Essay On Kindness In Literature

What hurts more, when someone betrays you or when someone who you trusted deceives you? The notion that being kind to others will make everyone happy has been a part of our culture for decades and is a part of our message to youth. However, the opposite side of kindness shows us how vulnerable people can become when you are kind to them. It has also been a part of our culture but not one that we teach to children. Being kind to others was a central theme in certain literature such as The Open Window by Saki, The Tell Tale Heart and Poe and The Cask of Amontillado, both by Edgar Allan Poe. Yet in these stories the other side of kindness, the lying is made easier by it and the presence of kindness in these pieces of literature strengthens my point. While it is true that kindness can make someone feel safe and secure, it also makes them incredibly vulnerable to deception. In The Open Window by Saki, kindness was a main theme of the story. With Vera manipulating Mr.Nuttel’s nervous disorder and crafting believable stories of how her aunt’s husband and brother never returned from a hunting trip one afternoon and how the French window stays open with her aunt hoping for them to return. None of these stories is true yet Framton Nuttlel was so convinced by Vera’s words that when the husband and brother did come back from their hunting he thought something supernatural was at play and was terrified. So then why was he so assured by this 15 year old girl’s word? I say it’s because during Mr.Nuttel’s first arrival, he was greeted with kindness from Vera and this put him at ease, and also made him far easier to dupe. With his guard lowered he took everything the girl said as gospel, not once questioning her. All because of a few polite gestures, which in turn made him relax and made him all the more gullible. In the plot of The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe a similar case of lowering one’s guard also transpires between the characters. When the narrator makes his preparations to kill the old man because of his vexing eye he makes sure not to act differently in front of him, instead he behaves kindly towards him. This leads to the poor old man to be unaware of his roommate’s true intentions, …show more content…
Montresor has been gravely insulted along with his family by Fortunato, his own friend. So when he gives birth to a convoluted plot for revenge and lures his unsuspected “friend” to his death he isn’t found out until his friend is behind a sealed wall. How you ask was Fortunato lured to his death without realizing what’s happening until he is being sealed in tomb of bricks and mortar? Fortunato was lured to his death because he felt comfortable with his killer due to Montresor’s acts of kindness. When Montresor had shown concern over how he would react to the nitre in the catacombs that he was leading him through, Fortunato gave Montresor his trust. Since he trusted Montresor he was sure that nothing would happen to him by his hand, so he lowered his guard. He voluntarily walked down to where he would later be trapped and doomed to death, not understanding what was happening to him, all because his friend appeared to be kind