Comparing Poe's The Cask Of Amontillado And Dubus '

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” (1864) and Andre Dubus’ “Killings” (1979) share similar story developments such as theme, plot, and character types that come together to create the perfect vengeance. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor is after revenge after being insulted by Fortunato, which ironically means “fortunate.” Montresor pettily plans his revenge according to his knowledge of Fortunato’s love of wine, lures him (Fortunato) into a wine cellar and then into a small crypt where he chains Fortunato to the wall and builds a wall of bricks in the entrance, leaving Fortunato to die. On the other hand, in “Killings,” Matt Fowler, father of Frank Fowler, takes matters into his own hands after learning that his son’s killer
Although only one of the stories has a justified reason for revenge, the plot of both stories create a sense of suspense that lead up to the deaths of the unfortunate, Fortunato and wealthy college drop out, Richard Strout. Violence, Betrayal, and Freedom are the major and minor themes from “Amontillado” and “Killings” that connect them together with similarities. Theme “provides a unifying point around which Plot, Characters, Setting, Point of View, Symbols, and other elements of a work are organized.” (Meyer 973). Violence is the main theme that is present and shared between the two stories. Like most Edgar Allan Poe stories, “Amontillado” is a grim and dark story. The way Montresor ruthlessly left a man to die underground is twisted and goes to show how cold Poe can be in his writings. However, Poe did add humor to this gloomy story by making Montresor unsympathetic which made it seem as though Montresor actually enjoyed killing Fortunato. In “Killings” of course, violence is a strong theme. Rage is noticeable in Matt Fowler when he uses his wife’s grief as an excuse for his anger that led to his murderous thoughts. Richard Strout, the first murderer, is also a very belligerent character that displays his anger and