The Cask of Amontillado

The “Cask of Amontillado” but Edgar Allan Poe is certainly an interesting read. I read it for the first time my freshman year of high school and probably didn’t understand half of the story because of Poe’s writing style. After reading it again and even though it’s a little disturbing, I definitely enjoyed reading it; it is definitely in the spirit of the season.

One of the things I noticed after reading through it again was the abundance of foreshadowing throughout the entire story. Montressor immediately hints that he will “be avenged; this was a point definitely settled.” From the beginning of the story, it is evident that something is going to happen, and referencing Poe’s track record, the outcome will probably disturbing.

My beliefs that something bad would eventually result were only supported when Montressor mentions that he had dismissed his staff early for the night. As if Montressor wasn’t mysterious and creepy enough to begin with, why else would he dismiss his staff early other than to have privacy to seek his revenge against Fortunato? Later in the story, Montressor often mentions bones and skeletons that they pass in the catacombs. At that point, I had a pretty good idea that Fortunato would soon be joining the other “human remains.”

Along with the presence of foreshadowing, Poe used a lot of irony. One of my favorite bits of irony was Poe’s choice to name the victim “Fortunato.” I think that it is pretty obvious that Fortunato’s fate was not exactly fortunate. Personally, being tricked, chained up, and suffocating to death wouldn’t be my preference of how to die. I also appreciated that because of the carnival, Fortunato was dressed in a motley and “had on a tight-fitting partistriped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.” He was basically dressed as a fool; and we eventually find out that he was the fool of the story. He was a fool to trust a man he had recently betrayed and was distracted by wine to realize what Montressor may have been up to. He stumbled, drunken, into Montressor’s trap without even realizing it until he was chained up.

Though Poe has certainly some eerie works, I enjoyed them, “The Cask of Amontillado” in particular. This story put me in the mood for Halloween.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

To start off, my initial reaction to “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” is “Wow, just wow.” Though “The Lottery” was similarly disturbing, it was also somewhat interesting to read. On the other hand, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” basically transitions from being a boring, slow read immediately into a vivid, grotesque scene of the family facing a serial killer. I don’t often enjoy reading such morally disturbing stories like some of the ones we have read this year, but I must admit that these have also been the most memorable.

When I first began reading this story, I was nearly falling asleep. The plot basically consisted of an unappreciated grandmother going on a road trip with her family, and included were her two bratty and disrespectful grandchildren. It is obvious from the start that the grandmother is the intelligent, maternal character of the story. When the family’s car crashed and the serial killer and his gang arrived to “assist” them, she was the only one of the family who had an idea of what was going to happen. In her attempt to save her unappreciative family, she tried to save and help the man threatening their lives while her family walked straight into the lion’s den.

Each character in this story exhibited obvious flaws in their personalities, including the grandmother. She was the easiest to pity because of she was obviously neglected from the family, but it was also apparent that she still believed in a sort of hierarchy system, wanting to be known as a “lady” and looking down upon other poor black people when telling stories from her past. The children’s mother was slightly aggravating to me, because she was the quiet, out-of-the-way sort of person whose basic purpose in the story was to hold the baby. I disliked the children the most out of all the family, due to their blatant disrespect for others and their sheer ignorance. They insulted the men that were practically holding guns to their heads, not even understanding when to be afraid or figuring out that their lives are on the line.

I think the main reason I enjoyed this story less that “The Lottery,” despite the fact that both were a little unnerving is that I disliked all of the characters. The entire family frustrated me as I was reading this story and I frankly was glad to see the story end.

The Lottery

This marks my third time to be reading “The Lottery.” I read it twice in high school and wrote a paper on it my senior year. The first time I read the story, I never expected the ending. Jackson uses many descriptions to create an image of a warm, happy summer day, the kind of day that would make a person feel happy and carefree. The kids are playing and gathering normally and the adults are discussing regular topics, as if a stoning of a randomly chosen family were not about to take place.

Though the setting is misleading, it is apparent that the adults understand the situation more than the children. Even though they are making small talk, there is still a sense of apprehension in the air. This is apparent because the men “stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.” These small motions were too subtle for me to catch the first time I read it, and I’m pretty sure I overlooked them again after reading it for a second time. This hesitation and fear among the townspeople becomes more apparent as the story progresses; marking their hesitation to even help the set up, possibly attempting to delay the ceremony.

After realizing what “the lottery” actually is, it is odd that Jackson compares it to the other social gatherings that take place in the town, such as the “square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program.” The tradition has been present for such a long time that the administrators of it seem to overlook how morbid the activity really is. The townspeople also try to go along with the activity as if it were any other social gathering, gossiping and chatting with friends and neighbors, though it is apparent that fear and nervousness is present in the back of all of their minds.

Jackson uses the box to foreshadow the kind of event that will soon be occurring, describing the very old black box as shabby and “no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side.” This dreary image is the most obvious sign that the lottery is far from the typical idea of a lottery. Most often, a lottery is selects a winner at random for a fantastic prize, such as money or vacations or other great things. However, even by the description of the box, from which a name will be drawn, it is evident that the “lottery” will have an ironic outcome.

The story is marked throughout by irony. The most obvious example is the outcome of the lottery itself. Another bit of irony was Tessie Hutchinson’s tardiness to the event and her mentioning such trivial matters such as doing the dishes when she would soon be facing the end of her life because she drew the piece of paper with a black dot on it.

After reading this story a few times, I have decided that I don’t enjoy it. Though the story is made to be ironic, the ending of the story is sickening. It is not very fair for one person to be stoned to death on the basis of drawing a slip of paper with a black dot on it. Just because it has become a tradition, does not make the practice justifiable.