People often spend hours planning revenge on someone but never follow through with it. However, some people create very meticulous plans for their enemy, and soon enough it takes over them. Revenge drives people to do horrible acts. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of the Amontillado” is about a man who gets his revenge on another by luring him into the catacombs, and then burying him alive. Similarly, the movie Gone Girl, produced by David Fincher, is about a woman who fakes her own murder to get revenge on her husband for cheating on her. Both stories depict the idea that revenge drives people to do appalling acts and is demonstrated in the characters, the conflicts, and the settings. The main characters in both of …show more content…
the stories want revenge on someone they know fairly well. In Poe’s story, “The Cask of the Amontillado” the narrator wants revenge on Fortunato. This man does not know much about life, however he is an expert in the art of wine tasting. The narrator never states why he has so much hatred towards Fortunato. The narrator wants to take care of this man without anyone knowing: “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 209). Fortunato has done something very bad to the narrator, but no one knows what Fortunato has done. Similarly, in Gone Girl, Amy Dunne gets revenge on her husband, Nick Dunne, after she finds out that he has been cheating on her. “Nick Dunne took my pride and dignity and my hope and my money. He took and took from me until I no longer existed. That’s murder”(Pincher). Amy explains how Nick is ruining her life and how he is “murdering” her. Amy stages a murder in their house and then disappears. She decides to create this scene on the day of their five-year anniversary. The house is perfectly set up to make it look as if Nick has murdered Amy. There is “treasure hunt” with little riddles that Nick is supposed to figure out to find the next clue. She does this every year for their anniversary. Nick is put through many trials and no one believes that he hasn’t killed Amy. In the end, Nick admits to cheating on her and confesses his love for Amy to the television, and then she comes back. Both stories show how revenge drives people to do crazy acts through the characters, but the conflicts also represent this theme. The conflicts in both stories lead to revenge.
In Poe’s story, the conflict is that the narrator hates Fortunato for something that he has done. The narrator never mentions what Fortunato does to him, but it is bad: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 209). Clearly, Fortunato has repeatedly hurt the narrator in some sort of way. The narrator is now at a point where he can no longer stand Fortunato taunting him. He creates an interesting method of revenge for Fortunato. Likewise, the conflict in Gone Girl is between Amy and Nick Dunne. Their love for each other has weakened over the five years of their marriage. At home, they barely talk. When they talk, it results in pushing and yelling. Amy finds out that Nick has been cheating on her, which drives her to fake her own murder. She figures that this is a satisfying way to get revenge on her own husband. “There’s a difference between really loving someone, and loving the idea of her”(Pincher). Nick really doesn’t like Amy at all, but he loves the idea of having a wife and a perfect family. The average person typically divorces their spouse after finding out they are cheating on them. Instead, Amy takes her anger to a whole new level by plotting a deranged plan of revenge. Revenge often results from conflicts, but it can also come from the setting that a person is …show more content…
in. The settings in both of these literary pieces are very different, but they both have two parts to them: a fake and happy side, and a dark, scary, mean side.
Poe’s story, “The Cask of the Amontillado” takes place during the night at a summer carnival. Most of the people at the carnival are very intoxicated, including Fortunato. The narrator asks Fortunato to help him taste some Amontillado because he is not sure if this is the best kind of wine to buy. Fortunato is more than willing to help. The narrator reels him down into the catacombs, and then buries him alive: “Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of catacombs, and felt satisfied”(Poe 214). The narrator hesitates for a few seconds when he hears Fortunato screaming behind the wall. After burying him alive and following through with his plan of revenge, the narrator feels satisfied. The setting of Poe’s story is below ground, and has a very dark atmosphere. This type of setting is vital for the theme of revenge and it really gives off the feeling of doom. In contrast, Gone Girl takes place in a small town in Missouri. The couple moves to Missouri, Nick’s hometown, when Nick’s mother is dying. Amy is upset about moving because she loves living in New York City. The two lose their jobs, and Nick makes the decision to go back home to be at his mother’s bedside. Amy makes no friends; so she is always home alone in
their gigantic house. This alone time gives her plenty of time to think of a very detailed plan of revenge. She reads books and becomes an expert in murder cases. Amy learns how to pull off the perfect murder. The Dunne’s house is perfect, and they make it look as if they have the perfect life. In the walls of their house, it is different. There is a lot of tension and fighting. Amy says, ”The worst feeling: when you have to wait and prepare yourself for the lie”(Pincher). She is describing her relationship with Nick. Everything Nick says to her she takes with caution and knows that it is a lie. This atmosphere is set up for revenge. It is unpredictable and devious. Her want for revenge on her husband drives her to become fully invested into creating the perfect plan. Revenge leads people to act in irrational ways. In “Cask of the Amontillado” and Gone Girl, the characters, the conflicts, and the setting demonstrate how revenge overpowers the human brain. The idea of revenge compels and clobbers both the narrator and Amy. Revenge enforces people to commit shocking acts.