A Comparison of Two Murderers - 1099 Words

In the Edgar Allan Poe stories The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart the most prominent and important themes that are used are death, logic, and irony. The characters of the narrator and Montresor in these stories are both coldblooded murders that kill for selfish, and inane reasons who firmly believe that their actions are justified even though their rationalizations only make sense in their own minds. They both try to convince their audience that they are completely sane by giving their explanations about why they did what they did as well as their motives for killing their victims. In admitting how they murdered victims, who appear to be innocent to everyone besides them, they only succeed in proving their insanity. The†¦show more content†¦He knows that logically the only way lure Fortunado into the catacombs successfully is to make him feel safe and then betray him at the last moment. When he lures Fortunado into the catacombs he gives him many opportunities t o get out of it but he does not suspect Montresor of anything so he continues to trust him. There is also a considerable amount of irony in both of the stories. The best example is when they try to convince the audience that they are completely sane and that their actions are justified. The narrator tirelessly attempts to convince whoever he is telling his story to that he is perfectly sane while recounting how he viciously murdered an old man he claimed to love, chopped up his body, and hid him in the floorboards all because he didnt like his vulture eye. While he believes that he is going to persuade his audience that he was in his right mind, all he is doing his backing up the assumption that he is mentally ill and is in no way sane. Montresor does not try as hard to make his listeners believe in his sanity. His victim, Fortunado, as a character is also a good example of irony. His name, which translates to lucky, proves to be extremely ironic when he is the one that ends up bein g killed. He is given many hints by Montresor as to what will happen to him as well as many opportunities to turn back but his ego and competitiveness with his rival Luchresi ends up sealing his fate. He says inShow MoreRelatedExploration of How Males are Presented in Victorian Short Stories733 Words   |  3 PagesCaptain Murderer, Sikes and Nancy and the Great Expectations. In these stories there are three comparable characters that I am going to compare and contrast. These characters are Captain Murderer (from Captain Murderer), Sikes (from Sikes and Nancy) and finally Magwitch (from Great Expectations). Additionally, I will also refer, where possible, to the historical and Victorian context within which they are written. 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