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Characteristics of monsters in literature
The use of symbolism in the novel
Characteristics of monsters in literature
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Edgar Allan Poe placed many examples of symbolism and irony in the “The Cask of Amontillado” that help to develop the themes of fraud, revenge, and pride. All throughout the story, Poe develops the themes in many ways. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story in which its themes and central ideas can be explained as pride and revenge. Symbolism also helps to develop the central theme of revenge. For example, the text tells readers that the Montresor Coat of Arms is “A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." In Montresor’s mind, the serpent represents Fortunato’s insult onto Montresor, and Montresor sees himself as the huge human foot coming back to kill …show more content…
the serpent who insulted him. Secondly, the fact that the story unfolds in the catacombs where the Montresors were buried also symbolizes and reveals Montresor’s plan to kill Fortunato. The text illustrates, “‘I drink,’ he said, ‘to the buried that repose around us.’” This quote in which Fortunato toasts the dead that are in the catacombs symbolizes Fortunato’s own upcoming death. Thirdly, the text shows us that Montresor tells Fortunato that the family motto is "Nemo me impune lacessit." When translated to English, this means “No one insults me without punishment.” This symbolizes Montresor’s thirst for revenge, and even Montresor’s family motto suggests that Fortunato will soon feel the cold hand of Montresor’s retribution. Consequently, Poe uses many examples of symbolism to develop the theme of revenge. Poe uses many examples of irony to convey the theme of revenge.
One example of irony that developed revenge was the idea that Fortunato was completely unaware of Montresor’s plans to kill him. The text states, “It must be understood that . . . I continued as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile was at the thought of his immolation.” This is extremely ironic and definitely develops the theme of revenge by putting the readers in a position where they know part of the upcoming plot, but Fortunato does not. Secondly, another example of irony that develops the central idea of revenge is the conversation during which Fortunato and Montresor talk about Fortunato’s cough. The text states, “‘Enough,’ he said; ‘the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.’” This is ironic because Fortunato’s only ailment is his cough, and he even discounts that as “a mere nothing.” This shows that Fortunato has no idea that Montresor is going to kill him. Therefore, that ironically develops the theme of revenge. Lastly, Poe uses irony to develop revenge by including the Montresor Coat of Arms. The use of the words “In a field azure” make this ironic because when thinking of blue skies, the first thing that comes to mind is wide, open spaces and freedom. However, that is not what Fortunato received. Therefore, Poe uses many examples of irony to convey the theme of
revenge. The use of symbolism and irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” furthers the development of the theme of revenge in many ways throughout the story. Firstly,these two literary devices often let the reader know more about what was going to happen next than Fortunato himself. For example, readers basically knew all along that Fortunato was going to die by the end of the story, but Fortunato did not realize this. Secondly these two literary devices also helped propel the theme of revenge by using ordinary things, like a family motto or coat of arms, to show readers that Montresor would get his revenge on Fortunato. Thirdly, the use of these devices propels the theme by associating words in the story with something that symbolizes or foreshadows something that would happen later in the story. Therefore, the use of symbolism and irony helps to propel the overall theme of revenge in many ways. Poe uses many methods and examples of symbolism and irony to develop the theme of revenge. Throughout the story, Poe is consistent in his use of symbolism and irony to develop his short story, and the use of those devices helps the readers to better understand the story and where its plot was headed. Therefore, Poe uses many examples of symbolism and irony to develop the central idea of revenge.
In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the author uses lots of verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor.One of the examples of verbal irony in the story that he uses is “The cough’s a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” and “true--true, I replied.” The effect of this irony is it that Montresor already knows how Fortunato will die.Another example of verbal irony used in the story was when they did a toast to each other. “I drink”, he said, to the buried that repose around us.”
One of the most horrifying lines in the story is given by Montresor after Fortunato says, “I will not die of a cough” (Baym ). Montresor says, “True— true..” (Baym ). It seems that Montresor's murder plot became subconsciously manifest in those two words. Dramatic irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story (“dramatic-irony”) and Poe uses this effectively in this story.
