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The point of view of the cask of amontillado
Edgar allan poe about the cask of amontillado
Edgar Allan Poes writing on the cask of Amontillado
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Typically, a carnival masquerade is celebrated as a joyous and social liberation from the masses of mundane daily activities, but in “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allan Poe, the protagonist Montresor creates a different meaning to the festival for his so-called friend Fortunato. Edgar Allen Poe uses an inventive writing style which sets up a situation in the beginning of the story. He intrigues the reader in the first line of the story when Montresor states that, “...but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe Page 14). In the article, “Poe's The Cask of Amontillado” by John Gruesser, he annotates that, “Montresor has not been so blessed, or as he asserts, he once was, but has lost his status and/or his contentment. To someone who is unfortunate, like Montresor, Fortunato's happiness is a daily injury. Thus, Montresor conceives and executes an ingenious plan, which appears to succeed, for revenging himself on fortune's friend. Sealed in the Montresor family vaults, Fortunato is deprived of everything” (Gruesser Para 3). Poe uses this stylistic writing by providing subtle pieces of information and imagery to draw the reader in, anticipating the rest of what is to come of Montresor's plan for revenge. In a seemingly harmless exchange of words between men, time begins to draw to an end for Fortunato whose naivety and trust in Montressor earns grim fate as some would believe to be his destiny. Montresor, through his pride, became an angry individual and had felt that Fortunato had caused “a thousand injuries” (Poe 14). Overshadowed by his delirious thoughts, Montresor’s deep hatred for Fortunato can be perceived as no more than envy or jealousy. Fortunato, a very wealthy man, dabbled into hobbies, such as being an av...
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...ed his trust and soon after killed him. Fortunato's character represents a foolish man who succumbs easily into temptations. Poe makes the story more interesting and comprehensive as it sets certain emotions within the audience to sympathize with Fortunato for desire of the Amontillado, and the complete trust in his friend.
Works Cited
Clendenning, John. “Anything Goes: Comic Aspects in ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” Short Story
Criticism. Vol. 35. Ed. Anna Sheetz Nesbitt. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 335-341. Book.
12 Dec. 2013
Delaney, Bill. "Poe's THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO." The Explicator 64.1 (2005): 33-
5. ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Gruesser, John. "Poe's the Cask of Amontillado."The Explicator” 56.3 (1998): 129-
30. ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. 14-18. Book.
21 Oct. 2013.
A Famous quote from Grandi states “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind”. In Edgar Allen Poe short story, “Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor feels he has been wronged and must get revenge. He felt that Fortunato has made a constant effort to insult and soil his family name. So he comes up with a plan to trick Fortunato into his cellar to finally end this feud between the two. The circumstances were perfect when he arrived at the festival and was greeted by a drunken Fortunato; who was, I believe, purposely was dressed as a fool. As they headed down into the cellar to taste this rare wine, well at least that’s what Fortunato thought, Montresor started to put together the last pieces he needed to end it. In the end, Montresor traps Fortunato and his anger in brick wall for good. Throughout the story, you see that Montresor character isn’t always the most reliable or trustful person and that his character can be very manipulating.
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written by Edgar Allen Poe in the 18th century. Both of these stories are primarily focused on the mysterious and dark ways of the narrator. Since these stories were written by the same author, they tend to have several similarities such as the mood and narrative, but they also have a few differences. For instance, the characteristics of both narrators are different, but both stories portray the same idea of the narrator being obsessive over a certain thing.
The setting of a story lays the foundation for how a story is constructed. It gives a sense of direction to where the climax is headed. The setting also gives the visual feedback that the readers need to picture themselves into the story and comprehend it better. Determining the setting can be a major element towards drawing in the reader and how they relate to a story. A minor change in the plot can drastically alter to perception, interpretation, and direction of the message that is delivered. These descriptive elements can be found within these short stories: “the Cask of Amontillado”, “The Storm”, “The Things They Carried”, “Everyday Use”, and “The Story of an Hour”.
