Edgar Allen Poe Analysis Essay Example

Edgar Allen Poe is regarded as one of the most influential writers of short stories known to man. Particularly known for his horror stories, Poe kept the reader guessing until the last word on the page. I would like to compare and contrast two of his well-known stories, “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. First,I would like to state that both of these stories are riddled with irony. The narrator in each is played to be a very untrustworthy, sneaky person who we are not intended to totally trust. In “The Black Cat”, the narrator starts out telling the reader some background information about his life and leads into stating that he himself is not crazy. In the introductionto “The Cask” the narrator starts off plainly saying that this person, Fortunato, has wronged him and he vows to get revenge. Both of these stories have a lot of meaning in the introductory paragraphs. Poe’s intention is to intrigue the reader so that he continues reading with suspense. Both stories had the same type of unreliable narrator. Another thing both stories have in common is the irony used by Poe. In “The Black Cat” there is the irony of the narrator’s self proclamation. He also goes on to say that he has always been fond of animals, which turns out to be veryironic when he kills the cat. “The Cask” also has irony in it when referring to both main characters’ names. “Fortunato” turns out to be the not-so-fortunate one, while “Montressor” is the monster. There is also some irony in the fact that Fortunato is the one dressed up like a joker for the carnival. There are, of course, some differences in both of these stories. In “The Black Cat”, the narrator shows that he has some mental instability through the dialogue and action. He also goes on to say that he is on the vergeon alcoholism. Some thought this could be a self medication for some other mental issue he was having. The narrator continues to illustrate his mental downfall as the story goes forward until the very end when