The Theme of Revenge in the Short Stories the Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Wishful Thinking It is easy to wish bad things onto bad people, but is all the negative energy and crummy karma that come along with that really worth it in the end? The short stories “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin both say that it most definitely is not. At first glance, these short stories may not seem similar at all, but, look a little deeper, and a common theme between the two becomes visible- one should not wish death upon others.

To start, the short stories share a similar plot that really drives the theme home. In both “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Story of an Hour,” the main characters, Montresor and Louise Mallard respectively, go through almost identical crises. In “A Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor believes he has been insulted by Fortunado and vows revenge on the man in order to bring back the honor to his family’s name. On the other hand, in “The Story of an Hour,” Mrs. Mallard is an oppressed housewife who is sick of her deadbeat husband. These may sound like two totally unrelated storylines, but the similarity between them arises in the fact that both Montresor and Mrs. Mallard are tired of being treated the way they are currently being treated, so much so that they are driven to the point at which they want their persecutors dead. Throughout the individual short stories, Montresor and Mrs. Mallard struggle internally with their desire to be free of the cruelty they believe they are currently facing, and their own morals.

On top of that, the characters in both “A Cask of Amontillado” and “The Story of An Hour” also share comparable attributes. In “A Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor is a round, dynamic character, just like Mrs. Mallard in “The Story of an Hour”. At the start of “A Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor seems to feel justified in the action that he took against Fortunato, but, by the end of the short story, it becomes apparent that he actually regrets his actions much more than he initially let on. This becomes apparent when he reveals to readers that it has been some 50 years since he brutally murdered Fortunato, and he is still thinking about what he did. In fact, he has even gone as far as to check the catacombs and make sure that the bones of his dead enemy were still concealed in the now blocked off wall where he had left him to die. His dramatic change in feelings toward his own actions is what makes Montresor such a dynamic character.

In a like manner, Mrs. Mallard feels differently about her husband’s death at the end of “The Story of an Hour” than she does at the beginning. At first, she is shocked by what she is told to be the news of her husband’s unfortunate death. After a bit of alone time though, she realizes that her husband’s death is actually the key to the personal freedom that she has wanted for so long, but has never been able to have due to his dominant presence. She gets so excited about her husband’s death, that it actually kills her when she finds out he is, in truth, still alive. Both Mrs. Mallard and Montresor change over the time it takes for the story to be told; the biggest transformation being that they both realize the toll that wishing death upon others can have on a person. For Montresor, he mainly feels regret, but Mrs. Mallard’s confused morals literally kill her.

In addition to their comparable story lines and characters, there are also some significant similarities and differences between the points of view in which the short stories were written. Although they are not written in exactly the same point of view, “A Cask of Amontillado” is written in 15 person, and “The Story of an Hour” is written in 3rd person limited omniscient, both narrators are unreliable. Montresor’s blatant disregard for the value of human life makes his instability incredibly obvious, whereas Mrs. Mallard’s unreliability is a little more subtle. Unintentionally, Mrs. Mallard misleads readers to believe her husband is dead when, in fact, he is still very much alive. Mrs. Mallard may not be mentally insane like Montresor is, but, because of the way she unknowingly shares misleading, false information with readers, she is considered to be as unreliable of a narrator as Montresor.

In general, it can be very easy to grow incredibly, and understandably, frustrated with people when they do not treat others the way we all know, or at least believe, everyone deserves to be treated. But, the short stories “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Story of an Hour” can serve as warnings to people everywhere about the risks of choosing to fight fire with fire. For a lot of people, it is a knee-jerk reaction to want the people who treat them poorly out of their lives. That is a totally reasonable concept, but let the harsh feelings end there.

Some people have tendencies to take things too far, like Montresor and Mrs. Mallard did, but there is no need to cross that line. Simply put, you can hate someone as much as you want, but do not wish for them to die. No matter how despicable a person may be acting right now, or may have acted in the past, wishing for bad things to happen to them is just not worth the time, energy, effort, and/or regrets that come along with it. Karma is always looking for a new victim, so, instead of getting all worked up, decide to be kind to those mean people instead. After all, the best way to put out a fire is to use water.

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Cask of Amontillado

However, in any situation, it would be more beneficial to let the anger go, instead of plotting a huge revenge plan. And what can be scary, is the intellectual people who know what they want and how to achieve that. It’s very hard to escape an intelligent persons plan for revenge against you, especially when they are 100% set on seeking their revenge. In Edgar Allan Pope’s short story, an idea is conveyed that cunning and sly people, when wronged by others, will use their intelligence to pursue the goal of revenge.! While this story is an entertaining piece of work, it also includes symbols to keep he reader engaged throughout the story.

