Comparison

The characters in ¡§The Tell Tale Heart¡¨ play a large role in the story because they set the theme as strange and bizarre. We are given a vivid view of the Poe that only Poe knew. The setting not only in ¡§The Black Cat¡¨ but also in ¡§The Cask of Amontillado¡¨ and ¡§The Tell Tale Heart¡¨ helps create the intended mood, works as an important tool for the writer to explain the circumstances of the story and helps the reader to understand the background, the time period and the culture about which the story is written. He knew very well of the natural human response when someone's expertise is put on the spot. It is this irrational fear, which evokes the dark side, and eventually leads to murder.

In "The Black Cat" Poe reveals a soul in torment, suffering from alcohol addiction, and unpredictable and dangerous changes of mood. Their natural response would be to accept the challenge to prove that in fact they are an expert in their certain field. The killing was conducted in a wired manner and the behaviour of the killer is very disturbed. It is made quite apparent that Fortunato is having a good time at the party and that he is rather drunk. Thirdly, the character development that doesn't unfold in the story, like the horrible acts of cruelty that the master had to have inflicted on his servant for the servant to act out in such a manner, is just as creepy because it let's the reader imagine what might have happened.

In these three stories we just get a small taste of Poe¡¦s obsession with murder, dismemberment, interment and the more bizarre aspects of life. Secondly, the old man can feel that the killer is there but his terror is too great for him to run, which is rather frightening. In this case, it is the "vulture eye" of the old man that makes the narrator's blood run cold.