Similarities Between The Cask Of Amontillado And Stephen King

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Edgar Allen Poe is a writer and poet who, even in his own time, is highly recognized for his bizarre and fascinating stories. Most of his pieces involve death and murder, and they also question the character’s sanity. Many of his stories have been turned into movies and his great work has inspired many modern authors. One author in particular is Stephen King. Mr. King has won numerous awards for his work and is considered one of the greatest writers alive today. His short story “Dolan’s Cadillac” shares many similarities to Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”, in plot, characterization, point of view, and climax. The first main similarity between the two stories is the problem the protagonist must overcome. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” takes place in the 1800s and is about a man named Montresor taking revenge on a fellow nobleman named Fortunato. Montresor is angry at Fortunato for an insult and he plots to murder his “friend” during a carnival while Fortunato is drunk. Stephen King’s “Dolan’s Cadillac” takes place in modern time and is about a man named Robinson taking revenge on Dolan for murdering his wife. Both main characters are planning on getting…show more content…
In fact, it seems as though Stephen King merely wrote the modern day version of Edgar Allen Poe’s story. The plot components in each story are alike in that they both carry the protagonist through a revengeful murder. The final words of both antagonists are literally identical and the means of murder and also similar. The only differences are the time and place the stories take place, and the reasons of the protagonists’ revenge. It seems clear, due to the resemblance of the two short stories, that Edgar Allen Poe’s inspired Stephen King. Even though Poe’s story was written first, King did a better job of conveying a message only because the reader understands the protagonist’s motivation for a revengeful

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