The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

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Recommended: the point of view of the cask of amontillado

Typically, a carnival masquerade is celebrated as a joyous and social liberation from the masses of mundane daily activities, but in “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist Montresor creates a different meaning to the festival for his so-called friend Fortunato. Edgar Allen Poe uses an inventive writing style which sets up a situation in the beginning of the story. He intrigues the reader in the first line of the story when Montresor states that, “...but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe Page 14). In the article, “Poe's The Cask of Amontillado” by John Gruesser, he annotates that, “Montresor has not been so blessed, or as he asserts, he once was, but has lost his status and/or his contentment. To someone who is unfortunate, like Montresor, Fortunato's happiness is a daily injury. Thus, Montresor conceives and executes an ingenious plan, which appears to succeed, for revenging himself on fortune's friend. Sealed in the Montresor family vaults, Fortunato is deprived of everything” (Gruesser Para 3). Poe uses this stylistic writing by providing subtle pieces of information and imagery to draw the reader in, anticipating the rest of what is to come of Montresor's plan for revenge. In a seemingly harmless exchange of words between men, time begins to draw to an end for Fortunato whose naivety and trust in Montressor earns grim fate as some would believe to be his destiny. Montresor, through his pride, became an angry individual and had felt that Fortunato had caused “a thousand injuries” (Poe 14). Overshadowed by his delirious thoughts, Montresor’s deep hatred for Fortunato can be perceived as no more than envy or jealousy. Fortunato, a very wealthy man, dabbled into hobbies, such as being an av...

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...ed his trust and soon after killed him. Fortunato's character represents a foolish man who succumbs easily into temptations. Poe makes the story more interesting and comprehensive as it sets certain emotions within the audience to sympathize with Fortunato for desire of the Amontillado, and the complete trust in his friend.

Works Cited

Clendenning, John. “Anything Goes: Comic Aspects in ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” Short Story
Criticism. Vol. 35. Ed. Anna Sheetz Nesbitt. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 335-341. Book.
12 Dec. 2013
Delaney, Bill. "Poe's THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO." The Explicator 64.1 (2005): 33-
5. ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Gruesser, John. "Poe's the Cask of Amontillado."The Explicator” 56.3 (1998): 129-
30. ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. 14-18. Book.
21 Oct. 2013.

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