Into Darkness: A Compare & Contrast Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” utilize character responsibilities to create a sinister plot. For Hawthorne, protagonist Young Goodman Brown must leave his wife at home while he partakes in a night journey. For Poe, ancillary Fortunato covets a pretentious manner towards his wine tasting skills, and after being ‘challenged’ decides to prove his expertise by sampling Amontillado. Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting, characters, and fate of entrapment. Hawthorne and Poe showcase a theme of darkness but differ in their approach to the setting. In Young Goodman Brown, the story primarily …show more content…
Both stories feature building action that allows the theme of darkness to mount until the climax, the fate of entrapment. For Hawthorne, the staff-wielding Goodman Brown induced a maniacal laugh, “the road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness,” (Hawthorne 175). The action leads to the midnight meeting which transforms Goodman Brown’s life forever. Hawthorne denotes the possibility that the event was just a dream, but one that caused irreversible trauma leading Goodman Brown to live a gloomy life wherein his faith could only then be to himself. Goodman Brown endures a lifetime of internal entrapment; he no longer trusts the people of his community, the word of his religion, or the comfort of his wife. Similarly, in The Cask of Amontillado, one character endures entrapment of his own – Fortunato. In contrast, Poe’s entrapment does not have a polarizing effect on the way one views world but rather how one does not view the world due to physical entrapment by way of fortification. For Poe, the pretentious Fortunato winds up in chains only able to produce “a succession of loud and shrill screams,” (Poe 396). Fortunato was a fool who sunk his teeth into a matter he had no business being in. Similar to a snake whose fangs bite the heel of a foot only to be crushed; Fortunato was that snake and Montresor was the judge, jury, and executioner who sought to “punish with impunity,” (Poe 390). Per Wine Cellar, a cask of fino is considered to be Amontillado if “it is intentionally killed, simply by fortifying it,” (“Cellar”); the subtlety of Poe shines through yet again as Fortunato was intentionally killed off by
The mood established by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," plays a crucial role in conveying to the reader his underlying theme. For example, when Montresor, the narrator, st...
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “ The Cask Of Amontillado.” Heritage Of American Literature .Ed. james E. Miller.Vol.2.Austin:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1991.20.Print.
Poe’s first-person narration style in “The Cask of Amontillado” allows the reader to experience a different type of story, from an unusual perspective. By making a killer the narrator, and by making him familiar with the audience, we can see the situation in different darker light. Rather than focusing on the actual physicality and action that takes place in the story, Poe focuses on the thoughts and emotions of the main character, thus making for a more intimately disturbing story for the
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
In Young Goodman Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the tale of a man and his discovery of evil. Hawthorne’s primary concern is with evil and how it affects Young Goodman Brown. Through the use of tone and setting, Hawthorne portrays the nature of evil and the psychological effects it can have on man. He shows how discovering the existence of evil brings Brown to view the world in a cynical way. Brown learns the nature of evil and, therefore, feels surrounded by its presence constantly.
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is a story of fear and revenge. The dark
Edgar Allan Poe 's The Cask of Amontidillo is a horror tale that contains many gothic elements. Poe’s terror-inducing story is filled with dark imagery that includes underground chambers, a costume-filled carnival, and sudden betrayal. He creates a world in the mind of the reader by using gothic literature traditions like irony, puns, double entendre and foreshadowing. He also utilizes the themes of obsession, premature burials, and the temperance movements to share his thoughts with the reader (Richards 2). These different elements work together to show the underlying twist in the story. Although they differ, these elements also firmly connect, as one element leads into another. However, revenge is the main theme and motive in the tale that
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale, “Young Goodman Brown,” is rich in symbolism, as this essay will amply illustrate.
It is impossible to fairly analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Young Goodman Brown" around a single literary approach. American novelist, essayist, and poet, Herman Melville, once wrote about Hawthorn's short story that it over time, like wine, it only improves in flavor and body (The Life and Works of Herman Melville). Hawthorne's short story continues to get better with age, and carries today's readers into a world filled with a plethora of meanings for them to pick from its symbolism. Modern readers have interpreted the meaning of Goodman Brown's experience in many ways, but to pigeon hole the story into one view would destroy its veracity.
Edgar Allan Poe is a wonderful writer. He is most widely known for his hair-raising stories. His writing style is unique in that he uses subtle details to add suspense to his stories. He also uses dark details to help his audience figure out lingering questions they might have upon finishing his stories. One perfect example of his famous style of writing is, “The Cask of Amontillado”. Throughout the story there are four important details that help the reader realize that the murder of Fortunato was not perfect revenge.
Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are credited for having horror-filled endings. Usually darkness is considered to be a good representative of evil, so the setting in “The Cask of Amontillado” is at night-time. This story deals with the jealousy, revenge and, more importantly, wounded family honor. A man named Montresor, whose name is not discovered till the end of story, is seeking vengeance on Fortunato, who has irreparably insulted him. The very first sentence: “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”, supports the theme of revenge (Poe 161). This theme also suggests that Fortunato had aggrieved Montresor thousands of times, but whenever he insults Montresor and his family, he decides that there needs to be avenge and, which is the murder of a Fortunato. Montresor believes “he is out to get justice by baiting Fortunato” (Whatley 56). Hence, Whatley states “there is no remorse in Montresor’s heart when he finally confesses after fifty years”. So, for the sake of his family honor and self-respect, he vowed to take revenge by killing Fortunato.
...ther serves to excite and stimulate our senses as we travel into the deranged mind of a killer ? offering us a unique perspective through the first person point of view. Similarly, the ending of ?Young Goodman Brown? offers a moral, but leaves the main character in a state of discord and callousness towards his wife, and his religion. The story is didactic, because the main character is punished for his transgressions. Symbolism, evident especially in Hawthorne?s allegory, and the repetition of Poe?s suspenseful tale serve to further the goals of each writer. Ultimately, Hawthorne?s Goodman Brown becomes isolated from humanity, an issue of the head and the heart, and Poe?s narrator withdraws inside himself, an issue purely of the mind. Recognizing this discord from the self and humanity is essential to understanding the behavior of these troublesome characters.
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go to great lengths to fanatically defend their honor.
It is not at all surprising that so many of Edgar Allan Poe’s works explore such themes as death, eyes, the power of the dead over the power of the living, retribution, the human conscience, and especially death and murder. From his disturbingly morbid short story “The Telltale Heart” to the mysteriously supernatural poem “The Raven”, Poe’s tales are a direct byproduct of the mayhem experienced in his life, as well as his (arguably) psychologically-tormented mind. Though all of this author’s pieces are very rich in elaborate themes, motifs, and especially fantastically blatant irony, one particularly stands out to me -- “The Cask of Amontillado”. This story recounts how a man called Montresor seeks revenge upon a “friend” who allegedly insulted him. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, the brilliant use of situational irony and macabre humor creates significant parallels between the plot and the author’s own strange life.