The short story The Cask of Amontillado and the article Sociology’s Race Problem both deal with power, just in different ways. In the story, Montresor has full control over Fortunato and uses it to trick and kill him, even though we never really know if Fortunato actually did anything that serious. It shows how someone can abuse power just because they feel justified. In the article, the power is not physical but more intellectual, where sociology studies Black people in a way that can reduce them to data instead of seeing them as real individuals. It is not violent like the story, but it still has real effects on how people are understood.

What really stood out to me is how both show that having power means being able to define someone else’s reality. Montresor literally decides Fortunato’s fate, while sociologists can shape how entire groups are seen. One thing I learned is that harm is not always obvious. In the story it is direct and brutal, but in the article it is more subtle and still impactful. It made me realize that even the way people are studied or talked about can affect how they are treated in real life.