The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Analysis Essay

In the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator, Montressor, vows revenge upon his friend, Fortunato, who has insulted him. Montressor lures Fortunato into a wine cellar to make him suffer for his misdeeds. By the end of the story Montressor has bricked Fortunato into the wall, leaving him there to die. Guy de Maupassant’s "The Necklace" is a story of a woman who is distraught by her lack of possessions and is overly concerned about her image. After losing a seemingly valuable item that isn't hers, she works for ten long years to pay her debts. She eventually discovers that she does not need expensive things to find happiness. These two shorts stories show that excessive and improper pride is destructive and unproductive. On the other hand, the proper pride as is shown in "The Necklace" gives confidence to the characters and brings dignity to their lives.

In "The Cask of Amontillado," the pride of Fortunato leads to his demise. Montressor's pride leads him to plot and kill Fortunato, and the audience is led to believe he has no remorse for what he did. Fortunato's pride gets the best of him in this short story because when Montressor asks if he wants to turn back, he always says no because he wants to be the first one to try the Amontillado. Fortunato refuses to go back, even though Montressor offers him an escape: "The cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough" (Allan Poe 8-9). Fortunato is telling himself and Montressor that he is well enough to get to the Amontillado. The sounds of the cough being described in such detail by Edgar Allan Poe are unusual and symbolizes a death cough, a foreshadowing of what is to come for Fortunato. He wants to prove to Montressor that he is the better wine taster, superior to their friend Luchesi, and worthy of continuing through the catacombs to drink this very rare wine. The scene demonstrates Fortunato's improper and excessive pride in his wine-tasting ability. This pride prevents him from turning back despite his cough leading to him being fettered to a wall and left there to die. 

Fortunato was not the only character in the story that had wrongful pride though. Montressor's pride was also something that hurt him in this story as his pride caused him to kill his friend. Montressor vows to set wrongs right and get revenge on Fortunato from the beginning of the story. In the first line of the story, Montressor declares: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge" (Allan Poe 7). Montressor has had excessive pride since the first line of this tale. He expresses his hatred for Fortunato and keeps repeating that he needs to make wrongs right. He is so obsessed with his revenge that he thinks a fair punishment for an insult is torture. Montressor is caught up in his excessive pride and this is why he allows one insult to drive him to commit murder. The improper pride of Montressor and Fortunato shaped the plot and ultimately led to the conclusion of the story. 

In the short story, "The Necklace," Madame and Monsieur Loisel have improper pride that leads them into debt and ten long years of hard work to pay it off. Madame's need to look extravagant leads her to lose the necklace she borrowed. When she lost it, she was crushed and did not want to create this calamity: "She remained in her evening dress, too weak to go to bed, sitting crushed on a chair, lifeless and blank" (de Maupassant 612). Madame Loisel is in despair knowing that her husband's measly clerk’s salary will not be able to replace this necklace. They are desperate to find the necklace, as replacing it will be financially devastating. This scene shows the readers Madame Loisel's change of heart for expensive items. Her excessive pride in her image causes her to make a costly mistake that she regrets for the next ten years. Similarly, Monsieur Loisel’s improper pride causes him to make a colossal financial mistake. Monsieur is too embarrassed to tell Madame's rich friend the truth that they had lost the necklace: "'You must write to your friend,' he said, 'and tell her that you've broken the clasp of the necklace and that you're getting it mended. That'll give us time to decide what to do'" (de Maupassant 613). With this little lie, they fall into debt for ten years. Monsieur Loisel’s improper and excessive pride takes control of him in this scene. This is a mistake that he will regret when they find out the original necklace was fake, all that debt, stress, and poverty were unnecessary. Monsieur and Madame Loisel's excessive pride caused them both to make costly mistakes, which results in financial struggles for ten long years. 

Although Madame and Monsieur Loisel exhibit improper and excessive pride in "The Necklace," they also show proper and helpful pride as well. After she loses the necklace, Madame Loisel realizes she too has to work to do her part to help repay the debt. "The crushing debt had to be paid. She would pay it. They dismissed the maid; they moved into an attic under the roof" (de Maupassant 614). She is taking this responsibility upon herself in this scene and taking on the role of a laborious housemaid. Madame realizes that her love for expensive things must end. Because of the loss of the necklace, Madame recognizes the value of money and hard work. Madame Loisel also shows positive pride by paying off the necklace and working hard to redeem herself: "'What I gave back to you was another one just like it. And it took us ten years to pay for it. You can imagine it wasn't easy for us, since we were quite poor'" (de Maupassant 615). Madame Loisel is proud and filled with satisfaction because she feels what it is like to work hard for something. She realizes that she does not need the expensive furniture or the fine dining that she had previously longed for. Madame and Monsieur Loisel both learned the value of hard work by replacing the necklace, and their financial and mental burdens are lifted.

In the two short stories, "The Necklace" and "The Cask of Amontillado," improper and excessive pride are central themes. In both of the tales, excessive and improper pride is presented as useless and destructive. However, the positive pride shown in "The Necklace" helps the characters gain self-confidence and become emotionally free. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a story with only excessive pride. In "The Necklace," there is improper and proper pride. Madame and Monsieur Loisel have improper pride before and during the conflict, but afterward, have well-deserved, helpful pride after working tirelessly. Pride shapes both of these stories because dictates the character’s actions to reach the conclusion.