Society turns around those who remain lodged in the past with no desire to progress alongside the rest of humanity. Within “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator, Montresor, clings to his tradition and his family’s past. Ensnared by the pride of his family’s prestigious station in society, Montresor enacts revenge against Fortunato, who had gravely insulted him. He lures Fortunato deep into the catacombs, taking advantage of his arrogance before trapping him down there, burying him alive. Additionally, William Faulkner projects a similar ideal within his work, “A Rose for Emily,” as the reader witnesses the decline of the noble Grierson name. Emily, the last living Grierson in Jefferson, adheres to her traditional views …show more content…
However, in regard to the present South, Miss Emily is a fallen monument, the last of the Griersons. Aware of her family’s previous prestige, Miss Emily boastfully continues her life, seemingly oblivious to her loss of relevance. Furthermore, the concept that she is averse to releasing her family’s ways is shown through Emily’s “long strand[s] of iron-gray hair” (Faulkner par 63). Holding something in an iron grasp is a way of saying that a person’s hold on an object or ideal is unrelenting. As shown throughout the narrative, Miss Emily is unable to relinquish her tenacious grip on the traditional values the Grierson family is accustomed to. Meanwhile, kinetic Jefferson spins around static Miss Emily, abandoning her past. Montresor, within “The Cask of Amontillado,” demonstrates an obsession with his family’s arms, which to the rest of society had become an irrelevant aphorism. As Montresor compels Fortunato to join him in the catacombs, the reader can deduce how Montresor’s pride in his family name influences his every action. Inside the catacombs, Fortunato and Montresor speak of the Montresor …show more content…
He is determined to protect and earn back his family’s honor, and once his pride is wounded by Fortunato, Montresor resolutely vows revenge. Montresor acrimoniously vowing revenge against Fortunato for his insult informs the reader outright that Fortunato will suffer; the question is how. Though unrecognized by Montresor, he and Fortunato share a similar pride in their social status and a similar arrogance regarding their intellect. The difference between them is that Montresor’s pride drove him to revenge, while Fortunato’s led him to his death. While Montresor and Fortunato are deep inside of the catacombs, the two have a conversation about masons; while Fortunato speaks in the context of the prestigious, secret society, Montresor pronounces that he is a mason and presents “from beneath the folds of [his] roquelaire a trowel” (Poe par 66). From this interaction, the reader can undoubtedly assess Fortunato’s pride regarding his social standing. The reader can also deduce that the trowel Montresor produces is a piece of his plan for revenge. Through the conversation on the topic of masons, the reader is able to observe how Montresor taunts
The setting is an important part of any story, whether it be a poem or a novel. The setting consists of all the places and/or things surrounding the character at any moment through any literary or visual media. A literary setting is often full of details and vivid imagery due to the lack of visual aids that are present in videos and movies. These details often take paragraphs to describe single settings to give the reader an imaginary vision of what the area would look like. Edgar Allan Poe is no exception to these rules and he clearly writes out the setting for his short stories and poems. Poe does an excellent job of using details to describe the setting of his stories and shows great care in choosing the wording of each description he makes to display his exact intentions for each descriptive setting. In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Poe, the setting has a direct correlation with the mood in the story. The further into the story you read, the deeper and darker the surroundings of the two main characters get, just like the main plot of the story.
Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his
The Sanity within The Cask of Amontillado Is Montressor sane? In the story by Edgar Allen Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado," the narrator, Montressor premeditates the murder of Fortunato from vowing revenge to having the tools in the catacombs ready and waiting. When Montressor and Fortunato reach the end of the catacombs, Montressor continues with his plan and walls Fortunato into the catacombs returning the previous skeleton to its rightful place. At the end of the story, Montressor feels guilty as he tells the story of what happened fifty years prior and tells Fortunato to rest in peace.
