Paying someone back for their harmful actions can feel quite rewarding at times. In “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe, Poe creates a mood of suspense and eeriness to accompany his theme of revenge.
First of all, Poe develops his suspenseful and eerie mood through his imagery. The setting of the story is in the catacombs of the Montresors at Montresor's palazzo. His description of the catacombs as Montresor and Fortunato walk past “walls of piled bones”(Poe 348) and notice the niter hanging “like moss”(Poe 348) in the vaults, gives the reader a very uneasy feeling. When Poe describes a deep crypt with walls that were “lined with human remains”(Poe 348), It makes you wonder what will be ahead of them, or what will be coming up as they descend deeper into the catacombs. As they arrive at a deep crypt Poe describes how the air smelled, which made Montresor and Fortunato’s torches “rather to glow than to flame.”(Poe 348) What makes the mood even eerier is when he says how the bones “lay promiscuously upon the earth”(Poe 349)How Poe gives details about the setting adds
…show more content…
Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato and makes an elaborate plan to do that, which makes the reader wonder how he is going to get his revenge. He knows what he has to do when he says that Fortunato has a weakness, “He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.”(Poe 344) Montresor is pretending to be Fortunato’s friend to get him to follow him further into the catacombs, saying things such as “ we will go back; your health is precious”(Poe 347) and “We will go back; you will be ill.”(Poe 347) This lets the reader know that Montresor's plan is elaborate and gives a sense of suspense to what Fortunato’s fate will be. Montresor is making sure that Fortunato gets something to drink and will stay drunk, allowing him to be unaware of what is happening. All of Montresor’s actions add to the suspensefulness of the
Being able to feel the world in any story is an excellent way to make readers get involved in it, and Connell does this by using imagery. Connell writes, “The sensuous drowsiness of the night was on him. ‘It’s so dark,’ he thought, ‘that I could sleep without closing my eyes; the night would be my eyelids’”(Connell 217). The mood of this quote can make any reader feel drowsy because of the way Connell describes the night. Again this is something Poe cannot achieve. For example, Poe writes, “I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We came at the length to the foot of the descent and stood together upon the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors” (Poe 867). This quote doesn’t even compare to what Connell did because Poe wrote The Cask of Amontillado without any imagery. The tone and mood created by Connell make the imagery of “The Most Dangerous Game” better than Poe’s short
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 Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a mystery that offers great suspense and interest. This is because of the irony that Poe creates and the setting that makes a dangerous mood and foreshadows the victim’s death. In the beginning of the story, the narrator meets a man named Fortunato at an Italian carnival with the intentions for murdering him in the foreseeable future. The narrator talks with Fortunato saying, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met,” (1). These first words spoken by the narrator show verbal irony because the narrator is not really saying that they met luckily. In fact, as I stated before, the narrator was planning this encounter, with the plan ending with Fortunato’s death. This proves to be suspenseful for the reader because they want to discover Fortunato’s actual fate while wishing they could tell Fortunato of the
The protagonists Montresor wants to get back at Fortunato for deeply insulting him and Montresor vows for revenge. During the fall carnival, he sees his opportunity and is quick to pounce on this and put his plan into place. “With Fortunato intoxicated and falling and stumbling all over the place Montresor knows that the time is now” (Russell 211). Montresor knows Fortunato’s weakness for wine and Montresor tells him he found Amontillado a very rare wine and it is in his vault. Montresor knows how far Fortunato will go for wine as rare as Amontillado and that is what eventually leads to his tormented and revengeful death. Edgar Allan Poe also gives lots of scenes that foreshadow to the future and the plotting about the death of Fortunato and the steps leading up to it. “The great example is putting Montresor into the future fifty years later telling the story and everything that went into the murder that he had committed” (Elliot 268). Poe depicts that revenge is very sweet and even fifty years later, that the deep gothic death and revenge themes still show up in Poe’s writings (Russell
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
"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.
