First Draft.

Mitch Graham MacAllaster English- Freshman 2nd semester Tuesday June 30th, 2009 Writing skills in literature. (Prompt 2) This year, many famous poems and stories were read in this language arts class. Some hopeful, some morbid; all written with prowess. Hidden behind the obvious is another meaning, and both the obvious and the hidden have their merits. Animals with human traits, Humans acting like animals. People with misleading names, and people with hidden motives. Writing skills such as these are what turn a poem from the mundane into the unforgettable. What turn a story into a legend. In Poe's “Cask of Amontillado”a man with a mysterious insult against his honor, Montresor, lures a man with a misleading name, Fortunado, through caves to his

death. But Poe does not allow the caves be simply caves, nor let a simple man walk to his death. The caves are “Catacombs, covered in niter”, the man, the jester Fortunado, choking, coughing, and getting drunker and drunker as the story progresses. Introducing the character flaws early, by putting the story in Montressor's point of view, you develop a genuine dislike for this jester, this fat, jovial character. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could," are words that are in the first paragraph, allowing the reader to glimpse Montressor's insanity, his plans for this man, and why his plans might very well might be justified. By introducing the characters thusly, Poe allows the reader to feel the rage building in Montressor, the madness fueling the anger, which, in turn, pushes the plot forward. Skeletons in the crypt foreshadow Fortunado's fate, and by the end of the story you feel no pity as the madness overtakes Montressor and he seals Fortunado in the Montressor family tomb. As the last brick falls in place, you can feel Montressor's sanity returning slightly,

“my heart grew sick.” Montressor attributes it to the catacombs, but by giving this bit of information to us, Poe is providing some characterization. He lets us know that Montressor feels regret for what he has done. In the end, a poem is a poem, a story a story. In the end writing skills count for little. The thing is, It is the little things that turn a story into a legend, the little things that turn a dark poem like this into a haunting memoir that will stalk the corners of your mind. In the details come the true valor of a story, it's power over the human heart.