These imperfections cause him to murder his former friend Fortunato, because “when he ventured upon insult, [Montresor] vowed revenge” (212). Montresor goes to severe measures in order to maintain his pride, demonstrating that he is arrogant, cruel, and a generally imperfect person. However, while Montresor appears cold and cruel on the outside, after he killed Fortunato “[his] heart grew sick” (216). Although Montresor perceives his emotional response as a physical reaction to the dampness of the catacombs, the reader sees it for what it truly is: a sign of remorse.The reader can discern that Montresor’s pride and cruelty are battling against his conscience, and that his flaws catalyze his actions. Observing Montresor’s faults instead of speculating he is comprehensively inhumane conceives him to be a profound and deep
The perils of vengeance and manipulation were evidently prominent in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Cask of Amontillado. Through a unique application of first person narration, Poe captured the essence of suspense in a figure’s untrustworthy nature. Additionally, he used a strong foundation of character to introduce two critical members of the story who share an interesting relationship. For this particular story, the first person perspective was utilized quite effectively to develop the character Montresor. Depicting him was crucial to introducing Fortunato, the story’s second focus. A certain dramatic irony is noticeable throughout the sequence of events that eventually guides the reader to the story’s significant conclusion.
Anything not taken in moderation can be damaging. In one of Edgar Allen Poe's best-known tales of horror, "The Cask of Amontillado," he suggests that pride can be a very dangerous thing, when one is overwhelmed with it. Through the use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism, Poe presents a horrific drama of two men. One who will stop at nothing to get the revenge that he deems himself and his family worthy of, and another who's pride will ultimately be the fall of his own death. Fortunato falls prey to Montressor's plans because he is so proud of his connoisseurship of wine, and it is for the sake of his own pride that Montressor takes revenge on Fortunato. Poe utilizes the theme of pride and many other literary techniques such as foreshadowing, revenge, and irony, in order to create a horrific and suspenseful masterpiece.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
The story “The Cask of Amontillado” is written in first person point of view and this story is fairly simple to understand. This story is affected by the narration when looking at what the narrator's focus is, the narrator’s thoughts or opinions, and how the reader interprets the story.
“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 William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” Miss Emily Grierson holds on to the past with a grip of death. Miss Emily seems to reside in her own world, untarnished by the present time around her, maintaining her homestead as it was when her father was alive. Miss Emily’s father, the manservant, the townspeople, and even the house she lives in, shows that she remains stuck in the past incapable and perhaps reluctant to face the present.
In the beginning of the short story, Montresor recognizes that Fortunato is busy, and thus tells him that he will, instead, ask Luchresi to try his wine. However, since wine connoisseurship is strongly related to social status, Fortunato arrogantly scoffs that “Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry” and volunteers to go with Montresor to the catacombs (83). After their descent, Fortunato begins to cough heavily as a result of the nitre air around them and takes note of the many bones scattered around but continues to follow Montresor blindly, saying “Let us go, nevertheless” (83). When Fortunato drunkenly makes a symbolic gesture of the Freemasons, Montresor cannot recognize it, and Fortunato scoffs, “Then you are not of the brotherhood” (84). When Montresor jests that he is a mason, but of the stone workers, Fortunato does not pick up on the pun and instead ridicules him, “You?
The Cask of Amontillado, one of Edgar Allen Poe’s most celebrated works, paints a very sinister and dark tale of revenge. It is riddled with symbolism of what is in store for Fortunato who has betrayed Montresor in what Montresor perceives to warrant a grievous end. Throughout their the interaction, there are subtleties in which one might think there is a way out, but ultimately greed takes over which leads to Fortunato 's undoing.
In the short story “A Rose for Emily” written by William Faulkner, Emily, the protagonist, is shown as someone who’s life is falling apart and brought down by society. Emily in this story could be described as a victim to society and her father. Emily Grierson’s confinement, loss of her father and Homer, and constant criticism caused her, her insanity.
This story is able to show the killer's ruthless demeanor and how he has no regrets killing Fortunato. Montresor tells his story to show his victory over Fortunato and justify his revenge. The setting makes the plot that more intense as Poe shows us that Montresor is the bringer of death as he lures Fortunato into the depths of the catacombs. “We had passed through walls of piled bones, with cask and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs.” The quote refers to Poe using the catacombs as a meaning of death for Fortunato.
Hudson Keel ID#0401542 ENG 101 Professors. The.. Dent 04/9/2024 A Fallen Monument In the story "A Rose, for Emily" by William Faulkner, Emily Grierson symbolizes the South's decline and the conflicts between tradition and change. Her character represents the deterioration of a respected community member who clings to remnants of the past in the face of inevitable transformation.