Test Poem

This Standardized Test Poem is interesting, not because it appears on any test but because it makes one think about what standardized tests may or may not be doing for the students and schools involved.  Obviously at some point we need measures in place to make sure that we are delivering education, but what should those measures look like and how should they appear?

The author of the poem has his or her point of view, and we are all entitled to our own.

Summary of "The Cask of Amontillado"

Here is a great summary of "The Cask of Amontillado". 

Creepy Amontillado

I will tell you the mood in "The Cask of Amontillado" - creepy.  Is there another word, maybe, but in the end it boils down to the same thing.  The story is creepy.  Nobody does stuff like Montresor without being totally messed up.

Fortunato Fortunatus

So sometimes you see somebody in a movie or read about somebody in a story who gets killed and you are like - yeah, he deserved that.  Fortunato, is not one of those people.  Poe completely mocks the poor guy, and Montresor totally just kills him and you are sitting there wondering - WTF?

What did Fortunato do to piss him off so bad?  The guy seems nice enough.  He could have said "piss off, its carnival, get Luchesi to help your ignorant ass."  But instead he says, hey, I'll follow you down into your cold, damp, stinky catacombs to sort out your stupid buying practices.  A nice guy!  And what does he get in return?  Death.  Poe - you are messed up!

Pronunciation of "The Cask of Amontillado"

Obviously the words cask, the, and of do not require additional assistance, but students always struggle with saying amontillado. Amontillado refers to a Spanish wine so it is a Spanish word and should probably be pronounced the Spanish way.

Poe, however, wrote the story for Italian characters and it is likely that his characters would use an Italian pronunciation so if you Italianize it then you won't be far off the mark.  In the end it doesn't much matter.  If you just wanted to substitute the word root beer you could, though it might take away from the mood of the story a little bit.

Montresor

Here is an article that analyzes Montresor.  I don't care what anyone says, that dude was messed up!  He took his friend, somebody who trusted him, and led him into the catacombs beneath his house and buried him alive!  That is not something a normal person does.  Period!  If you have a beef with someone you work it out, you talk it out, or you sue his ass!  You do not bury him under your house.

Beauty

"The definition of a beautiful woman is one who loves me."

-Sloan Wilson

I tell my wife everyday that she is beautiful. She smiles at me like I'm some kind of simpleton. I really don't understand the obsession with creating some perfect outward image. If someone pays you an honest compliment then it should suffice that you are indeed the positive thing that they say that you are.

Beauty is one of those things that really cannot be defined. If you doubt me, check out some of those forums and web sites where lewd men argue over which celebrity is the hottest.

And who is Sloan Wilson? He was a novelist. He wrote The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit among others. He served during World War II and died in 2003.