Abstract The paper tells of how Montresor is patient, confident, and calculating. It explains how he uses these traits to lure his prey into the catacombs to be killed. It also tells of the things that he does along the way to ensure his success. The paper also includes quotes from the story.
From the Paper "When looked at for the first time, Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado may seem disturbing. Montresor has plans to murder a man, Fortunato, for insulting him and plans on doing so by walling him up in the catacombs under his home. Montresor devises a clever plan that will leave Fortunato clueless as to his intensions. Upon a closer look, this character is admirable. Montresor carries out his plan successfully without being caught. He does this by using traits that are commendable at the very least. Montresor is Poe's most admirable character because he is patient, extremely confident, and very calculating."
Abstract This paper explains that Christian art, evolving along with the church, began in the Near East, which was a vast religious and cultural melting pot where all the competing faiths, including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and many others, tended to influence each other. The author points out that the oldest sizeable and coherent body of Christian art, which can be traced to no earlier than 200 AD, is the painted murals in the Roman catacombs and the underground burial places of the Christians. The paper relates that the halo around Jesus' head stems from pagan artists, who used a halo, usually of a gold color, to mark the chief of men and women in their pictures, and from the Romans, who associated it with the cult of light as a special gift from God. Chart. List of illustrations but no illustrations.
Table of Contents
The Early Christian Church - The Jews and the Greeks
Byzantine Art
The Christian Empire
Nuns, Monks, and Priests
Saints and Martyrs
The Virgin Mary
The Halo
The Conversion of the Northern Tribes
The Celts
The English
The Saxons
The Holy Roman Emperor
East Rome
Church of St. Sophia
The Icons, the Iconostasis, and Iconoclasm
Icons
Iconostasis
Iconoclasm
The Mystics
The Effect of Islam
A Comparison of Christianity East and West
Early Christian vs. Byzantine Art
Western Society in the Middle Ages
Popes
Society and Religion
Hell and Purgatory
Gothic Cathedrals and Stain Glass Windows
The Renaissance
Exploration
The Reformation
The Modern Age
From the Paper "The first celibates in the early Christian church were women who lived lives of chastity and cleaned church buildings. These women also helped tend the sick. Many spiritually oriented celibate males started as hermits but eventually these men grouped together, elected an abbot, and agreed to abide by a set of rules. These first nuns and monks were called Benedictines. Priests were allowed to marry in the early church but the idea of a celibate priesthood was raised as early as 324 AD (Council of Nicene) but this was unenforceable. In the early church, a man could marry before he became a priest and still become a priest. He could not marry if he became a priest before marrying. The ideal of the totally celibate priesthood was not enforceable until the 11th Century. A man who wanted to become a bishop was not allowed to be married.
In the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, priests still are allowed to marry before taking final vows."
Abstract Revenge is probably one of the ugliest actions known to man and nothing compares the kind of revenge we find in the heart of Montresor, the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado." The paper shows that in this short story, Poe focuses on characterization, language, and technique, to express this grisly tale of revenge that leaves us just as cold as the stones in Montresor's catacombs. Revenge for Montresor is more than death; it is a long, agonizing death. The paper shows that Poe crafts Montresor in such a way that he is as evil as he is brilliant, a fact we do not like to face because he represents the worst of humanity.
From the Paper "Poe uses language in this story with precision and brevity. He also utilizes verbal irony with Montresor's narration. At one point when he delightfully lures Fortunato to his death, Montresor says, "I cannot be responsible" (Poe 92), but he knows full well that he is completely responsible for Fortunato's fate. We also find irony when Montresor agrees with Fortunato that he will not die of a cough. Here see how Poe uses the language of the story to shape Montresor's character and frame of mind. The narrator is crazy but he is not stupid. While Fortunato slowly loses his grip on what's going on around him, Montresor gains more control."
Abstract This paper explains that Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" contains many ideas and items that are used as symbols for other things. The author relates that the plot is a deeply shrouded mystery about the destruction of the character of Fortunato by his so called friend Montresor. The paper concludes that the symbolism of the black mask, the cask, the trowel and the jester's outfit all work together to show the subtle nuances and the richness of Poe's story.
From the Paper "Fortunato's friend Montresor is not really his friend at all, and he lures Fortunato down into the catacombs and dungeons in order to show him an alleged cask of Amontillado that he has acquired, acting as though he is not sure that it is real and that he may have been cheated. He knows, as a connoisseur of fine wine, Fortunato will not be able to resist, even when he insists that the catacombs are very damp and he does not want Fortunato's health to suffer. Montresor tells Fortunato "But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts.""
Abstract This paper examines the Christian art of the first five centuries C.E., which is potentially a source of a great deal of data and information about Christianity during the period in question. The author explains that the origins and development of early Christian art are indebted to a number of factors. These factors are comprised of certain styles associated with certain regions and practices, converts to Christianity adopting pagan practices, and to more than purely aesthetic functions such as pedagogical uses. The paper concludes that early Christian art did not spring into existence without roots. Rather it can be seen as an undisrupted continuous seam going back to ancient religions and practices.
From the Paper "Textual evidence seems to suggest that certain theologians did indeed go against the production of cultic art objects for the practice of idolatry while perhaps understanding the difference between that and the functional uses of art whether it was decorative, symbolic or didactic. Christians probably understood that smaller objects did not have much significance. So when larger objects did come on to the scene it was not of a great shock since they were not seen as objects of worship and "therefore presented no danger of idolatry." Some scholars believe that many of the Christian converts that came from a polytheistic background abandoned their old practices since they would recognize it was incompatible with their new faith."
Abstract This paper first discusses "Usher II", a chapter of "The Martian Chronicles", where Ray Bradbury alludes to many of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, notably "The Cask of Amontillado". The paper then discusses how "The Cask of Amontillado" is not only a literal descent into a catacomb, but also a journey into the mind's subjectivity to insanity and the grotesque images that lie safely behind closed eyes. The paper contrasts this to Bradbury's Mr. Stendahl and his obsession with great works that have been long forgotten. The paper shows how in both works the role of the double is important.
From the Paper "In "Usher II", a chapter of The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury alludes to many of Edgar Allan Poe's stories. The Cask of Amontillado is a tale that is directly referred to as Mr. Stendahl descends into a disturbed mentality, just as Poe's narrator. For both Bradbury and Poe, the house, the replica and the tomb leads to insanity and a downward spiral into a realm of the gothic. During a time when the Earth could be seen from afar as only a blazing orb breaking into jigsaw pieces, it may have been difficult to remember the names of great writers like Poe or have the concentration to understand his allegory and psychoanalytical approach to story telling. The further we move away from the Earth, as the people in Ray Bradbury's, The Martian Chronicles attempt to do, the more things like censorship and war become like a dream."
