Short stories have particular settings to supplement their themes. The eerie catacombs during a carnival in “The Cask of Amontillado” supplement the themes of revenge, and deception, which the protagonist takes responsibility in; whereas in “Hills Like White Elephants”, the atmosphere around the Spanish train station emphasizes the themes of miscommunication between characters and their evasion of responsibilities.In “The Cask of Amontillado”, the combination of the carnival and the catacomb settings contribute to the themes of revenge, and deception which the protagonist takes responsibility in. Because the story takes place during the carnival, the protagonist, Montressor, has an easier time plotting against Fortunato:“It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much… I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand (Poe 13)”.Clearly, Fortunato is intoxicated because he is having a merry time at the carnival. Upon meeting, Montressor takes advantage of Fortunato’s excessive drinking in that he will be taking revenge on Fortunato on that night. Therefore, the carnival setting emphasizes on the theme of revenge. Montressor takes benefit from the catacombs setting, where he uses deception against Fortunato:“’The nitre!’ I said; ‘see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults… Come, we will ` go back ere it is too late. Your cough-‘‘It is nothing,’ he said; ‘let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc.’I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath (Poe 15)”.Montressor uses deception in the form of reverse ps…
…he differences in these settings are that they reflect on the protagonist’s responsibilities. Montressor is fully in charge of what he is about to do, while Jig and her husband are questioning where their future responsibilities should lie.Settings are used in short stories so that they can complement the themes. Themes in “The Cask of Amontillado” included revenge and deception, which were brought out by the carnival and the catacombs settings. Themes in “Hills Like White Elephants” included evasion of responsibility and miscommunication, and this was outlined by the train tracks, the environment on either side of the train tracks, and the hills themselves. Hence, in both short stories, setting played an integral role in emphasizing the themes.Works Cited
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Julia Gaunce, Suzette Mayr. The Broadview Anthology of Short Fiction. Braodview Press, 2005. Print.
