Literary elements and figurative language are incorporated into stories in order to help develop the theme or motif of their narratives. Literary elements are present in the stories “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. The authors use the literary element of irony to heighten the theme of their short stories. Irony is used throughout “The Cask of Amontillado”, the narrative of murderous revenge and rage towards an insulting friend. The narrator, Montresor, persuades this friend, Fortunato, to adventure down through an old Italian catacomb to look at a barrel of vintage wine, as the man was known for his connoisseurship in wine. All the while, the reader is able to see the real motive
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As daylight comes and Rainsford searches the island, he comes into contact with General Zaroff, an old military man who treats the hunter well, as well as being exceptionally skilled in the craft himself. Over dinner, Zaroff tells Rainsford the stories of the animals he has killed, and he learns the chilling fact that Zaroff uses the island to hunt the sailors that come upon it in the fashion of a game. Rainsford tries to leave the island, but the General begins the game of hunting him, and he must avoid getting killed for 3 days in order to win and leave the island. Verbal irony is preset at this situation from the conversation Rainsford had with his partner at the beginning of the story. “‘...Don’t talk rot, Whitney,’ said Rainsford. ‘ You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?’ ‘Perhaps the jaguar does…’ ‘Bah! They’ve no understanding’ ‘…I rather think they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death’” (Connell 1). This is an example of verbal irony, as at the end of the story Rainsford feels how the jaguar feels because he is the one being hunted and can understand the fears that the animals do have. He has a change of heart at the end because of this understanding. The irony in the story is what portrays Rainsford as a dynamic character and is a contribution to the theme of the story: the survival of the
As daylight comes and Rainsford searches the island, he comes into contact with General Zaroff, an old military man who treats the hunter well, as well as being exceptionally skilled in the craft himself. Over dinner, Zaroff tells Rainsford the stories of the animals he has killed, and he learns the chilling fact that Zaroff uses the island to hunt the sailors that come upon it in the fashion of a game. Rainsford tries to leave the island, but the General begins the game of hunting him, and he must avoid getting killed for 3 days in order to win and leave the island. Verbal irony is preset at this situation from the conversation Rainsford had with his partner at the beginning of the story. “‘...Don’t talk rot, Whitney,’ said Rainsford. ‘ You’re a big-game hunter, not a philosopher. Who cares how a jaguar feels?’ ‘Perhaps the jaguar does…’ ‘Bah! They’ve no understanding’ ‘…I rather think they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death’” (Connell 1). This is an example of verbal irony, as at the end of the story Rainsford feels how the jaguar feels because he is the one being hunted and can understand the fears that the animals do have. He has a change of heart at the end because of this understanding. The irony in the story is what portrays Rainsford as a dynamic character and is a contribution to the theme of the story: the survival of the