compare and contrast the death in `The Black Cat` and `The Cask of Amontillado` by Edgar Allan Poe

The Recurring Theme of Death in Edgar Allan Poe 's

The Black Cat ' and The Cask of Amontillado

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Edgar Allan Poe , just mention his name and images of death , blood , and insanity fill the mind . Poe was a master of all things scary . He used terror to manipulate the emotions of his audience , and succeeded time and time again . He was a pioneer of the modern detective novel , and his short story plots are used as backbones to some of the best horror movies ever made . Scrape away the

supernatural , the death , and the character distention into depravity and you are left with writer of great skill and talent . Unfortunately , Poe 's life was plagued by death and loss (Hayes 7 . The love of his life died well before her time and the bulk of his work centers around death , dying , and killing . His aptitude and grace as author can easily been seen in the quintessential horror short stories The Cask of Amontillado ' and "The Black Cat Poe manipulates the very basic literary elements , in each story , to explore and comment on the horrific nature of death

The theme of death is explored by Poe in his treatment of the setting in The Cask of Amontillado ' and "The Black Cat . The setting in "The Black Cat " is a jail . The main character is imprisoned and awaiting his death . He is in jail for killing his wife . The narrator explains

I grew , day by day , more moody , more irritable , more regardless of the feelings of others . I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife . At length , I even offered her personal violence

The entire story is told from the memory of the narrator , who explains that his experience was .the most wild , yet homely narrative .[whose] events have terrified--have tortured--have destroyed [him] " Similarly , The Cask of Amontillado ' is also told in flashback . The plot it the basic blueprint which determines the action that takes place in the story . It tells the reader about the content action , and sequence of events "Poe posits that human beings , despite their best efforts at self-preservation , also possess a counterbalancing urge toward self-torture and even self-destruction (Magistrale 40 . The plot takes place in a city in Europe which is not given a name and occurs in a year sometime during the 19th century . The story revolves around an affluent man who believes that one of his close friends has said something mean about him . The narrator explains

As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken . Throwing them aside , I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar . With these materials and with the aid of my trowel , I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche

In response , the rich man must avenge his name and decides to bury his friend alive . He lures his friend into a cellar , chains him to a wall and encloses him with...