Comparative

The Plot of Amontillado
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe builds a dark and eerie plot. Using strong diction and clear imagery, Poe develops a story of vengeance and rivalry. Like any plot, or the events of a story, Poe’s begins with an initial situation. In this particular story the initial situation is an insult followed by a vow for revenge. Fortunato and Montressor, the antagonist and protagonist, have known each other for quite some time and have built up somewhat of a rivalry. Although Fortunato had “wounded” Montressor thousands of times, Montressor never said or acted upon them. One day however Fortunato takes it too far and insults Montressor, causing him to vow revenge on his foe. By supplying the reader with the feelings between the two characters, Poe creates the tension and character development early, in beginning of the story, as well as help set the stage for the conflict.
Secondly, the conflict arises. In able to get back or have his revenge for the insult Fortunato delivered, Montressor would have to get away with it. Montressor knows that the punishment has to be permanent and nothing is more permanent than death. Also, Montressor wants Fortunato to know that it was coming from him. There is also the conflict of if Fortunato was able to get Montressor back, then Montressor would have lost. The complication with inside the story is little to none. In order for his plan to work Montressor had no problem setting up and acting out his plan. The mere”name-drop” of Luchesi and Amontillado was enough to lure Fortunato into Montressor’s wine cellar. At one point Fortunato even insists on continuing through the catacombs, a graveyard past the cellar, despite Montressor’s false concerns for his health.   Due to his state of drunkenness or ignorance, Fortunato never looks or turns back until it is too late. This leaves very little complication for Montressor or his plans of revenge.
The story’s climax occurs when Montressor and Fortunato...