Poe writes with the idea that pride could lead us to do unthinkable things, which can also lead us into becoming too naive and blind toward our own actions. Mentors approaches Fortunate during the carnival. And the carnival can be seen as a symbol for the madness going through Mentor’s head. Mentors claims that Fortunate inflicted a “thousand injuries” on him, and we never really find out what these Injuries were. Perhaps Fortunate TLD even mean to Insult Mentors, but Mentors Just takes Fortune’s loopy Ignorance for Insults.

Or maybe Fortunate has In fact been inflicting injury on Mentors since days of childhood, and the carnival symbolizes that Mentors has literally gone mad, and he wants to use his knowledge about his previous revenge plots to kill Fortunate. Poe also uses Fortune’s clothing as a symbol “he had on a tight-fitting party-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells,” a court Jester or clowns outfit to symbolize that Mentors is to make a fool out of Fortunate and humiliate him to death, and low him to think about his actions as he dies a long, slow death.

This Just goes to show how evil and cunning Mentors and his thoughts can be.! To start, in the title including the word “cask” in it. A cask is a wine barrel, but cask is also a short form for casket, which is a coffin. Therefore, cask figuratively represents Fortune’s casket. Fortune’s name is also related to irony, because it means “fortunate” in Italian. This means that he is one of good fortune and luck, however, he about to face his slow and inhumane death.

Dramatic irony is occurring when the deader becomes painfully aware of what will become of Fortunate even though the character continues his descent into the catacombs in pursuit of the Amontillado. There are also numerous examples of verbal irony within Mentor’s sentences. Mentors expresses concern about Fortune’s health, and several times he suggests that they should turn back for fear that Fortune’s cough will worsen as a result of the cold and dampness of the catacombs (this is also Mentors using reverse psychology to keep Fortunate wanting to emerge deeper into the catacombs).

One of the most memorable lines of the story is given by Mentors in response to Fortunate saying, “l will not die of a cough. ” Mentors says, “True, true…. ” Other examples can be seen when Mentors toasts Fortune’s long life as well as when he says that he is a mason, but not in the sense that Fortunate means. “In pace requisites! ” (“Rest in peace! “) is the last bit of irony in the tale. “In pace” also refers to a very secure monastic prison. Poe uses irony to reveal how Mentors is only masking his true intentions and covers it with sugar-coated-kindness to keep

Fortunate thinking the two are good friends.! The use of imagery is great in this story, because it helps create multiple throughout Mentors and Fortune’s walk into the catacombs. When the story is first set in a carnival, the mood is bright and happy with all the flashing lights and smiling people around having a good time. And as the two “friends” reach farther into the catacombs, it starts to get more dark and musky, setting a more horrid and dark mood. The piles of skeletons represent the death and decline of the noble family over the years.

The Motto said meeting about how no one could insult the family and live; these both give a clue both to the history of family pride and insanity, and to hint at the fact that the protagonist is imagining his “thousand injuries”. It is also thought that the setting of the story represents Mentor’s soul, where he appears to be bright and happy on the In conclusion, this story reminds us that when we stop to think about our actions, as Mentors did not, we would realize that violence is never the right answer to solve our problems. Poe uses great literally devices in his story to put more emphasis on the theme of revenge.

The type of revenge Mentors sets out is evil and should not have been the way to achieve vengeance, nobody deserves to die because of something they did. It’s weird though, how at the end of the story, I felt a sense of accomplishment for Mentors. And I felt k with Fortunate dying, perhaps this is because of how Fortunate insulted Mentors and it seemed like Mentors had to get revenge to feel that sensation. This makes it even more clear that Mentors uses his sly personality and intellectual behavior to accomplish his plot of revenge on his use to be friend, by burying him alive.

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Hammurabi’s Code: Revenge or Justice

Andrew Zobel Christian Woodfin Tim Koehler Justice and revenge, while often lumped together, have very distinct differences. Revenge, in its most basic meaning, is “exact punishment or expiation for a wrong on behalf of, especially in a resentful or vindictive spirit. ” Justice, on the other hand, has more of a heroic feel to it. Justice is the right thing, while revenge is frowned upon in society. Justice is necessary, revenge is not.

