The short stories The Tell-Tale heart and The Cask of Amontillado by Research Paper

The short stories The Tell-Tale heart and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe both portrays the narrators' - Research Paper Example Poe, in many of his short stories, magnificently combines embellished vocabulary and strong thematic plots which creates a force compelling his readers to devote their attention into his works and gauge them in deep contemplation of the abysmal meanings and concepts embedded in the story. Some of his works are rich with repetition for a subtle emphasis of his point. His written works are cooked with phantasmagoric imagery, elusive foreshadowing, double-edged symbolism and skewed contextual implications (Long). There is thematic parallelism is his works such as the â€Å"Cask of Amontillado†, â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†. The common leitmotif of these stories evolve in the idea of murder, revenge, issues of sanity, and the dark spirit of perverseness and evil that enveloped the characters of his plot. The repetition of words that are subtly reminding the readers that the story is headed somewhere and the foreshadowing of events is consistent ly engraved in the events of the characters. Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is a good exemplary for horrific suspense thriller scenes considered as one of the best short stories throughout history. The story is contextually rich with ironies nevertheless contributing to the plot’s consistency and complete unity of the elements. Every line and spoken dialogues of the characters, Montessori and Fortunato, contributes to the totality of the effect that Poe tries to convey to his readers. Some of the most noted ironies start with the name Fortunato meaning â€Å"fortunate†. The atmospheric ambiance of the calculated atrocious act of revenge of Montessori to entomb his enemy Fortunato to be executed in the height of gaiety is also an irony. There is no specification of the deed that Fortunato has done towards Montessori aside from the subtle allegations about insults hurled upon him which, being rich and famous, may have scarred his pride deeply. Thus the incorrigible punishment such as death should suffice (â€Å"Cask†). The lofty ironic scenes of the story makes the readers acclimate with intellect so as to comprehend their deeper meanings. Other paradox includes, Montressor’s words to Fortunato â€Å"you are luckily met†, the coat of arms and the Montressor’s remarks about the mason, the jingling of the bells to announce a death, their constant toast of wine as if in celebration in contrast with a coming death, the atmosphere gradient from the carnival feast from that of the path towards Hades, and the remarks of the characters â€Å"let us be gone† to signify death. The elemental ingredients of the short story exemplify perfect unity of Poe’s thoughts and real intentions. He directed to uncover the events through foreshadowing and double-sided meanings in their dialogues. Meanwhile, the total effect of the short story creates an eerie feeling to whoever perceives. The horrific appeal is so strong tha t anyone can get captivated with the play of words between the characters. Poe has indeed endowed such compelling murderous act quite so invincibly. His plot for murder is quite flawless, incriminating the enemy with raw avenging without a single pint of trace. Montressor has indeed lived a life with impunity not until five decades. Another Poe’s work, The Tell-Tale Heart, is yet another magnificent work. It is a profound psychological archetypal for paranoia and sanity. In fact, the story began with the narrator defending himself from the accusation that he is