The short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edger Allan Poe, is based on Montresor taking revenge on his old friend Fortunato. The play holds many literary elements that connects to the life of the author as well. It is clear in the short story that the author placed his emotions and personal touch to the aspects of the story and the scenery. Some of the elements in the play that are detailed are; foreshadow, hyperbole, and metaphor. The death of Fortunato is foreshadowed in his eagerness to get the wine and in his cough. The latter matches with Poe’s life with the deaths of both his mother and wife to pneumonia. Furthermore, hyperbole comes in as the narrator speaks about the thousand insults that Fortunato has pronounced over him. This as well can be compared to Poe, as he was an editor during his time and may have been criticized for his work also. Moreover, metaphor is used in stating the drunken look that Fortunato is depicted as having during the trip. This may be a comparison to the drunkenness of Poe himself. Every author places their own experiences into their work to make it more believable, or to give more of a draw to the audience. The short story has multiple areas were foreshadowing is used to depict the imminent demise …show more content…
of Fortunato. The audience can see this in his constant demand to continue forward to the Amontillado. Fortunato is portrayed to have a cough but discards it as nothing in order to reach for the amontillado that is told to him. He says, “Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” (Poe 740). It is showed throughout the story that Fortunato has pneumonia as he is constantly reminded of his health by the narrator. In comparison to Poe and the story there is a significant similarity between the two. Poe’s mother died of pneumonia when he was a young boy, as well as everyone else during his life. Poe watched as people around him cam ill to pneumonia and slowly die from the disease, this is clearly depicted in the story. However, in the story we see only small hints to this; the constant coughing and reminder of Fortunato’s health, the catacombs and their description as being damped. This must have been a very important thing to Poe as it is constantly recurring throughout the story. Hyperbole comes into play as the narrator first speaks about his dear friend Fortunato, as he tells us of the insults and injuries that have been inflicted upon him.
The narrator tell us “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 739). The reader is never told exactly what happened that pushed the narrator to take revenge on Fortunato, however, the reader does know that it’s enough to justify killing him. The author Poe was a critic and a writer of stories during his time. This outburst from the narrator wanting revenge for insults may be in connection to the authors own judgement and insults received due to his writing or his evaluations of others
work. The story as well uses metaphors to depict the state of Fortunato as they venture further down the catacombs. The narrator depicts the cob web inside the catacombs as to gleam, but the friend is too drunk to care about anything else besides the amontillado. The narrator gives us a depiction of his friends state, “He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two flimsy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication” (Poe 740). By just reading on into the story, we find out that Fortunato is a heavy drinker and is only driven in this story is the need to drink a wine. In comparison, Poe was a notorious drinker during his time. The author placed a comparison of his drunkenness and of others he has seen in his life and depicted it as Fortunato. The narrator blocking in Fortunato in the catacombs may be symbolic of the author trying to remove is own alcohol addiction in himself, or to remove someone he didn’t like that was a drunk. The story is short and leaves us wondering, but it gives readers a nice insight into the mind of Edger Allan Poe. The story is dark, with the general plot surrounding revenge against a friend for some reason that isn’t stated only hinted at. The author having a history of being able to dive into the odd world of the subconscious of humans and driving out things that people may or may not want pulled out from their imagination. All in all the author gives us his mind and his own experiences, far be it that they make him seem mad, to create a griping story that leaves a little chill down the spine.
A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.
The mood established by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," plays a crucial role in conveying to the reader his underlying theme. For example, when Montresor, the narrator, st...
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
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
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.
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 thing that gives a hint of what could have been and insult is when Fortunato ask, “I forget your arms” (Poe 167). This is an insult to his family coat of arms saying it is not important enough for him to remember. The arm is “A huge foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel”(Poe 167). Fortunato also adds to this “And the motto?” (Poe 167) The motto helps us understand why he kills Fortunato. The motto is “Nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe 167). this translates to no one provokes me with impunity. As Patrick White
Poe’s first-person narration style in “The Cask of Amontillado” allows the reader to experience the story from a different level and the ability to look at the story from a different light. An unusual perspective. From the mind of a killer, the narrator and main character making him familiar with the reader. Poe focuses more of the thoughts and emotions of the main character rather than physical attributes of Montresor which made for a more intimately disturbing story for the reader.
Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are credited for having horror-filled endings. Usually darkness is considered to be a good representative of evil, so the setting in “The Cask of Amontillado” is at night-time. This story deals with the jealousy, revenge and, more importantly, wounded family honor. A man named Montresor, whose name is not discovered till the end of story, is seeking vengeance on Fortunato, who has irreparably insulted him. The very first sentence: “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”, supports the theme of revenge (Poe 161). This theme also suggests that Fortunato had aggrieved Montresor thousands of times, but whenever he insults Montresor and his family, he decides that there needs to be avenge and, which is the murder of a Fortunato. Montresor believes “he is out to get justice by baiting Fortunato” (Whatley 56). Hence, Whatley states “there is no remorse in Montresor’s heart when he finally confesses after fifty years”. So, for the sake of his family honor and self-respect, he vowed to take revenge by killing Fortunato.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are
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 Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” is a literary classic for many reasons. The story is complex and full of all kinds of irony. As the reader gets deeper into the story, the relationship between the main characters becomes more and more ambiguous. The story revolves around a revenge, but the reader never gets to know what happened between the two men to warrant a murder as gruesome as this. The story includes several examples of dramatic and verbal irony.
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed my revenge.” (1). Now, it doesn’t say in the story how bad the insult was, but even still murder doesn’t quite fit the crime. Montressor planned step by step the murder of a once close friend just because he insulted him. Not only did he kill Fortunato though, it was a very violent death he had planned. He led him away from the carnival (while he was sick) and took him down to the damp, moldy cellar (again, he was sick) where he chained him up and built a wall sealing him in. This means that if he didn’t suffocate, he would have likely died of dehydration, and the illness would have made it so much more painful. If that doesn’t spell out vengeful then think about this, Fortunato still thought of Montressor as a friend up until this point. As painful as it is to be harmed by someone you dislike or don’t know, to be taken advantage of and harmed by a close, trusted friend is one of the worst
SparkNotes’ Analysis on Montresor’s motives in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” hurts student’s understanding of the short story by disregarding information in the text. SparkNotes claims that “The terror of ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ as in many of Poe’s tales, resides in the lack of evidence that accompanies Montresor’s claims to Fortunato’s ‘thousand injuries’ and ‘insult.’” (SparkNotes). This presents Fortunato as an innocent victim of Montresor due to the lack of evidence presented. SparkNotes argues that Montresor is an unreliable narrator who kills Fortunato out of perceived wrongs rather than any actual basis for revenge: “Montresor uses his subjective experience of Fortunato’s insult to name himself judge, jury, and executioner
The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times by saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could…he ventured upon insult…” (Poe). In addition, Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato goes so far that he believes he must kill Fortunato. He mentions this in the story as, “[y]ou, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe). He seems to say that his soul is made of hatred and goes on to say he must give Fortunato the utmost punishment: death. Montresor even shows traits of revenge when he says, “…but when [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” and “...I would be avenged…” (Poe). He is saying that he will get revenge on Fortunato, whom he is angry with and hates for being insulted by.