The Black Cat and the Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allen Poe, the author of “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”, wrote both short stories in similar ways, but at the same time the two are very different.
The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado are very similar in some ways. Both include a lot of symbolism. In the Black Cat, the narrator calls his cat Pluto, to symbolize death and the underworld, and in The Cask of Amontillado, the coat of arms and the Montresor family motto are symbolic of Montresor’s evil character, which, like the serpent in the insignia, intends to get revenge.
In both stories, the narrator tries to convince the audience that he is sane, and only trying to do what is right. This insistence shows that the narrator is insane and capable of doing insane things.
A man with a distorted view of reality explains the events in both the stories. The enclosure theory plays a large part in The Black Cat and the Cask of Amontillado.
In the Black Cat, the narrator walls up his dead wife and the cat, while in the Cask of Amontillado, Montresor walls Fortunato behind a wall to kill him. Montresor and the narrator of the Black Cat are both seeking revenge for wrongs done to them. Both stories force the reader to look into the inner workings of a murderer’s mind.
Although they are very similar, the Black Cat and the Cask of Amontillado have many differences. The Cask of Amontillado is a very ironic story, whereas the Black Cat is very ambiguous. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a powerful tale of revenge while the Black Cat is psychological study of domestic violence and guilt, but, unlike the “Cask of Amontillado”, this story does not deal with premeditated murder. In the Cask of Amontillado, Montresor meant to kill Fortunato, but in The Black Cat, the narrator was trying to kill the cat when he inadvertently killed his wife.
“The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” were written at about the same time during Poe’s life. They show many things that he was experiencing during this time period, but they also show his short time emotions and feelings. The stories were similar in the motives behind them, with horrific themes and plots, but were different in the minute.
