Montressor's Fact or Fiction

The Cask of Amontillado is just one of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories that explore the depths of terror that is inflicted on the psychological level. The dark events in Poe’s life (being abandoned at a young age and battling the life-long demons of alcoholism and loneliness brought on by these events) led to the dark and unique style of writing he used.  Many classify Poe for as a detective fiction writer for the suspense and terror used in his plots, while others believe he is one of the first truly modern writers because of his exploration of the mystery of the individual. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe used his signature style of a protagonist who is evil, and plot that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat in this story of rivalry between two men, Montresor and Fortunato, which causes Montresor to seek revenge. One main literary element used to introduce and tell the story to us is Point-of-View. This element is the perspective that the story is told form.

Point-of-View is very important in all forms of literature because it shows how the story is told and controls how much and which information we are given.  One example of the Point-of-View in this story is that we are told that Fortunato hurt and insulted Montresor, but we never read any dialogue or descriptions of the act. We never find out if the revenge sought by Montresor is warranted or a meaningless vendetta against an old acquaintance.  Another example of Point-of-View the only description of Fortunato we are given is that which is provided by Motresor. (We are told that Fortunato is drunk, conceited, and a little blind to Montesor’s true intentions.) Another event where the information given to us is determined by the Point-of-View is how Montresor justifies his plan of action.  We only see Montresor’s view on the plan to kill Fortunato, where he justifies it by claiming that his friend deserves to be punished for the injuries he has caused.

Using the Point-of-View in literature is very important what information you receive through the text, what portion and side of a story you hear, and the descriptions of events we read all depend on the Point-of-View.  In The Cask of Amontillado, the story is affected by this literary element because it leaves us in suspense of the answers to questions the audience has posed.  Some questions posed as the story is read are: What did Fortunato do to deserve to die? Who is Fortunato as a person in general, and not just what Montresor believes him to be? Does Fortunato really deserve to die? The audience forms these questions because we are only seeing Fortunato from Montresor’s point-of-view. This affects the story greatly because it leaves the audience in suspense, and cause the thought process of each individual to activate because these and other questions are still not answered when the story comes to a close.

Conflict in Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace

In Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace, our main character, Mathilde Loisel, is a housewife who resents her position in life and often dreams of what it would be like should she ever have what wealthier families and women have. Her husband honestly tries to make her happy, and, while one attempt succeeds, an incident only minutes later leads to their lives changing drastically as both try to fix the mistake. Maupassant  uses his own life experiences to convey the image of a peasant women trying to make her way in the world, and that of the people he has known who are in demeaning or disastrous situations. The literary term I have chosen for this tool box is conflict, which occurs when some person or force in the story opposes the protagonist, whether that is internally or externally.

                There are a few examples of conflict in The Necklace, including the internal and external. One internal conflict is the one Mathilde holds within herself, in which she struggles with who she is compared to who she wants to be. Mathilde wants to be like her peers, while she still has beauty, she longs for the wealth to dress and enjoy life as they do, but her husband’s job and position make that impossible. This leads to one of two external conflicts, where she and her husband have a disagreement about a party invitation that he has gone to great lengths to receive. Mathilde begins to complain that she has nothing to wear, which raises the suggestion of Mathilde borrowing jewelry from a friend. Mathilde decides to borrow a diamond necklace from a close friend, which she wears to the party. Soon after the party the necklace is lost and leads to the main conflict of the book: how to replace the necklace before her friend finds out. This causes Mathilde to begin another conflict against herself; who she was the night of the party, compared to who she has to become to repay the debt caused by replacing the diamond necklace.

                Conflict is a key element in any story, let alone a huge part of The Necklace. Without conflict in a story, there is no plot, no storyline; there is no point to a story if there isn’t a moral or something to fight for. Conflict allows the reader to figure out what characters believe by what he or she fought for in a conflict, and draws the reader into the story by raising the question of, “What would you do?” In The Necklace, conflicts rise and fall allowing the reader to choose sides, between what he or she feels is either right or wrong. These conflicts leave the reader in suspense as he she waits for each to be resolved, which makes for a very interesting story.