Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar Allan Poe’s tumultuous childhood can be seen as the source of his dark and devious writing. At the age of two Poe’s mother Elizabeth Arnold Poe died. Poe was then taken in by John Allan, a tobacco-merchant, who barely helped struggling Poe. John Allan failed to give Poe enough money for any expenses Poe had. John Allan even went to the extent to not allowing Poe to attend his second term at the University of Virginia (Wilson, James 1). His strenuously warped childhood is reflected in many of his greatest works.

Poe published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in Boston after all ties were broken with his stepfather

“The Cask of Amontillado” is also a short story by Poe that is solely about revenge. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge....At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settled....I must not only punish, but punish with impunity" (“Cask of Amontillado” 1). The story begins with Montressor stating he wants revenge for some crime or insult that was done to him by a main character named Fortunato. Montressor meets up with Fortunato at a carnival and befriends him with kind gestures and offers to try his cask of Amontillado wine. At first Fortunato doesn’t believe Montressor, so Montressor uses reverse psychology on Fortunato by saying he was going to consult Luchesi anyways. This makes Fortuanto jealous and even more anxious to taste the Amontillado. Just to make sure Montressor has Fortunato wrapped around his finger he tells him that the condition of where the wine is being kept is to dangerous to Fortunato’s health. Fortunato is now enraged and insists on going to the labyrinth immediately. Throughout the journey in the labyrinth Montressor is intoxicating Fortunato with other wines and keeps insisting on turning back. Of course Fortunato to prove his manhood continues on, becoming more and more ill from the liquor and the atmosphere. Spontaneously Fortunato makes a gesture of the Free Masons, a secret society, and Montressor doesn’t comprehend what he’s doing. In a quick response Montressor reveals a trowel to show he is a real mason of bricks. Little does Fortunato know; the trowel is the murder weapon that will seal his fate (Bily 56). They finally reach the cask of

“The Cask of Amontillado” however is the exact opposite. Montressor, the protagonist, is out to kill someone like most Poe stories. The whole storyline, like in “The Tall-Tale Heart,” describes of the protagonist’s struggle in the murder of human. Montressor knows throughout the story what his goal is and states it clearly in the beginning of the story. This is what makes “The Cask of Amontillado” a classic Poe story. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe uses the element of surprise and foreshadowing to strike fear in the human mind.

as if listening to some imaginary sound" (“House of Usher” 274). The narrator, now also enveloped by the house, slips slowly into a distressing calm until a sound is heard from

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