The Cask of the Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
"Fortunato had hurt me a thousand times and I had suffered quietly."
From the very first sentence, I can feel the haunting quality of this story, The Cask of the Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe. This is my favorite short story. It's a story about revenge and it goes into detail about how the main character lures Fortunato down into the catacombs with the promise of this elusive wine. The actual cask of the Amontillado is just a plot device to move the story along. It's never made clear, but I would assume that there was never the Amontillado to begin with.
The tightly woven story does exactly what it needs to and not a word more. It sets the tone, atmosphere, and the quiet horror in just four and a half pages. My favorite line is near the end where the main character is sealing Fortunato behind the wall and hears him moan sadly. "My heart grew sick; it must have been the cold." It really speaks volumes about the main character. The reader thinks that he might actually feel guilty but then it's quickly squashed in the very next part.
I have been thinking about how I can never seem to write a novel. Why do I want to write a novel? I guess, really, it always seems like the gold standard of writing. Are you really a writer if you don't write a novel? I feel a sense of hierarchy in the writing world, similar to the art world. In the art world, there is a definite hierarchy. Fine arts, such as drawing, painting, and sculpture, are held in a higher regard than crafts, such as weaving and sewing. And in the the fine arts tier, are you really a good artist if you can't get into an art gallery or art museum?
I have been trying for so long to write a novel. But when it came right down to it, I really just want to write. Period. Writing this blog showed me how much I just wanted to write and just enjoyed writing. It doesn't have to be a novel. Edgar Allan Poe was a great writer and he is well-known for his short stories and poems.
Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Maybe my true goal isn't to write a novel. Obviously, it's not working out for me. On Wednesday, when I wrote the life hack story, I finally felt overjoyed with my writing. I know my story wasn't the best, but I actually had fun with it and I wanted to share my story. I realized I just wanted other people to enjoy it (and probably go, "WTF did I just read?").
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