"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

             "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe are very similar. Both stories are written by Poe, and therefore share a very similar writing style. They are both dark and disturbing tales. Both stories are told in the first person and through the eyes of a killer. This technique helps to include the audience in the story. The killers in both stories premeditate the murders of a seemingly innocent person. Also similar is the methods used to conceal the evidence of the crime. What then makes one so much different from the other? Poe induces more sympathy from the reader for Fortunato by creating a more personal relationship with the victim in "The Cask of Amontillado."
             There are differences in the mental states of the killers, and how they are presented to the audience. In "The Cask of Amontillado," the killer is engulfed with revenge. He fills his victim has wronged him and he is executing appropriate justice. The killer, Montresor, is very calm and calculating throughout. He does not waver from his plan of action. Montresor is also very confident in his plan to murder Fortunato. In fact, he is so secure in himself he offers his victim a number of chances to escape, even trying to convince Fortunato to leave himself. Montresor is seemingly gratified by the fact that his victim refuses to turn away from certain doom. This action could also be a way of Montresor justifying the murder of Fortunato in his own mind. After all, he gave his victim numerous chances to escape. The killer in "The Tell-Tale Heart" had a very different personality presented to the audience. He begins the story with, "TRUE!-nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" Here he is admitting a pivotal weakness to the audience. He is not calm and rational like Montresor. Throughout the story he is constantly defending his sanity. This only leads the reader to believe t...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
"The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:52, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/14503.html