"An eye for an eye", this quote is used often among many diversities of people; however, Edgar Allan Poe took this quote to extremes in his story The Cask of Amontillado. Poe's usage of dramatic and verbal irony, foreshadowing and symbolism brings about a strong tale of revenge. Revenge is a feeling that has the ability to over come a person's grip on reality. The narrator, Montresor feels that he was greatly insulted by the unfortunate Fortunado. For this reason Montresor seeks revengeance on Fortunado for his heinous crime.
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.
Using the element of imagery, Poe draws the image of a catacomb in your head. A catacomb is a dark, damp underground cemetery in this case found beneath his house. At first you draw an image of an underground wine cellar but your image quickly changes. Realizing there is no wine and this is where the friend will die and be buried. Montresor burying Fortunato in the catacomb means no matter where he stands, sits, or lays in the house he’s above the dead friends body. This is a constant reminder to Montresor, making it harder to get over what he had
Carefully, cautiously the Montresor plotted precisely how he would exact revenge upon Fortunato. Much time and great energy was devoted to this plan, selecting a time that would be best: during carnival when the town would be celebratory, his servants apt to run off and join the celebration, when the two could silently disappear without notice or question. No detail is forgotten; he allows for no deterrents. He follows through with such a confidence that never does he stumble or hesitate in carrying out his plan. The Montresor indicates that he had never given. To continue with this ploy, he even goes so far as to express false concern for Fortunato as they pass through the catacombs. Blaming the nitre and damp, the Montresor suggests that they turn back as not to compromise Fortunato’s ill health, though he has no intent of doing so. Never once until the very end did Fortunato have cause to suspect that there were any foul plans afoot.
Fortunato “takes possession” of Montresor’s arm, for which he suffers (716) in order to carry out his plan. Poe’s use of possession and suffer give the impression that Montresor is being afflicted again by Fortunato. Once Montresor reveals this meeting at this evening is no coincidence by divulging he made sure none of his attendants would be home. By giving the direct orders to be home. Poe shows us that Montresor was not respected or feared by his servants’ actions. The servants’ leaving after being given a direct order to stay does give credence to the fact that Montresor must be very methodical and unyielding to his schedule. Only once Fortunato to the catacombs does he betray his own premise. Montresor refers to Fortunato as his “poor friend” (716). At this point Poe has depicted this instigator of a “thousand injuries” as a drunken jester that can barely catch his breath at this point in the story. Now Montresor is showing some sympathy towards him. At this point the transition is complete. Where the two men stopped at the entrance to Fortunato’s tomb, this is the moment that leaves no doubt that Montresor is the villain and Fortunato is the
Kevin J. Hayes stated in his book “The annotated Poe,” that the motivation for Montresor to murder Fortunato was Poe’s own desire to get revenge on a former friend Thomas Dunn English (351). Fortunato shows up wearing a motley, similar to a joker’s attire. Scott Peoples said in the book “Social and psychological Disorder in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe” that he believes that Montresor is committing this murder out of an act of jealousy. Also that Montresor has created an enemy to place all of his disappointments and failures upon (40). According to Montresor it’s accurate because the joke is on Fortunato. Fortunato does not have a clue what is about to happen to him in the catacombs, he thinks he is just showing Montresor the difference between Spanish sherry and Amontillado, he is too drunk to even consider that this is a death trap. After seeing Fortunato’s attire, Montresor decided to go with the murder plan. Montresor is dressed in all black and fits the
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.
Article that is located on the Gale Virtual library the authors Joyce Moss and George Wilson, believe that Poe saw this piece of fiction as more of a thriller and less of a horror story. Moss and Wilson write saying: “Although many tales of violent revenge had been written before Poe composed “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe’s story is significant because it is a psychological tale. Narrated by a boastful murderer, it opens a window onto the criminal mind as Poe saw it. At the time the story was written, interest in the workings of the criminal mind was significant. Increasingly publicized criminal trials and other literature that featured criminal characters spurred Americans to talk more than ever before about the nature of and reasons for criminal
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.