Every successful civilization in history has had a strong system of laws and punishments, and Hammurabi’s Sumerians were no exception. Hammurabi’s code evokes a strong sense of justice rather than revenge. While his laws were very strict in nature, they were simply disciplinary measures needed to keep the common man in line. The “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” method of discipline, while being quite primitive in compassion for those breaking the law, is still justice at its inner most core.

The first three laws in Hammurabi’s code have to do with protecting the accused. Nowhere in these decrees is revenge a factor; this is all about preserving integrity for the individual. Rules twenty-two to twenty-five have to do with theft and robbery. It is not simply an act of revenge to pursue those in violation of the law and punish them, it is to balance out both sides of the equation. If someone feels the need to steal, then he or she shall face the consequences put forth. Hammurabi was quite strict on adultery.

If someone was found having an affair, they were either run out of town, paid a hefty fine, or were put to death. Having such severe punishments for crime really whips the subjects into shape. Had there been less of a penalty, the common man would take advantage of these laws because of no fear of the consequences. If revenge was the core of a legal system, then society could not propel itself forward; it would be too worried about getting even, thus causing it to self-destruct. Without law and order, civilization and a prosperous community cannot exist.

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Hamlet: What If

He would then later not have seen Aphelia being carried off into her grave. Here Hamlet fought with Alerts about how many crocodiles that they would eat to prove their love to Aphelia. Alerts would not have been back if Aphelia and Polonium had not died. This anger during this funeral lead This duel is an integral part of the play because of the very many events that occur in correlation to one another. Prior to the duel, Claudia and Alerts set up the several ways and backups for Hamlet to be killed. First they poisoned and sharpened the epee that Alerts would use.

If Alerts did not strike Hamlet, they would use a poisoned chalice that Hamlet could drink from between rounds. During the duel, Hamlet wins the first two rounds (which does not matter), refusing the chalice twice. If he did not refuse, then Gertrude would have never drank from it, killing herself. A controversial topic is why she drank from it. Did she not know better? Was she suicidal? Did she do it to save Hamlet? Hamlet knew that Claudia was out to get him after his mother died to the poisoned chalice that was offered to him.

In the third round, in the confusion of rage, he is poked by Alerts’ poisoned epee. “It is here, Hamlet. Hamlet, thou art slain; No medicine in the world can do thee good. In thee there is not half an hour of life. The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, Unabated and envenomed. The foul practice Hath turned itself on me. Lo, here I lie, Never to rise again. Thy mother’s poison’s. I can no more. The King, the King’s to blame. “Knowing the imminence of death, Hamlet then killed King Claudia of Denmark using he poisoned epee out of revenge for both of his parent’s.

Alerts dies also from the poison-point. Hamlet is the last to die from the poison, in Hortatory arms, naming Fortifiers the new king of Denmark. This is the only way the duel scene could have played out, the only variables were Gertrude drinking the poison (and her knowledge of it) and Hamlet getting poked by Alerts’ poisoned point. If Gertrude DID know about the conspiracy to kill Hamlet, she could have been possible for to have thrown herself in front of Alerts’ point. Either way, she would not have gotten out alive.

If here was no way for her to live, then Hamlet would have always killed Claudia. If Hamlet did not get poisoned, then he would have ruled Denmark. However, the “hero” living at the end of a tragedy is not characteristic of Shakespearean plays. Hamlet would have probably killed himself at the end, anyways, with his mother, lover, and still yet his father, dead. Shakespeare was well aware of how multiple outcomes could play out and probably made a hundred drafts of his play, trying to make it the most attention- grabbing possible. He, as proven, had most definitely succeeded in doing so.

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Kill Bill vs Hamlet

Hamlet and Kill Bill “Revenge is a dish best served cold. ” The Sicilian proverb used as Kill Bill Vol. 2’s tagline perfectly points out a tragic flaw shared by Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Quentin Tarentino’s modern hero: Bill (from Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2). In Kill Bill Beatrice is a killer […]

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Hamlet and Revenge: Overview

Revenge always leads an individual down a path of destruction. It is a horrible trait for one to posses; it triggers many different emotions, which causes one to act blindly. Revenge can reflect on the principle an eye for an eye. In Shakespeare’s playwright Hamlet, the play demonstrates revenge according to the self-fulfilling prophecy; seeking […]

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Irony in the Scarlet Letter

What if irony didn’t exist? If it didn’t, even at a minimal level, The Scarlet Letter wouldn’t be able to function in its complete and published form. Its frame and substructure of distinctly morose themes scrutinizing sin, knowledge, and the human condition would not exist without irony blistering beneath the surface. The symbolism and evocativeness […]

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