Exposure of the Mask - Essay Example

Exposure of the mask What defines great artists of all times is their desire to share with readers thetruth they have discovered about themselves and other human beings, or about the way how the world works. A storyline can be metaphorical, heroes and a plot can be fictional, and a story itself may seem very far from common life, yet findings are always true. This phenomenon is very simple to prove when witnessing the same truth discovered by different artists from different periods of time and different historical circumstances. Even more exiting is to find those artists speaking truth on human lie. Observations Edgar Allan Poe explores on human pretense in his short story The Cask of Amontillado are similar to those Paul Laurence Dunbar puts in his poem We Wear the Mask. “We wear the mask…” Let’s first have a look at the world of pretense Dunbar and Poe introduce a reader to. For Dunbar it’s the world where humans wear the mask. This mask “hides cheeks” (a first thing to flush with a shame) and “shades our eyes” (commonly considered to be the mirror of a soul) while instead expressing a successful look with “myriad subtleties”, nevertheless the way of achieving this look was full of guile, and expressing a smile, nevertheless there are true “bleeding and torn” hearts hidden behind the mask (Dunbar). People demand from themselves to keep this mask on, and in this way, they create a social norm for humankind to wear a fake smile, despite any tortures their soul may go through. The mask is a common human feature, and Dunbar addresses the poem to humankind in general. “Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask” (Dunbar). Important thing is that the mask is mostly in needed for social relations. In Dunbar’s world people wear the mask to keep a general all’s well illusion, but with a view of those true tears and sighs hidden and suppressed, Dunbar says the mask rather expresses a grin than actually a smile (Dunbar). Due to specificity of a short story genre Poe gets more possibilities to fulfill a fictional world with hidden presentence of masks, and they pump up when reading. The main mask is the one Montresor, the main hero wears since making a vow to revenge upon Fortunato, his friend who has been insulting Montresor for a period of time. Instead of telling Fortunato the truth on how offensive are those “thousands injuries”, the main hero keeps smiling to Fortunato’s face, but “the smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe 3). Important thing is that Montresor admits that a revenge is only possible when a mask stays on, and therefore, when society never crimes an avenger and never finds a guile in his heart. In this way Poe stresses on a role mask plays, and how it secures one’s thoughts and motives, because retribution comes to one revealing evil of a heart before society. Main hero’s cruel design is known to a reader from very beginning, yet Montresor is never perceived as a bad gay, and neither has Montresor seems a victim, because other inhabitants of Poe’s world are lying and wearing masks too. Firstly, despite that readers know Fortunato’s personal characteristics only according to Montresor’s evidences, Fortunato is described as “a quack” that used to pretend on knowing arts, and as a pompous man who makes a display of knowing wine well (Poe 3). In this way, Fortunato’s wearing a mask too. Secondly, Montresor has to get along with a pretense in his family palazzo. Despite that the staff was instructed “not to stir from the house” Montresor returned home and found no servants. “Immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned…” (Poe 5). Important thing is that staff was gone for a carnival season. Poe brings a general atmosphere of a carnival to the story while this festival is well known for a tradition to hide own identities and faces behind costumes and masks. In this way Poe fulfills a fiction world with people wearing masks literally and metaphorically. “This debt we pay to humane guile…” Both Poe and Dunbar define that what makes humans wear masks is a human guileful nature. With the above-cited statement Dunbar brings a more religious explanation on wearing the mask, assuming that behind the mask people hide their vicious nature, and that people use the mask to pretend before each other. Dunbar stresses that Christ is the only one who sees human souls behind the mask and observes vices. “We smile, but O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise” (Dunbar). Important thing is that providing a religious discourse Dunbar generalizes evil of a human nature, and treats guile as inborn characteristic for all people, bringing no other explanation on their evil behavior. There’s a religious legend saying that the First man, Adam (and therefore, humankind in general) was made of clay, and Dunbar uses this metaphor. “We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet…” (Dunbar). In his turn, Poe makes no religious generalizations on human nature. Heroes in The Cask of Amontillado have more social motives to wear masks. For example, staff from Montresor’s palazzo disorders their master command to