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Literary criticisms of the cask of amontillado
Literary criticisms of the cask of amontillado
A critical analysis of the cask of amontillado
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The horror that presents itself in “The Cask of Amontillado,” like in many of Poe’s short stories, resides in the small amounts of proof that lies in Montresor’s alleged “insult” and “thousand injuries” from Fortunato.(insert citation here) Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado” features vengeance through a secret murder as a method of avoiding the use of the legal system for doing him justice. Law has no place in Montresor’s life, and the enduring terror of the short story is the epitome of execution without evidence. (insert citation here) Montresor subjects himself to re-experience Fortunato’s unintentional offense over and over making Montresor build in anger. In Montresor’s mind then appoints him to judge Fortunato’s fate in this story, which is Fortunato's enviable demise. It is because of this that Montresor becomes an unpredictable narrator.(insert citation here) Montresor admits to what he has done in his story approximately fifty years after its release. (insert citation here) Such a huge amount of time in between the actual events and the narration of the story makes the narration of the events less reliable and seem more fiction. The story “The Cask of Amontillado” has a skewed interpretation, it can be interpreted many ways. The fact that many different people find meaning of the story differently it all comes down to the stories horrific destination. Poe’s fantastic use of imagery holds an idea to the questioning of his character's motives. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor's face was covered by a black mask, he not only represents blind righteousness but also revenge. In contrast to Montresor's apparel, Fortunato wears a colorful jester costume, and gets precisely and dreadfully fooled by Montresor’s underco... ... middle of paper ... ...The phrase that Fortunato says, “For the love of God, Montresor!” provoked a great deal of critical arguments. suggest (insert citation here) that Montresor has finally brought Fortunato to the pit of despair, seen through his invocation of a God that has left Montresor behind. Other critics, argue that Fortunato ridicules the “love of God,” thus making use of the identical irony that Montresor has successfully used to attract him to the catacombs. Those were Fortunato’s last words, and in the intense desperation that Montresor displays in response implys that he wants Fortunato more than he is willing to admit. Only when Montresor screams Fortunato name twice loudly, with no reply, does Montresor have a sick heart. The reason why Fortunato is so silent are vague, but maybe his refusal to answer Montresor is a type of desperate victory in otherwise dire situation.
One catches a glimpse of Montresor’s lost happiness from his obscure past, moreover his distressed self-esteem, in this statement. His façade begins to slip. The strain starts to show. At last Montresor leads Fortunato to the remote niche and secures him to the wall. Surprised Fortunato does not immediately respond.
As the story opens, an unnamed narrator first says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. ”(164) Montresor who tells the story is taking revenge on Fortunato because he has suffered a “thousand injuries” although he never mentions exactly what happened. Edgar Allan Poe creates a perfect crime in the murder story “The Cask of Amontillado” through the use of a character that exhibits characteristics of a psychopath, a horrifying plot and dramatic irony. Montresor, who confesses his crime without emotion, the story of his killing of Fortunato fifty years before, is a wealthy man living in a large “palazzo” with servants.
In the story "The Cask of Amontillado", Edgar Allen Poe tells the story of Montresor and Fortunato. This story has a much lighter mood to it, but from the beginning there is some tension between Fortunato and Montresor. The story its self has a
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allen Poe uses indirect characterization to show the different traits that Montresor possesses while carrying out his revenge. Montresor’s deceitful character is shown by his speech. For instance, it states in the text, “‘And I, Fortunato — I drink to your long life.’” Montresor says that he drinks to Fortunato’s longevity with irony, knowing that later on, Fortunato will face death as a result of his vengeance. Another example states, “‘But is it not late? Should we not be going back? They will be expecting us. Let us go.’ ‘Yes. Let us go.’ As I said this I lifted the last stone from the ground.” In this part, instead of freeing Fortunato the way he sounded like he would, he did the exact opposite. Montresor covered up the only opening of the room. His speech, as he desires strongly to do harm to Fortunato, shows that he is a deceitful man.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
Edgar Allen Poe shows how situational, dramatic, and verbal irony plays an important part in the essence of the story in “The Cask of Amontillado”. The story overall is ironic because Montresor and Fortunato are supposedly friends, but Montresor actually feels as though Fortunato has done him wrong. Montresor holds a murderous grudge against Fortunato and leaves him alone to die. Fortunato will die having no idea what he did to make Montresor feel that way towards
Edgar Allen Poe uses irony and poetic justice all throughout “The Cask of the Amontillado”. The places where irony and poetic justice hold the most significance are the scenes where, Montresor speaks of the wronging done to him by Fortunato, where Montresor and fortunato speak of the coat of arms, and where at the very end when Montresor traps Fortunato in the catacombs and leaves him to die. These scenes clearly show the use of these two tools that Poe used to tell the story of Montresor and
Edgar Allen Poe was one of the most fanciful American poets and short story writers of the nineteenth century. His work always kept us wanting He incorporates all of the special elements to create a horror story like his famous “The Cask of Amontillado.” This is a story about Montresor, the narrator, seeking revenge on his so called friend, Fortunado. It was carnival season and everyone had dressed up.
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go to great lengths to fanatically defend their honor.
The focus on the story is about Montresor who seeks revenge, in this case murder, against the man named Fortunato who, as Montresor has claimed, made insults about him and he is tired of it. Montresor decides to come up with a plan to kill Fortunato once and for all. So Montresor, after Fortunato has become drunk, tells Fortunato he has discovered a rare brand of Amontillado. Montresor than brings Fortunato down into the catacombs, which is where Montresor claims it is, and eventually chains Fortunato to a wall all the while mocking him and leaving him to die. The story concludes with Montresor almost bragging that he got away with it fifty years later. “The Cask of Amontillado” was published in 1846 by Godey's Lady's Book the most famous periodical at Poe’s
Many readers find Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado” to be gruesome in the way Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato. Due to this twisted punishment, readers often dislike “The Cask of Amontillado” as a whole, discrediting the literary genius Poe truly is. This is not a good judgment on the story, it’s a judgment concerning Poe and his style of not ending a novel or book with a happy ending. Because of Fortunato’s actions, his consequences are just. The punishment Fortunato endures is deserved because he knows what he is getting into. He knows it is Montresor yet continues to play the game with him. As well as playing along, Fortunato lets his rivalry with other wine experts cloud his judgment, causing him to get into a bad situation.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
James Gargano, a famous critic, said The Cask of Amontillado was a masterpiece; a powerful tale of revenge; one of Edgar Allan Poe 's richest aesthetic achievements; deserves more analysis than it has received; and that critics have rightfully expressed admiration for the tale (Gargano). Like Gargano, many critics give Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado great acclamation. Though few critics are displeased with the narrator, The Cask of Amontillado is widely praised by most critics. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a work of art, and not just an ingenious Gothic exercise” (Milne). Other critics such as Bettina Knapp and Charles Dana, did not like The Cask of Amontillado or that Montresor felt no guilt. Poe 's characters murder and commit heinous crimes and feel no remorse towards their victims. "Bettina Knapp places ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ among Poe 's ‘shadow tales,’ which do not offer values. No judgmental forces are at work. Crime is neither a negative nor a positive act. Poe 's psychopaths do not distinguish between good and evil, nor do they usually feel remorse or guilt”
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.
The Cask of Amontillado is the story of man who is desperate to obtain revenge from an insult. The nature of the insult was never revealed in the story. All we know is that Montressor methodically planned his revenge against Fortunato. As Allan Poe put it, "It mus...