...” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and the poem, “For Annie.” All of these were written by Poe, and each one represents death, and desolation. When Poe was two years old, his mother, Elizabeth Poe passed away. He was then adopted by a wealthy family, but Poe never received any money. He lived a poor life until he married his cousin Virginia. Then, Virginia died and Poe “collapsed from stress.” All of the deaths of his loved ones’ affected his writings, causing him to write with sorrow...
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...writing and mortality seems to be a theme in many of his works. It is also a theme in the Cask of Amontillado. To begin with, the names Poe chose for the characters are very ironic. Fortunato translates to “the lucky one” or “the fated one”, and as the story pans out the reader discovers that Fortunato is condemned to a slow and miserable fate. He is the sacrificial lamb unwittingly being led to the slaughter. Fortunato is a very wealthy man and it seems that Montresor’s family was once just as wealthy and respected. It’s almost as if Fortunato is a part of Montresor’s personality. It seems that Montresor needs to carry out this evil act against Fortunato in order to be free. It seems to be a burden weighing him down until he finally seals Fortunato into the wall in the catacombs. Montresor’s name combines the two French terms montrer(to show) and sort(fate). The exact French translation of Montresor is “my treasure.” The author’s choice of this character’s name is also ironic and foreshadowing. The setting and time of the story are also ironic. It takes place during carnival which is a time for sins of the flesh. Montresor chooses this time to lure the drunk and foolish Fortunato to his doom. It seems that Montresor is repressing the sinful flesh of Fortunato by entombing him in the catacombs. These catacombs where Fortunato meets his end seem to ironically symbolize Montresor’s mind. The family crest depicts a large foot crushing a serpent biting into its...
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...believe that the events were not real. I also saw this story as an allegory. I saw the allegory after reading the story two times. I think it is centered on Goodman Brown having a bumpy past and that he wants to go beyond his past and reach heaven. The characters names also show the religious allegory in the story. The names Goodman and Faith are used and the characters are then soon faced with terrifying evil. I think that Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith’s names symbolize that they are good, religious people and that Goodman is making up everyone being evil in his head. I found an essay by Alexa Carlson that described the symbolism in light vs. dark, forest vs. town, nature vs. human, and fantasy vs. reality. In her paper, Essay #1: Young Goodman Brown, she states that “…fantasy vs. reality are employed to reinforce the idea that good and evil have been set up as strict categories into which no one, not even the religious figures of the community, fit neatly.” As she later writes, if Hawthorne was apprehensive about “what he considers right and wrong in terms of human behavior, I think he would have spend more time building up his tragic end.” “Young Goodman Brown” was a pretty sad story because he was happy with all the locals and his faith until the trip came into Goodman Brown’s life. Goodman is pure going into the forest, but in a sense comes out of the forest somewhat evil. He comes back thinking he is better than everyone else and ends up isolating himself to lead...
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...In Aesop’s fable, “The Wolf and the Lamb,” the moral of the story asks the reader to examine the desire for an object—and how we justify our behavior if we cannot obtain that object. This moral is graphically presented through the repeated use of key words to describe the fox’s repeated failure to get what he wants. The fox’s first attempt is foiled as he “just missed” the grapes (35). He attempts “again and again”, running and jumping repeatedly, but has “no greater success” (35). He then becomes disgusted and walks away. These successive descriptions of his failure build to his disdainful comment that the grapes are probably sour (35). The repeated demonstration of fox’s failures and his self-rationalization of why is he walking away—not that he has failed but because he has decided that the grapes are sour and he does not want them anyway—cleverly portrays the moral of the fable: if you can’t get it, blame something else, not yourself. It therefore asks the readers to Aesop’s Fables 3 of 93 The Wolf and the Lamb Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. ‘There’s my supper,’ thought he, ‘if only I can find some excuse to seize it.’ Then he called out to the Lamb, ‘How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?’ ‘Nay, master, nay,’ said Lambikin; ‘if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.’ ‘Well...
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...Symbolism Ever since the first sin has happened in paradise on Earth – human beings are struggling to find a perfect balance between how they have to be and what they really are. In the short story “The Cask of Amontilado” Edgar Allan Poe makes an attempt to observe human’s nature very close by putting two friends together in the middle of the plot and places ambitions and anger of one of them on top of friendship. The story that the narrator tells us takes place in Italy during the carnival in the town. In a time everyone cheers up and has fun dressing up, one soul is deeply obsessed with revenge. The narrator of the story describes the story of punishment that happened fifty years ago with all the details and the feeling of satisfaction; he still considers his past act as the only right thing that had to be done in order to protect his dignity. The short story is presented with symbolism that creates a unified pattern, which leads to a dramatic end. Montresor’s and Fortunado’s costumes, dialogue while walking through the vaults and Fortunato’s torture death – all that symbolizes carelessness and foulness of Fortunato, and careful prudence and hidden anger of Montresor. The author gave to his characters totally opposite costumes which makes the reader imagine them from different perspective right away. Fortunato is dressed as a jester and “he had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells”. The reader doesn’t...
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...thought that he was an American writer romantically doomed to failure by events and emotions too great for him to handle. His writings reflect each theory, and his style was very unique and unusual for the time period in which they were written. The artistic liberties and risks that Poe took in his works sparked the beginning of what we call the Romanticism Period. The hardships and tragedies which Edgar Allan Poe faced throughout his life played a big part in influencing his writing, how his writing influenced the period, and how it affected his mental stability (Life 240). Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He had two siblings, a younger sister named Rosalie and an older brother named Henry. When Poe was just one, his father abandoned his wife and children. At two his mother died of tuberculosis and the children were split up into different homes (Tragedies 240). Poe was taken in by John Allan and his childless wife Frances, giving him his middle name. Having experienced many tragedies at an early age, he, starting at the age of six, developed a great fear of death and this influenced how and what he would later write (Jordan np). The Allan couple lived in Richmond, Virginia, and Poe was moved to their home very shortly after his mother’s death. Although Frances was a loving and affectionate mother to Poe teaching him in her spare time, John was bitter towards him and often mistreated him. John was usually under the influence...
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...Elizabeth Cady Stanton Biography: Where did Elizabeth Cady Stanton grow up? Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815. She had 10 brothers and sisters, however, many of them died during childhood. Only Elizabeth and four of her sisters lived well into adulthood. Her last brother, Eleazar, died when he was 20 years old leaving her mother depressed and her father wishing that Elizabeth was a boy. Elizabeth (sitting) with Susan B. Anthony Not Fair for Women Growing up Elizabeth was exposed to the law through her father Daniel. He was a lawyer who also served as a judge and a U.S. Congressman. She learned that the law was not the same for men and women. She learned that only men could vote and that women had few rights under the law. She didn't think this was fair. She thought she was as good as any boy and should be given the same opportunities. Going to School When Elizabeth reached school age she wanted to go to school to learn. Not many women went to school in those days, but her father agreed to send her to school. At school Elizabeth was an excellent student. She won awards and proved that she could do as well or better than most of the boys. After high school, Elizabeth wanted to go to college. She quickly learned that girls were not allowed into the major universities. She ended up going to a college for girls where she was able to continue her studies. Abolitionist and Human Rights Elizabeth began to believe...
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