Cask of Amontilaado Vs a Rose for Emily

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The plots, however, show some variances. These differences are in the apparent motives of both murderers, Emily in A Rose for Emily and Montressor in The Cask Of Amontillado. Emily kills Homer out of her emotional security being dependent on remaining united with her loved one. By killing him, she hopes that they will not be alienated from each other (Poe 50). On the other hand, Montressor kills neither for love nor to keep the victim close, but to revenge past misgiving from the victim, and to eliminate him.

This point of view functions as a tool for character development and assisting the reader to experience the thoughts of the characters (Yu 28). In particular, the first person point of view in these stories has been used to reveal to the reader the motives underlying both murders. In so doing, the reader appreciates the different personalities of both protagonists. Emily, an emotionally insecure woman in love, murders out of fear of losing her lover. On the other hand, the first person point of view paints of Montressor the picture of a vengeful, cold-hearted murderer.

Irony is a style that features prominently in both stories. For one, Fortunato, a name meaning luck, is ironical. For one, ‘the fortunate one’ descends into the catacombs where he meets his death at a joyous time synonymous with carnivals. Interestingly, the catacombs hold the remains of the relatives of a rival who hates him. Additionally, irony shows itself with Emily choosing to kill Hommer to keep her to herself, though by so doing she loses him since being dead, he leaves her world.

In conclusion, while both stories focus on the theme of murder and use similar elements of literary skills, they do so in different ways. The effect is the same, allowing the critical reader to appreciate the role themes, settings, plot and character development play in writing good stories such The Cask Of Amontillado and A Rose For Emily.

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Works Cited

Chabot, C. Barry, and P. M. Wetherill. "The Literary Text: An Examination Of Critical Methods". Books Abroad 49.4 (1975): 866. Web.

Faulkner, William, and M. Thomas Inge. A Rose For Emily. [Columbus, Ohio]: Merrill, 1970. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allen. Cask Of Amontillado, The. South Bend: Infomotions, Inc., 2000. Print.

Yu, B. "An Evaluation Of Text Classification Methods For Literary Study". Literary and Linguistic Computing 23.3 (2008): 327-343. Web.*