“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is a story of revenge. Fortunato insults Montresor. Therefore, Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs below Montresor’s home and seals him inside. One the other hand, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is a story of complicated love and brief freedom. Richards and Josephine find out that Mrs. Mallard’s husband has been killed. Mrs. Mallard has a heart disease, so Richards and Josephine decide to tell her so she will not find out somewhere else and suffer heart failure. Mrs. Mallard grieves at first because she loves her husband, but then she realizes that she is free. She is overcome with joy at this realization. Then, her husband walks through the door. Mrs. Mallard is so shocked that she dies of heart failure. Despite the differences between these two stories, they have one major similarity. Both authors use irony, which is when unexpected things happen (dramatic) or when words have hidden meanings (verbal). The themes – or central ideas – of the two stories are partially revealed through verbal and dramatic irony.First, “The Cask of Amontillado” has many examples of verbal irony. One example is Montresor’s family motto. Montresor takes Fortunato into the catacombs to punish him for insulting Montresor. But, Fortunato does not yet know he is being punished. Montresor reminds Fortunato of Montresor’s family motto: “No one insults me with impunity” (193). This statement should have been a clue to Fortunato, but he is too drunk to see it. Another example is Montresor constantly telling Fortunato how precious his health is. Montresor says several times that they should turn back because he does not want Fortunato to get sick. Meanwhile, the whole time Montresor is planning to kill Fortunato. Also, Montresor and Fortunato open a bottle of wine and Fortunato drinks to the dead arou...
