Revenge in Edgar Allan Poes Cask of Amontillado - Assignment Example

Fortunato insulted Montresor, and the latter vowed vengeance with the words, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe). Revenge is part of man’s nature and is a typical reaction, especially when one is slighted or insulted by another. Revenge can even be taken as a form of justice to redeem one’s honor and to teach the offender that the insult will not go unpunished, as what Poe portrayed in his “Cask of Amontillado.

” Revenge is even stronger when family pride and honor are at stake, and people can go to extremes to redeem and execute justice against those who offend. Carrying out revenge for the sake of family honor was emphasized in Poe’s short story “Cask of Amontillado.” Family honor in the short story was emphasized with the use of a coat of arms as a metaphor of the importance of family. The coat of arms consisted of "a huge humans foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" and with it inscribed a motto which reads "Nemo me impune lecessit" that meant “no one wounds me with impunity” (Poe), and despite these foreboding and vindictive meaning of Montresor’s coat of arms, Fortunato still chose to slight him.

Vengeance was exacted in the short story through murder. Montresor led Fortunato into his family’s catacomb to consummate his plan of murdering Fortunato. When Fortunato was already deep in Montresor’s family catacomb, Montresor buried him alive by plastering a brick sepulcher over him. Personally, I believe that revenge is justified when family honor is slighted. The offender should be made to understand that family honor is not to be taken lightly and should be treated with respect. I, however, do not agree in Montresor’s killing of Fortunato because it is a crime.

Killing a person cannot be justified except for self-defense. Work Cited Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." American Studies at the University of Virginia. The University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 13 July 2013. 1. “All the Years of Her Life:” How do the parents show mercy toward their sons?  The parents showed unconditional love for their sons, albeit the other son cannot fully understand the meaning of it. The son who stayed and worked was envious of the fate of the son who enjoyed the family money because he was still accepted when he returned to the family.

The acceptance of the prodigal son, however, was an act of unconditional love and mercy of parents towards their children meaning that even if the other son does the same, he will also be treated in the same manner that other son was treated. 2. “The Lottery:” Tessie Hutchinson screams, "It isn't fair, it isn't right.” The exclamation meant the character’s realization of the real nature of the lottery when the unfairness and unjustness was done to her. The lottery had been going for years, with the organizers doing the same unfairness, but nobody bothered about it until it was done to the character who exclaimed, "It isn't fair, it isn't right”. 3. “The Man I Killed:” Three characters.

There were three significant characters in Tim O’Brien’s “The Man I Killed”. The first character was O’Brien himself who was contemplating about the man he killed in My Kye. Inferring from the narrative of the story, he must have been evaluating if killing the man was just. Another character, however, revealed a different attitude by immediately congratulating the protagonist for killing a Vietcong. This man was Azar. Another characte