People who are unaware of their situations and don’t question anything are easily lured in by their foes who use their weaknesses to cause their downfall. The main character in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is drawn in from her need to rebel against her family, only to find herself in an unfortunate situation she could not control. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, the main character lures his foe in for revenge, choosing to murder him in secret instead using legal channels and giving no evidence to the outside world that his foe is dead. Arnold Friend and Montresor lure their victims to them in a similar way: by pretending to be friendly and succeeding in leading to their down fall by using their weaknesses (men for Connie and wine for Fortunato) against them. Connie, from “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, wants to rebel against her family. She uses her attractiveness to flirt with boys at the local restaurant behind their backs as a form of rebellion. She feels as though her family does not appreciate her; her father does not pay any attention to her and her mother constantly compares her to her sister, criticizing her every move and asking why she cares so much about her appearance. On one of her outings she sees a boy who she vainly chooses to ignore. Later he shows up at her house posing as her friend, calling himself Arnold Friend, and talking to her as though he is another boy she flirts with down at the diner and pretending to be her age. She subtly flirts with him at first, only realizing the danger when it is too late. Montresor, fifty years after it happened, is confessing to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thous... ... middle of paper ... ... men. Each of the characters were easily brought down by their weaknesses. In the end Connie and Fortunato were brought down as a direct result of their weaknesses, their unwillingness to question their situations, and failure to see the signs of what was to come for them. If they could have been aware of what was coming for them instead of submitting to their weaknesses, their situations could have been completely different and it might not have lead to their downfalls. Works Cited Oates, Joyce C. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"" N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. . Poe, Edgar A. "Short Stories: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe." Short Stories: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
First, we look at the characters and their respective personalities when they first encountered one another. Connie is a normal girl who likes to get noticed for her looks and personality. She lives a double life, where her parents and family see a girl at the movies and socializing with girlfriends, and the other side to her is at the burger restaurant flirting with guys and exposing her looks for her personal gain. When we encounter Arnold, he is just a normal guy who flirts with Connie just like every guy has. He is described in the story as a typical guy in his 20s , with a shaggy hair that appeared to be a wig rather than his actual hair.
Fortunato’s immolation was not spontaneous as Montresor had been planning his revenge. This tells us that he is cunning as he strategically sets up Fortunato for his death. He had designed every detail so that he would be alone with Fo...
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
Poe, Edgar Allan. “ The Cask Of Amontillado.” Heritage Of American Literature .Ed. james E. Miller.Vol.2.Austin:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1991.20.Print.
When approached by Arnold Friend at first, she was skeptical but was still charmed by him. As she began to feel uneasy, Connie could have used her intuition to realize that he was trouble. Once she had been engaged by Arnold, her life was over. The influences on Connie and her lack of instilled reasoning led to her down fall. Her family’s fragmented nature was echoed in her actions; consequently, she was unable to communicate with her parents, and she was never was able to learn anything of significance. She felt abandoned and rejected, because no one took the initiative to teach her how to make good decisions. Connie was unable to mature until she was faced with death and self sacrifice. In the end, her situation made it difficult for her to think and reason beyond the position she was in. By not being able apply insight, she fell into Arnold Friends lure. Misguidance by the parents strongly contributed to Connie’s
Connie sits outside enjoying the sunny day and listening to music. We learn that music is her major weakness, it disconnects Connie from the real world, making her daydream and think of guys, in this case the author tells that she was thinking of everything she did with Eddie the night before and of how nice and gentle he was.
and his family, Montresor retaliated by plotting to kill him. Montresor thought of Fortunato as a
The text of this story serves a good example to others who have yet to actually consider their levels of anger and how far they are willing to take their vengeful plans. Before reading this, I had never really investigated what I would do if put in a similar situation and I’m sure I’m not the only person who has never examined this topic. It also makes me curious if anyone has ever read this story and actually viewed Montresor as valid for killing Fortunato. Furthermore, it would be interesting to examine their reason for believing Montresor was not in the wrong and what influences their choice. For example, my upbringing taught me otherwise, but for the person who agrees, how were they
Oates, Joyce C. "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" Compact Literature. By Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 505-16. Print.
Connie has the need to be viewed as older and as more mature than she really is, all the while still displaying childlike behavior. She shows this childlike behavior by “craning her neck to glance in mirrors [and] checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right” (Oates 323). This shows that Connie is very insecure and needs other people’s approval. Although on one side she is very childish, on the other side she has a strong desire to be treated like an adult. This longing for adulthood is part of her coming of age, and is demonstrated by her going out to “bright-lit, fly-infested restaurant[s]” and meeting boys, staying out with those boys for three hours at a time, and lying to her parents about where she has been and who she has been with (Oates 325, 326). “Everything about her ha[s] two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home” (Oates 324). Even her physical movements represent her two-sided nature: “her walk that could be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was hearin...
Oates, Carol Joyce. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?." Kirszner and Mandell. 505-516. Compact Literature. Boston: Wadsworth,2013,2012,2007. Print.
Reader Response Essay - Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Trans. Array Literature An Introduction to Reading and Writing. . 5th. Glenview, IL: Pearson , 2012. 226-230. Print.
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.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “That Cask of Amontillado.” Ibiblio. U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.d.