An Individual’s Inner Vacancy in the Stories The Cask of Amontillado, Hills Like White Elephants, and The Things They Carried

Stories utilize a collection of themes and motifs for readers to find as they read through and enjoy passages. Furthermore, themes can apply to a character or a group of characters who symbolize one’s sense of emotions Sometimes, there are stories that share the same themes within storylines and character(s) even if they come from different contexts and timelines. Themes such as love, war and hatred are quite common in many stories and poems. The theme of an individual’s inner vacancy in themselves is evident through the stories, “The Cask of Amontillado", “Hills Like White Elephants”, and “The Things They Carried”, as seen through the characters‘ actions. Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Cask of amontillado,” tells a shon story of a man named Montresor, who is plotting revenge against his companion named fortunato, after Fortunato apparently insulted Montresor.

Throughout the story, Montresor gives him wine, a drink favored by Fonunado, As an alcoholic, Fortunado obliges without suspicion as he is thoroughly intoxicated and trusts Montresor dearly. Montersor’s character is shown to be empty throughout the story, as he describes his pointless motivation to kill Fortunato simply because of an insult. As it is stated in the story, “A thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult l vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat.” This quote shows the inconsequential bitterness that Montresor has inside of himself. Moreover, it reflects on how this character portrays the psychological emptiness that he has through his weak inner motives.

In the story, Montresor states that, “Nemo me impune lacessit" which translates to “No one insults me with impunity“ His quote clarifies his meaningless focus on taking revenge over Fortunado. This proves that Montresor, as a character, is single-minded and does not focus on anything else. In turn, his actions and thoughts portray the theme of emptiness. At the end of the story, Montresor leads a drunk Fortunado into the catacombs (a place where the dead are buried and full of skulls and bones), and traps him within a small corner, chaining him to a stone Montresor then covers the wall with bricks, which alarms Fortunado and makes him wake up from his intoxication to beg Montresor to let him go. Despite his stoic reaction, there is a small part where Montresor feels a bit of guilt in completing his plan to kill, as it is stated near the end of the passage, “My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so."

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It shows that Montresor feels a bit of remorse for what he did to Fortunado. However, he makes an excuse for it, pointing out that it is the mood of dread that he feels from being in the catacombs. This proves how empty Montresor is on the inside, as it is a commentary on how manipulative people feel in the real world when they justify their actions. While “The Cask of Amontillado" portrays the vacancy in vengeful people, “Hills Like White Elephants” portrays inner vacancy in a grayer area of life Hemingway's “Hills Like White Elephants” details a short story with a simple plot involving a man and his girlfriend having a conversation while casually drinking at a bar in Spain. While the main theme of this story is strongly implied to be abortion, as the man tries to convince his girlfriend to get an operation done to get rid of the baby, another theme that is hidden in this story is emptiness between these two characters inside, as they take a very heavy topic too lightly.

These casual drinkers suggest that since they have nothing else better to do than to drink, it means that they have nothing else to do in their lives. As is stated within the passage “”1 wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it»look at things and try new drinks?”. This quote shows the leisurely life that these characters are living in, and since their main focus is in casual drinking, this suggests the correlation with the theme of emptiness in the story, As the story develops, the two get into a conversation of an abortion, which is explicitly mentioned. The passage details when the man said that, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jigmlt’s not really an operation at all.” The man here explains that the girl should not be afraid of the abortion she will have.

The carelessness and apathy of the man shows the emptiness he feels towards wanting his girlfriend to take part in a risky situation, The girl, on the other hand, is reluctant about this decision when she tells him in response, “And you think then we‘ll be alright and be happy?” Despite her subtle reaction to the man’s desires, she portrays emptiness on the inside because she reluctantly agrees with him simply because she wants to make him happy and does not want to do so of her own desirer In the end, she feigns that she is fine with the operation and tells her lover, “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” This ending shows the emptiness the woman feels alongside the emptiness of her lover, As “Hills Like White Elephants" deals with the theme of an individual’s inner vacancy in a grayer said of life, “The Things They Carried" portrays the theme of emptiness with people who are seen as “morally right’i Tim O'Brien's “The Things They Carried” focuses on a group of soldiers who are struggling during the Vietnam War.

These soldiers walk through the tropics of the country, as they are carrying a variety of belongings that are valuable to them However, O’Brien shows that they carry more than just physical possessions. This heartbreaking story details each soldier's’ burdens, and the memories that are carried within themselves This correlates with the theme of a person’s emptiness under pressure These soldiers have war and death ahead of them that they are pressured to face, as they carry on their valuable things and burdens. Part of the passage is quoted that “They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die Grief, terror, love, longing-these were intangibles, but the tangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weightr. This quote has a deep insight on the building vacancy that these soldiers have as they continue to carry their heavy burdens.

The stress of their surroundings and their burdens is what makes the characters apathetic and hollow Furthermore, the unrelenting series of events leads to more emotional damage that cause the inner vacancy of the characters to deepen, The character Lieutenant Cross thinks in his mind, “It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do,” (O’Brien, 281) The quote here indicates how Cross knows that these soldiers truly feel empty within themselves as they face obstacles such as the deaths of their companions, leaving letters and pictures behind, and understanding what was needed to do It also forwards of what the following events may reveal to the characters as they carry on what they have that is both tangible and intangible.

In the end, short stories “The Cask of Amontillado”, “Hills Like White Elephants”, and “The Things They Carried” share a similar theme of inner vacancy that any type of individual can feel in certain situations, “The Cask of Amontillado” dealt with an empty man looking for an excuse to murder his acquaintance, ”Hills Like White Elephants” had a couple reluctant about abortion, while “The Things They Carried“ introduced numerous characters who all shared the same emptiness as each other in war and memory. It is a theme like this that can reflect on how we feel in the real world about the situations that we face, and how we deal with them. Either we accept them and move on, or we let our own faults take over and create a feeling of vacancy on the inside.

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