and hatred while planning the murder, this passage demonstrates the true genius of Poe’s wr iting by examining the actual act of murder and viciousness through the eyes of the narrator: ‘Fortunato!’ No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick - on account of the dampness of the catacombs [...] I forced the last stone into position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace re quiescat! (Poe 235) This passage is loaded with meaning and symbolism and really dives into the psyche of Montresor. For example, the line â€Å"There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells† is symbolic of the last moments of Fortunato’s life and the point of no return for both characters. This â€Å"jingling† is the final act of Fortunato and is the last moment between the two characters.Show MoreRelatedComparing Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado1299 Words   |  5 PagesPoe Short Stories Introduction The Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado are two of Edgar Allan Poes most well-known and noteworthy stories. This paper compares and contrasts the two stories and provides and outline as well. The Fall of the House of Usher is based on terror just as The Cask of Amontillado (hereafter called Cask) is based on terror but there are many different components that Poe uses that contrast with the Cask, and they will be pointed out. AccordingRead MoreEdgar Allan Poes Use of Gothisism891 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican literature; whose stories have made sizeable contributions to the Gothic literary element. Many of Poe’s stories contain more than one Gothic element. â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† is a prime example of this. In this story Poe presents the themes of death and the accompanying supernatural. Poe often uses his proficiency in Gothic to invoke deep reading. For many, this proficiency causes Poe’s stories to be difficult to fully understand at first glance. One of the many noticeable themes that entangleRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allen Poe971 Words   |  4 Pagesstories as â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† are classic examples of Poe’s dark and eerie work. Even though these two stories share similar elements they over all are quite different. With these works, Edgar Allen Poe help establish the dark romantic era of the 19th century. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† are two of Poe’s very well-known short stories and are still being referenced to this day. â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a tale of revengeRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allen Poe1073 Words   |  5 Pagesat five of Poe’s writings, â€Å"The Raven,† â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† â€Å"The Black Cat,† and â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† one can see that there are patterns and similarities in his many diverse stories. However, despite some similarities, Poe’s main characters are generally different. Within the five aforementioned stories, it is clear that the main characters are all easily recognizable and different than each other. The narrator of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is wealthyRead MoreThe Fall Of The House Of Usher Edgar Allan Poe Analysis1184 Words   |  5 PagesDue to Poe’s experiences of poverty and tragedies throughout his life, he became depressed, which affected his writing greatly. Along with his experiences, Poe incorporated many literary elements to enhance the mood of his stories like The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of The House of Usher. Poe used foreshadowing in both the Fall of the House of Usher and The Cask of Amontillado. Foreshadowing is a hint or a clue of what is going to happen next in a story. In The Fall of the House of Usher, Usher’sRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Cask Of Amontillado1401 Words   |  6 Pageswas inspired by a dark past. Poe’s mother died of tuberculosis after his father abandoned them. Then, while living with a foster family, his foster mother died and his foster father disliked him. These events caused Poe to have a particular style of writing and in each of these a reader is able to see similarities between the characters, theme, setting, and Poe’s use of symbolism. In ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ a reader can make these connectionsRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allan Poe1375 Words   |  6 Pageswas inspired by a dark past. Poe’s mother died of t uberculosis after his father abandoned them. Then, while living with a foster family, his foster mother died and his foster father disliked him. These events caused Poe to have a particular style of writing and in each of these a reader is able to see similarities between the characters, theme, setting, and Poe’s use of symbolism. In ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ a reader can make these connectionsRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe1555 Words   |  7 Pagesmultiple uses of direct and indirect characterization. In The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor had rules such as â€Å"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, 2). Poe used indirect characterization to show the reader th at Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he justified his actions or in this case, murder, to theRead MoreCommon Elements in all of Edgar Allan Poes Short Stories1157 Words   |  5 Pagesintriguing to find what components he tends to repeat. The most prominent likeness of Poe’s stories is the unnamed narrator. There are only a few of his works that he actually names the speaker: â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"Berenice†, and â€Å"The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar† are some examples. Almost all of the others fail to name him or her who is telling the story. In the twisted tale â€Å"William Wilson†, the narrator explains that the reason for not saying his name is because, â€Å"The fair page now lyingRead MoreLane Freeborn. Senior Seminar. 2 May 2017. The Horror Of1355 Words   |  6 PagesLane Freeborn Senior Seminar 2 May 2017 The Horror of Homoeroticism: Homoerotic Encounters in Edgar Allan Poe’s Writing Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. – from â€Å"The Narrative of Arthur Gordyn Pym† One of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest contributions to literature is the attention he brought to the short story. It can be argued that Poe was the inventor and also the perfector of this genre in American Literature, which has since rose to popularity