“The Cask of Amontillado”- “The Fall of the House of Usher”

 Since the beginning of humanity different cultures have seen death in different ways. It has been perceived as an event of justice, an event of reverence to different gods, and even seen as gateway and door to a continuation of life for many cultures. However, in most cultures, life has been in the hands of some perceived supreme being. Nowadays, death is still being seen as a kind of justice, though for others it might be thought of as a peaceful ending to our loved ones.  So, can a human being take someone’s life? Is humanity taking attributes that do not belong to them?

Some people believe it is morally correct to take someone’s life as justice. Many believe that some people have to pay for their mistakes with their own life; an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We could say this might be correct for some citizens, but not for others; clearly there are many mixed opinions about the role and ethical dilemma of capital punishment within the judicial system. Nowadays people have had to develop strategies to cope and manage the pain that is associated with the many horrible crimes that take place in the world, and for many, they seem to feel that justice does not exist and as a result of this feeling of injustice they sometimes decide to take justice into their own hands. A clear example of this situation can be seen in “The Cask of Amontillado” when Montresor killed Fortunato for revenge.

These days with the advances in medicine and healthcare, people have the propensity to live longer, even though they may be suffering through the adversity of a terminal illness. Yet for some people the fear of suffering a long and drawn out death has led them to believe that it is better to die without experiencing any suffering, and thus they choose to end their own life. Some may even call it a dignified death. Those who decide to traverse the path of this kind of death have lost all hope and simply hope to stop their pain. It is said that families who support suicide believe this act as representing the only way to assist those who walk the roads of despair and hopelessness. So, it might be correct to give someone a peaceful death, but in the story “The Fall of the house of Usher” we see that Roderick Usher buried his sister in the house; however continued to feel quite uneasy and even feel sure that she is yet still alive. Roderick also believes he might help stop her suffering but ultimately is tormented by his conscience in not letting him be in peace as a result of his actions.

At least once a week we can see or hear in news broadcasts that someone has killed for revenge. People want to take justice into their own hands. And revenge may transform a normal person into and evil human being. They are fed up with widespread injustice, so much so that they have become blinded by rage and grow into a state of madness, deciding to take justice into their own hands. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor is convinced that Fortunato has to pay the humiliation committed on him.

Another fact in a daily life is that there are many cases in the news about normal people that suddenly kill someone. A clear example of this is in the story of “The Cask of Amontillado” when Montresor finds Fortunato, he invites him in for some wine, and he appears as a normal human being, perhaps even inoffensive. It is a fact that mad people might seem harmless. These people however might become overwhelmed with different situations, which as a result, cause them to enter into a deep internal crisis, resulting in impaired situational judgement; that tends to escalate a silly circumstance into a huge crisis or event.

In conclusion, we could say that by and large it may just depend on people’s perception of culture and how they pay respect to human life. However, it is always going to be an ethical discussion on whether or not human beings have the right to decide between the delicate balance of capital punishment and the right to life for those who commit heinous crimes against society. And it is a fact that society is becoming crazier which is leading to an increased number of people with mental disorders. So, we can confirm that mental insanity might cause people to commit a crime and that people from around the world and from different cultures have seen death in different ways since the beginning of humanity.