The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is a chilling story about two men named Fortunato and Montresor. The story begins with a narrator voicing his anger and resentment towards a man named Fortunato for “a thousand injuries” and insults. Our narrator sees Fortunato and lures him down into his vaults, or “catacombs,” on the premise of verifying that some wine is a certain type. Fortunato was already drunk, and had a cold. Eventually, the men reach a crypt, and the narrator chains Fortunato to the wall. Not stopping there, the narrator begins to trap him in the hole by filling it with bricks. Fortunato is quiet, until the hole is nearly filled, when he screams and then tells the narrator that it was a good joke. The narrator’s name is revealed to be Montresor. Montresor calmly takes the last brick and prepares to slide it into place, but stops and listens. All he hears are the jingling of bells. Then Montresor puts in the last brick, hence sealing Fotunato’s fate. There is chilling irony woven all throughout The Cask of Amontillado. It isn’t until the end of the story that we discover the tale took place fifty years before. Montresor’s vile deed’s motivation can be largely attributed to social class, fulfilling what he considered to be “just retribution” for the unnamed insult that was given him by Fortunato.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato
Poe uses the aspects of dramatic and verbal irony, foreshadowing and symbolism to shape his tale of revenge. Fortunato's fate is death and Montresor tries to make his intentions seem honorable. His intentions were not honorable, just evil. He does however, manage to get what he set out for, revenge.
In his article “On Memory Forgetting, and Complicity in “the Cask of Amontillado”” Raymond DiSanza suggests that an act of wrongdoing is always at the heart of good horror stories. (194) DiSanza’s article on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes Poe’s writing in a way I didn’t think of myself. DiSanza finds Poe’s language in this story to “taste like amontillado: smooth, slightly sweet, and appropriately chilled”. (DiSanza 195) Throughout his article he mostly talks about what possibly could have been Montresor’s motive to kill Fortunato? And why did Montresor wait fifty years to tell the story?
The setting of a story sets the tone for the entire piece. Without the appropriate setting, what the author is trying to express is lost. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting as a way to set the stage for the events that will come. Poe’s settings make his stories interesting, as well as easy to understand because of his descriptiveness and writing techniques. His use of vivid details and symbols in his settings intrigue the readers and set a particular tone. Each and every setting has a direct meaning and reason attached to that of the story and time.
... carnival, so that the narrator would not consult another supposed wine connoisseur about the cask of amontillado, the reader must identify with the dark parts of their character and learn from the mistakes of the characters in this story. Like Montresor, all people have faults and by illustrating this extremely flawed character, Poe allows the reader a glimpse at the flaws in their own. Even Montresor recognizes that he must hares his crime, whether to confess or brag, the story could not die with him. Montresor is a vehicle that allows the reader to identify with their own shortcomings. He was consumed by a thirst for revenge, driven by pride, aided by intelligence, and suffering from a sense of inadequacy which created jealousy. Montresor demonstrates that vengeance and pride are impure motivators that lead to sinister thoughts and actions unfit for judgement day.
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.
Humans have always struggled against confinement and toward freedom. However, they choose not to recognize that history has proved time and again that too much freedom incites anarchy and too much confinement invites tyranny. It’s the nature of all animals to desire freedom and resist confinement. Many times the animal struggles so blindly it does not recognize it is destroying itself or condemning itself to further confinement. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato and Montresor are symbols of how human nature manifests differently in different people in varying combinations of psychological and physical freedom and confinement.
You would never think to look for a dead body among hundreds of dead bodies. Edgar Allen Poe is notorious for his poems and stories with gruesome murders and deaths; moreover “The Cask of Amontillado” is a magnificent example of this. Poe covers the undoubtedly literary genre perfectly which blend seamlessly with history, as well as, the literary devices being used remarkably well, and how the perfect murder was created.
...s a person who has a sagacious mind and his meticulousness leads to a successful murder. For example, the “vaults” where he chose to kill Fortanato, and that those ironic conversations that caused Fortanato fall into Montresor’s clutches. He also satirized Fortanato so much in this story, such as his favorite “Amontillado” and his dignity is his undoing. In contrast, Fortanato has a besotted mind, and his cockiness leads him to die. For example, he was not suspicious in the “vaults”, his envious of “Luchesi”, and his exorbitance in appreciating his connoisseurship, these all leads him to die at the end.
In structure, there can be no doubt, that both Montresor's plan of revenge and Poe's story are carefully crafted to create the desired effect. Poe writes this story from the perspective of Montresor who vows revenge against Fortunato in an effort to support his time-honored family motto: "Nemo me impune lacessit" or "No one assails me with impunity." (No one can attack me without being punished.) Poe does not intend for the reader to sympathize with Montresor because Fortunato has wronged him, but rather to judge him. Telling the story from Montresor's point of view, intensifies the effect of moral shock and horror. Once again, the reader is invited to delve into the inner workings of a sinister mind. This part of the story is very disturbing and emotionally unstable. Fortunato undergoes a change from laughter and thinking a practical joke is being played on him to a groaning realization that he is a dead man. This is the place where we chose to make our project.