Revenge in Night Drive and The Cask of Amontillado Literary Analysis Essay

The phrase “Revenge is a dish best served cold” is an extremely old proverb that signifies vengeance is much more satisfying when it is thought out and planned. This saying is used in numerous movies, television shows, books, and short stories. But the question is, is it true? In the two short stories “Night Drive” by Will Jenkins and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, the concept of waiting to get back at someone is used and demonstrated perfectly. Ultimately, in these two short stories it is proven by Mr. Taber and Montresor that when revenge is delayed, thought through, and planned out, it is the best way to even the score with someone.

To begin, if revenge is not exacted immediately, there is an opportunity to decide the time and place to seek it. For example, in ‘’The Cask of Amontillado’’ by Edgar Allen Poe, Montresor decides to get revenge on Fortunato the night of the carnival, so that he would be drunk and not suspect anything. Furthermore, he told his workers to take the night off because he was going to be at the carnival, so nobody would be home to witness the crime. Montresor loured Fortunato into the catacombs to ‘’try wine’’. The catacombs are a secluded area and the perfect place to commit the murder, since no one will ever find Fortunato’s body. Not only was the time he chose to kill Fortunato impeccable, so was the place.

To continue, like I mentioned in the paragraph above if vengeance is not exacted immediately, there is an opportunity to decide the time to seek it. Since the time is being chosen beforehand, the element of surprise is a way to shock the person that is taking the retribution. For instance, in ‘’Night Drive’’ by Will Jenkins, Mr. Taber or ‘’Eunice’’ goes on the drive with Madge so that she would not get killed by Bob on Colchester Road where his wife was killed. Moreover, Bob was expecting Madge to be in her car alone and was shocked when he saw two people. ‘’Eunice’’ revealed himself to be Mr. Taber and instructed Madge to drive away, and tells her that Bob was planning to kill her. As she drives away, he murders Bob to get vengeance for his wife. Withal, the time that Mr. Taber chose to carry out the murder was perfect, he used the element of surprise to shock Bob and to ruin his plan of murdering Madge. Therefore, Bob was not expecting someone else to be in the car, and he definitely did not expect to be murdered that night.

To conclude, the proverb ‘’Revenge is a dish best served cold’’ is true. In the two short stories Montresor and Mr. Taber demonstrate a perfect example of delayed revenge, why it is so effective, and why it is the best way to even the score with someone. In the end, revenge is revenge, but this essay proves why delayed revenge is much better.