Dramatic Irony is irony when the audience knows something which the characters do not. An example of dramatic irony in The Cask is when Montresor expresses concern for Fortunato’s help. This is ironic because everyone except Fortunato knows that Montresor is not really concerned about his health. Montresor says, “Come, I said, with decision, we will go back; your health is precious” (Poe 238). Montresor lying about being concerned of Fortunato’s death is also ironic because, Montresor is concerned about luring Montresor into the catacombs to carry out his murder plan. Fortunato does not want Montresor to die of a cough, but wants to kill him himself. Montresor does not have the slightest clue that Fortunato is planning to murder
Irony is used in writing to add new interest to a seemingly ordinary subject. Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe use irony throughout their stories, creating unique works. To recognize Irony, you must first understand it, then you can see how it is used in these two works. Irony is a word with many meanings aside from what we often think of as irony.
Russ,RJ.” Symbolism In edgar Allan Poe’s ‘ The Cask Of Amontillado’.” Yahoo Voices.Yahoo, Inc.,28 April 2008. Web.17 March 2014.
The story starts with Montresor vowing revenge on Fortunato for disgracing him, thus damaging his pride. Pride is a feeling a satisfaction from one’s own achievements. The opening line of the story demonstrates this exact thought: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 1). One could surmise that Fortunato has wronged Montresor multiple times and he is now exacting revenge on him. He brings up his family’s coat of arms as well as if to say something about Fortunato disgracing his family. The coat of arms depicts a serpent being crushed by a foot, and the serpents’ teeth sinking deep into the foot. Fortunato is the undulating serpentine character in this, and the fangs embedded in the foot represent his cavalier vengeance striking upon the opposing force. It seems that even the family, with their motto of “nemo me impune lacessit”, meaning “no one insults me with impunity” (3), felt the same way Montresor did in the sense that they would take nothing lying down. Adding insult to injury, Fortunato barely remembered what the family’s coat of arms was. The whole story takes place 50 years after the inci...
Irony is also used throughout this tale. The use of revenge in this story shows irony. Montressor avenges himself by fooling Fortunato into literally walking into his own grave. Fortunato pursues the "cask" which ends up being his own casket. Montressor even asks Fortunato repeatedly whether he would like to turn back.
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
Edgar Allen Poe’s gruesomely fascinating tale of vengeance and murder, “The Cask of Amontillado”, achieves its effect only through its usage of the first person point of view. This unusual perspective enables the reader to view the characters and conflicts through the eyes of the narrator, as he first discusses and justifies, and eventually, carries out his plans for the ruthless murder of his friend. The eerie tone and disorienting and materialistically-related setting of the story contribute to its theme of defending one’s honor and name and avenging all wrongdoings, even something so small as an insult.
Poe has eloquently presented various literary elements through the use of irony and symbolism to portray the theme of deception and revenge. Two poignant examples of dramatic irony occur when Montresor approaches the intoxicated Fortunato the evening of the carnival. Montresor eagerly capitalizes on his friend’s pitiful state. Poe enhances the dramatic effect by naming the character Fortunato, which means, one of great fortune.
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
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
Edgar Allan Poe in his story “Cask of Amontillado” uses foreshadowing and dramatic irony to demonstrate suspense and mystery. By using these two literary elements the author can make the readers think about what is going to happen and if they should take everything that is said literal or not. Foreshadowing helps add a dramatic tension in the story making the anticipation of the story that much greater. Also, dramatic irony is used to allow the reader to feel more involved by allowing them to know information that the characters do not.
Edgar Allan Poe's strong use of symbols throughout "The Cask of Amontillado" is what makes this story worthy of examination. The clever use of these devices by the author to shape this horrifying and gripping short story has made this piece be regarded as a classic American horror story, which revolves around the theme of vengeance and pride.
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.