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The Evil and Whimsical Passive Sides of Human Nature Topic Choice: Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Literary element: Theme It is difficult to compare "The Cask of Amontillado" and The Lottery, as they were written by different authors in different styles. However, both of them have one thing in common these stories describe the evil and whimsical passive sides of human nature. It seems, both stories were written by the authors in their difficult times, as they are written in gloomy and dark tones. "The Cask of Amontillado" focuses on the theme of revenge, while the major themes of The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson relate to cruelty, violence, and blind following the tradition. Montresor, the main character of Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" is driven by a cruel desire for revenge on his friend Fortunato. In the beginning of the short story he says: The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. He wants to not only punish, but punish with impunity (The Cask of Amontillado, n.
p. ). Probably, the only difference between those people playing lottery in the village and Montresor's revenge act is that Montresor need to have the victim of revenge know what Montresor is doing to him. Both Montresor and people playing the lottery derive pleasure from their cruel games. It is even difficult to estimate whose action is more horrible, disgusting, and immoral. Montresor is happy about Fortunato's death and hopes that...
as Fortunato slowly dies, the thought of his rejected opportunities of escape will sting him with unbearable regret, and as he sobers with terror, the final blow will come from the realization that his craving for the wine has led him to his doom (The Cask of Amontillado, n. p. ). The people in the village in their mass cruelty also derive pleasure from killing an innocent and honorable member of their village. Their mode of behavior is shocking, as the setting is tranquil and peaceful, where the children play games, and the adults chat about their everyday problems.
This seemingly quit setting is totally ruined by the fact that the villagers carefully plan the lottery to begin in the morning time and to be completed in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner (The Lottery, n. p. ), as it is something completely moral and nobody outruns the law. The lottery is described as some sort of a peaceful rite, with a ritual salute used by the official of the lottery to address each person who came up to draw from the box, a recital, and other details. Both stories show the evil inside human nature.
The main characters speak about murders with no passion; it seems that all of them treat the murder like something ordinary. Both "The Cask of Amontillado" and The Lottery seem to contrast the ordinary details of contemporary life (as both, the villagers and Montresor live in civilized modern world, where there is no place to murders, where the justice exists, and where the execution can occur only by court, judge and the law) and echo of barbarian way of life, with no mercy and justice. Both stories pursue the same goal to make the reader think about the evil and brutal reality so suddenly discovered through the exposure to the evil and whimsical passive sides of human nature. Works Cited Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. 6 September 2007 < web >. Poe, Edgar Allan.
The Cask of Amontillado. 6 September 2007 < web allan / p 74 o / roman 3. html>.
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Research essay sample on Cask Of Amontillado Poe The Cask