leave palazzo for a carnival and have fun with other citizens, and Fortunato predicts that Amontillado’s likely a fake foreseeing a speculation sellers usually make with a commercial goal. “Amontillado! You have been imposed upon”, says Fortunato to Montresor (Poe 4). The most personal is Montresor’s motive to behave cruelly. Descending from a noble stem Montresor is more likely to duel, or make revenge upon abusers, and never forgives. Montresors family motto claims that when assaulting one of Montresors no one gets away with it, and skillets introduced to a reader later when Montresor and Fortunato go deep down the dungeon confirm that this family used to revenge upon their enemies cruelly (Poe 6). Thus, a personal case of a human guile leads this sort story. Additionally, Poe makes Montresor to address a confession to a reader, “You who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe 3). Despite none of these examples deny a sinful human nature, Poe makes no observations on guile’s inherent origin, and disregards the idea of God contrary to Dunbar’s worshiping exclamations. Poe brings a blasphemous dialog when Montresor is bricking Fortunato up. “Let us be gone”. “Yes,” I said, “let us be gone.” “For the love of God, Montresor!’ “Yes,” I said, “for the love of God!” (Poe 10). “Our cries… from tortured souls arise…” Remarkable is that despite creating image of a masked world, both Poe and Dunbar see a possibility for humankind to escape this costume party. For Dunbar this way is of religious kind because the only one who perceives tortured human souls as they are is Christ. Despite giving no direct instructions to confess Christianity, Dunbar brings clues on accepting Christian tradition for redemption. The acceptance makes sense when reading about cries to Christ, a tradition of singing when praying, a “long mile” to go, and when knowing that Dunbar was close to AME Church. A more direct restriction Dunbar makes speaking on over-wise world. Instead of grins it could be “in counting all our tears and sighs”, and humankind could recognize each other’s sinful nature (Dunbar). Contrariwise, Poe describes a dual human nature making the main hero pretend but desire to be unmasked at the same time. Montresor is radical in his decision to make revenge upon Fortunato, and the whole story tells of a successful materialization of the plan: Fortunato’s failing into the Montresor’s traps step by step. Yet since the very meeting Montresor’s constantly giving Fortunato clues to figure out the cruel plan, and possibilities to step back. One reason is that Montresor’s trying to act normally as a good friend (being worried about Fortunato’s cough, requesting him be careful on a staircase etc.) not to make Fortunato suspicious. Second reason is that Poe demonstrates how easy one (Fortunato) can fall into a trap being drunk with pride and literally drunk. Third reason is that Fortunato supposed to reveal Montresor’s design at some moment because, “It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done wrong” (Poe 3). Surprisingly, when Fortunato discovers Montresor’s cruel design, and unmasking really happens, characters created by Poe act according to those prescriptions Dunbar makes for sinful humankind. Fortunato who stays in a carnival costume, and who has been fun all night suddenly, bursts out “a low moaning cry” (Poe 9). Even more suddenly, Fortunato starts to scream shrilly and loudly revealing a true fear, anger, frustration and other possible emotions a man can express being trapped and chained, firstly confusing Montresor by this reaction, but secondly, challenging Montresor to act the same way. “I replied to the yells of him who clamored. I re-echoed – I aided – I suppressed them in volume and in strength” (Poe 9). It’s a revelation of the offence and other possible emotions Montresor may have truly experience at the moment, and in this way both characters pull off masks. Monresor and Fortunato make an attempt pull masks back on after the revelation, yet there’s no communication between friends and/ or enemies, only a dramatic blasphemous dialog mentioned earlier (Poe 10). At the end of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado two main characters see each other’s souls, but they have no strength, or desire to perceive one another without usual masks. The cruel truth about human nature, which is prone to guile and capable of mutual offence, frustrates humankind making society to keep wearing masks. Similar are findings which Paul Laurence Dunbar makes in his poem We Wear the Mask, but specifically, Dunbar recognizes an inherent origin of a human cruel nature, and religiously, addresses everything to a human sinfulness. While Poe rather questions the point of overthrowing masks, Dunbar stays convinced that it would be better for the world to discuss human vices. The religious “long mile” road is the way Dunbar prescripts for ones seeking revelation from the mask. Works Cited Dunbar, Paul Laurence. We Wear the Mask. Poetry Foundation. 2015 Web. 06 May 2015. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Menendez, J. (Ed.) Ibiblio. 05 May 2015. Web. 06 May 2015. Read More