Two Sample Body Paragraphs of Side-by-Side Literature Comparison - "Cask of Amontillado" and "Masque of the Red Death"

The stories of “Masque of the Red Death” and “Cask of Amontillado” are alike in that they share a minor theme, although their main subject matter differs greatly. "The Masque of the Red Death" could be seen as a story reprimanding the rich who indulge excessively in luxuries at the expense of others. This can be deduced from the fate of Prince Prospero and his "thousand hale and light-hearted friends", who lock themselves in a palace to ensure their protection from the Red Death and provide themselves with "all of the appliances of pleasure", leaving the rest of the world to "take care of itself", and their subsequent gruesome deaths. Likewise, Fortunato of "The Cask of Amontillado", a rich, loved aristocrat who indulges excessively in such pastimes as "drinking too much", is brutally murdered by Montresor, confirming Poe's hatred of both aristocracy and those who overindulge. Despite this shared minor theme, the major themes of the stories differ, with "The Cask of Amontillado" recounting how Montresor takes his revenge on Fortunato, and therefore being primarily a tale of revenge, while the grisly end of Prince Prospero and those who seek a safe haven with him in his palace indicates the main theme of "The Masque of the Red Death" to be death, how no one can escape it and how it comes unexpectedly, "like a thief in the night".

Finally, the emphasis that each story places on characters varies greatly, although the characters themselves do share some similarities. "The Cask of Amontillado" has many details about the two characters, while "The Masque of the Red Death" doesn't really develop them since they are not really necessary in order to convey a message. For example, its protagonist, Prince Prospero, is the only person to speak throughout the tale, and even still, readers learn little about him, other than that he is a wealthy, selfish monarch who is supposedly "happy, dauntless and sagacious". On the other hand, "The Cask of Amontillado" features a couple of well developed characters, most likely because it is a psychological thriller, for which interesting characters are necessary, as without intriguing characters there can be no interesting psyches to be examined. One of these interesting characters is Montresor, the diabolical narrator of the tale who takes his revenge against Fortunato for supposed insults, and, though fundamentally different, he could be described as sharing some character traits with Prince Prospero of "The Masque of the Red Death". This is evident from certain events in "The Cask of Amontillado" which indicate Montresor to be rather inconsiderate of other people, ignorant of the consequences of his actions and nonchalant at the prospect of the death of others, just like Prospero. The other main character in "The Cask of Amontillado", Fortunato also resembles Prospero in some ways, most notably that they both seem to enjoy festivities, such as the carnival in "The Cask of Amontillado" and the masquerade ball in "The Masque of the Red Death". Additionally, they both have ironic names, as they both suffer gruesome deaths at the end of the story in which they feature, and are consequently neither fortunate nor prosperous.

Also, click here for an essay outline on "Cask of Amontillado" which could also serve as a good example of format; however, this one is not a comparison, so be careful and double the suggestions - one for each story used.