Pride and Insanity Theme is on of the most important aspects of any story, poem, or film. However, in many cases, there can be multiple themes in one story. For example, both “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor revolve around multiple themes. Both the idea that pride can lead to one’s own downfall, and that insanity can drive an individual to do and say very strange, and in many cases abnormal, things. Many people, most people in fact, are prideful in some way. And sometimes, this stubborn pride that people carry can result in one’s own demise. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, portray this theme on multiple occasions.
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The theme of insanity and what it can do to the thoughts and actions of human beings also plays a role. Going back to “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, after all of the grandmother’s family has been killed she is left alone to face the Misfit. The Misfit is a killer who was wandering the countryside. As he and the grandmother carry on a conversation about Jesus and prayer the grandmother begins to get flustered outwardly and mentally. The grandmother eventually cracks when she believes that she is going to die. When “She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured, ‘Why you’re on of my babies. You’re one of my own children!’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest” (O’Connor, pg. 466). The grandmother was essentially pulling for straws and was willing to say anything to try to stay alive even a minute longer. This can display a sense of insanity because had she not been panicking she would understand that it would be absolutely insane to think that saying such a things would actually work on a seasoned killer. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, insanity plays a massive role. Montresor, as stated before, is the narrator of the short story. In the very beginning he informs the reader “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe, pg. 472). This proves that something is a little off about Montresor because he states in the beginning that Fortunato had hurt him thousands of times, but the second that Fortunato almost insults him, Montresor wants to kill him as a form of revenge. Most sane people don’t immediately think of murder if they were almost insulted. Montresor then tries to appeal to his audience. He says that he will get his revenge
The theme of insanity and what it can do to the thoughts and actions of human beings also plays a role. Going back to “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, after all of the grandmother’s family has been killed she is left alone to face the Misfit. The Misfit is a killer who was wandering the countryside. As he and the grandmother carry on a conversation about Jesus and prayer the grandmother begins to get flustered outwardly and mentally. The grandmother eventually cracks when she believes that she is going to die. When “She saw the man’s face twisted close to her own as if he were going to cry and she murmured, ‘Why you’re on of my babies. You’re one of my own children!’ She reached out and touched him on the shoulder. The Misfit sprang back as if a snake had bitten him and shot her three times through the chest” (O’Connor, pg. 466). The grandmother was essentially pulling for straws and was willing to say anything to try to stay alive even a minute longer. This can display a sense of insanity because had she not been panicking she would understand that it would be absolutely insane to think that saying such a things would actually work on a seasoned killer. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, insanity plays a massive role. Montresor, as stated before, is the narrator of the short story. In the very beginning he informs the reader “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe, pg. 472). This proves that something is a little off about Montresor because he states in the beginning that Fortunato had hurt him thousands of times, but the second that Fortunato almost insults him, Montresor wants to kill him as a form of revenge. Most sane people don’t immediately think of murder if they were almost insulted. Montresor then tries to appeal to his audience. He says that he will get his revenge