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"cask of amontillado": character analysis paper
Analysis of allen poe's writing
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Research Paper Genres originate from the Latin word generic, which refers to the type, and is used to define styles in music, art, and literature. Literary genre is a concept distinguished by the composition principle and common characteristics of the story to distinguish different works. Genres play a role in preparing various theories of literature in connection with the problem of how literary works are formed and existed. Besides, the literary genre often divides into the country, era, writer and so on. Author Carolyn Miller says, "What we learn when we learn a genre is not just a pattern of forms or even a method of achieving our own ends. . . . [A]s a recurrent, significant action, a genre embodies an aspect of cultural rationality" …show more content…
First, Poe reveals the protagonist's confused consciousness and dramatic thoughts from the point of view and contrast between the background. According to the author of Poe and Gothic Creativity, the first-person narrator has a dramatic effect because it has a high level of immersion among readers. This point of view persuasively conveys the conflict because the reader can grasp the inner mentality of the main character, but the limited view of the description often expresses psychological instability. In other words, there can be an ironic distance between reader and narrator (Lima 24). The narrator of The Cask of Amontillado mentions that Fortunato was simply insulting him about crimes committed 50 years ago. Since this does not justify the murder, and cheating or murder for Fortunato is described without guilt. This tendency leads readers to distrust the narrator and ultimately forms a crucial ironic distance among readers whose credibility has fallen. On the other hand, in contrast to the splendid Carnival outside, unfolding underground faces a dark crime. The inside is darker than outside, has no vitality and gives a lonely. If this concept compares to the human conscious world, outside is a reason world, and Inside can be an irrational world (Lima 27). As a consequence, the underground shows a section of taboo desires or pleasures that humans should hide by the …show more content…
“The Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe.” Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 58, no. 2, 2004, pp. 47-62. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1566552.
Bawarshi, Anis S. “The Genre Function.” Genre And The Invention Of The Writer: Reconsidering the Place of Invention in Composition, Urban Institute / University Press of Colorado, 2003, pp. 16-48. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nxp6.5.
Carlson, Erik. “The Gothic Vocabulary of Fear.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 111. No. 3, July. 2012, pp. 285-303. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jenglgermphil.111.3.0285.
Goddu, Teresa A. “Vampire Gothic.” American Literary History, Vol. 11, no. 1, Spring 1999, pp. 125-141. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/490080.
Harris, Trudier. “Genre.” The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 108. No. 430, Autumn 1995, pp. 509-527. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/541658.
Lima, Maria Antónia. “Poe and Gothic Creativity.” The Edgar Allan Poe Review, Vol. 11, no. 1, Spring 2010, pp. 22-30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41506386.
Novak, Maximillian E. “Gothic Fiction and the Grotesque.” A Forum on Fiction, Vol. 13, no. 1, Autumn 1979, pp. 50-67. JSTOR,
Within this plot of revenge, Poe uses irony and symbolism to develop his theme of a man who tries to gain absolution for the sin he is about to commit. Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado" Poe
Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.
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...
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a short psychological thriller. The murder of Fortunato haunts Montresor so greatly that he feels the compulsion to tell the story some fifty years after the fact. He appears to be in the late stages of life desperately attempting to remove the stain of murder from his mind. That it is still so fresh and rich in specifics is proof that it has plagued him, “Perhaps the most chilling aspect of reading Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ for the first time is not the gruesome tale that Montresor relates, but the sudden, unpredictable, understated revelation that the murder, recounted in its every lurid detail, occurred not yesterday or last week, but a full fifty years prior to the telling” (DiSanza).
In what follows, my research paper will rely on an article by Kathy Prendergast entitled “Introduction to The Gothic Tradition”. The significance of this article resides in helping to recapitulate the various features of the Gothic tradition. In this article the authoress argues that in order to overturn the Enlightenment and realistic literary mores, many of the eighteenth century novelists had recourse to traditional Romantic conventions in their works of fiction, like the Arthurian legendary tales (Prendergast).
With a premeditated motive to commit such an act, the culprit, Montressor, thinks, constructs and orchestrates a presumed murder against his insulter, Fortunado. “Poe begins by describing, in characteristically precise and logical detail, Montresor’s (and Poe’s) idea of perfect revenge. At the same time, he needed to end his story by telling how his revenge had affected him. When Fortunatosays, “For the love of god, Montresor!” and Montresor repeats, “Yes, for the love of God,” Poe is indicating that Montresor is already experiencing the closure he sought”(Delaney 39) Unbeknownst why he wants retribution, or what it is that his victim has done to compel Montressor to kill him. What is given is a recount of the night under discussion.
Reading Edgar Allen Poe’s works such as “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart” are both written around 1840’s and written in the gothic style. Poe displays his horror short stories, in which the reader can differentiate his signature style. Although many of Poe’s significant works may have a similar theme, the reader can distinguish the themes through the characters in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart.”
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story of revenge on the outside, but when on the inside, it is something deeper. His stories are dark and sometimes, like in “The Cask of Amontillado,” deadly. Poe’s main focus in “The Cask of Amontillado” is revenge, but if examined more closely, the irony that is present foreshadows the end result for Fortunato. In “The Cask of Amontillado” the Montresor is planning to seek revenge on Fortunato for “the thousand injuries.” The revenge results in the live burial of Fortunato, the actual reasoning is left a mystery, but this story goes to prove that things that one does can always come back ...
“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.
Ringe, Donald A. American Gothic: Imagination and Reason in Nineteenth-Century Fiction. Lexington KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1982.
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.
Camille, Michael. Gothic Art: Glorious Visions. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice Hall, 1996. 12. Print.
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
Michael Gamer, Romanticism and the Gothic: Genre, Reception, and Canon Formation (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2000) 15, Questia, Web, 29 May 2010.