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Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
Literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's work
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In “The Mask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, a murderer by the name of Montresor takes the life of a man named Fortunato. Montresor uses many of Fortunato’s weaknesses to lure him into a cavern to his wine cellar so he can murder him. By using what was once his friend’s weaknesses to murder him, a theme of this story is manipulative false friends. Although one could learn many things from this short but intriguing story, the main point in this story is that the actions and characteristics of Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado” relate to the theme of manipulative false friends.
Montresor uses Fortunato’s weaknesses against him to lure him down to the wine cellar. For instance, one of Fortunato’s weaknesses was that he had an obsession
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with wines and was known around his town for that. Poe said, “He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine” (Poe). It was the season of Carnival and Montresor had knew Fortunato had been drinking so, he teased him by asking about a special kind of wine, Amontillado. He knew he could lure him down to the cellar after asking about a wine that would be very special to Fortunato. Montresor states, “I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts” (Poe). Montresor’s knowledge of Fortunato’s weakness of being obsessed with wine is how he lured him down to the cellar. His acts of using his weakness and manipulating him into going down into the caverns and into his cellar is a representation of the theme of manipulative false friends. Montresor knew of his obsession and tested his love for wine to see if he would really come to the cellar. Along with testing his love for wine, Montresor questioned Fortunato’s pride to manipulate and lure him down to the wine cellar. Another way Montresor used one of Fortunato’s weaknesses was when he tested his pride. Montresor knew of his fondness of wine, but he also knew he was jealous of another local man by the name of Luchesi. Luchesi was known around for being another man that was familiar with wines and a competitor of Fortunato. Montresor tested his pride when he told Fortunato that if he did not want to go try the Amontillado that he would ask Luchesi (Poe). Whenever Montresor asked this it instantly made Fortunato want to go try the Amontillado even more than before. He began to downgrade Luchesi by saying “Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.” He knew that mentioning the name of Fortunato’s enemy would only make his desire for the Amontillado even greater. The article by Diana McHugh states, “When Fortunato demurs, Montresor plays upon Fortunato's own jealousy, mentioning the name of another master of fine wines, Luchesi, to reel Fortunato in” (McHugh). Montresor knew of Fortunato’s jealousy of Luchesi and used that to lure him down to the cellar. Montresor knew that mentioning the name of Luchesi who is one of Fortunato’s enemies and competitors would test his pride and manipulate his desire to go to the cellar even greater than before. The way Montresor used Fortunato’s jealousy is another example of the theme manipulative false friends. Montresor manipulated him into believing he would ask Luchesi. Montresor tested Fortunato’s pride by mentioning the name of Luchesi, but he also tested his determination to assure himself that Fortunato would go far enough into the cellar. After testing his pride by mentioning the name of Luchesi, Montresor tested Fortunato’s will and determination.
While walking down the cavern walls to his cellar, Fortunato began to cough and began to show signs he was getting sick from the cavern walls. Montresor asked Fortunato if they needed to stop and turn around since he had began to cough, but Fortunato’s determination kept him going which was exactly what Montresor wanted. The article by Jamil Mustafa states, “After Fortunato suffers a coughing fit, Montresor announces that they must leave the noxious vaults” (Mustafa). This tests Fortunato’s determination and will to continue to the precious amontillado that Montresor has been talking about. Along the way to the cellar, he continues to cough and Montresor tells him often that they must turn around so Fortunato will not die from a cough. This only makes Fortunato more determined to make it to the amontillado, Fortunato said that he will not die of a cough and that he will taste the amontillado (Poe). Montresor uses Fortunato’s cough to manipulate him into making his determination to get to the precious amontillado even greater. The way he uses his sickness to lure him down further into the caverns is another example of the theme manipulative false
friends. Montresor’s actions in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” of how he used Fortunato’s weaknesses to lure him down to the cellar are all examples of the theme manipulative false friends. Montresor used Fortunato’s, who was once his friend, weaknesses to manipulate him into walking down the cavern into his cellar to murder him. Many more points could be made from this story but all of Montresor's tricks and tests to lure him to the cellar relate back to the theme of manipulative false friends.
Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...
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).
Is there really a perfect crime? This is the main point in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” The story is a dark tale of a presumably insane man who suffers from, according to him, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (Poe 75). One of the major factors in telling this story is the setting. The story is set primarily in the Montresor family catacombs, which provides the dark setting, filled with human remains, and this reflects where Montresor commits his crime, where no one will expect. Furthermore, the narration also helps in telling the story. It is first person point of view, so the story is heard entirely from him. Readers will go into Montresor’s thoughts and be curious about why he wants to kill Fortunato so badly. Furthermore, the symbolism of the story is very important and many symbols in symbolizing Montresor killing Fortunato. Finally, the insane Montresor tried to pull the perfect crime but fails; he does not pull the perfect crime, he fails his goal when he realizes he is doing a bad thing.
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.
He did not show even by words that he is going to kill. Also, he did not let Fortunato to know that he intended any grudge against him “..neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will... He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation (8-10).” One night while Fortunato was drunk, Montresor told him that he bought a barrel of wine called Amontillado “But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts (25).” He understood that Fortunato “prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine (12).” He attracted him to going to his house to check the drink by saying that he might invite Luchresi to do it, a seeming rival of Fortunato 's, instead “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me (37-38).” When they left, Montresor put on a mask and quickly took the way to his property. He was sure nobody could see them together on Fortunato 's last night. Moreover, Montresor completely knew Fortunato and used the knowledge versus him. He planned his deed carefully and carried it out slowly. It seems that Montresor anticipated his revenge with joy. While they traveled down the cavern, Montresor gives Fortunato many opportunities to leave. Fortunato looks weak against the niter, which is growing on the walls, and repeatedly coughs. Montresor commented on Fortunato 's health and asked
Fortunato exhibits extreme narcissism upon himself and fails to see the bigger picture going on around him. Montresor expended a great amount of time in thinking of a way to defeat his prey in his own world. His target had a weakness of lust for wine, in fact he, prided himself in his connoisseurship. Consequently, too much pride can be harmful according to Jessica Tracy, “hubristic pride is related to narcissistic traits like entitlement, arrogance, and egotism” all which Fortunato exemplified (Oprah). Montresor baited Fortunato into his pleasure “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi” though we never meet Luchesi his character is of lesser rank when it comes to wine connoisseurship (Poe). Montresor was very clever in this quiet deed; he even took the time to provide many outs for Fortunato whether it was concern for his prey’s health or warnings of harsh conditions ahead. Drunk and prideful he could care less about his health during the cold trot through the vaults “The cold is merely nothing… and as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” thus his narcissistic ways are even selfish to his own temple (Poe). Fortunato ignores his plethora of coughs and implies to move forward while Montresor ensures him that his health is too precious but again triggers him saying Luchesi is in a
Edgars Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado portrays two great examples of how greed and ignorance combined can lead to a quick ending, both physically and mentally. The story possesses two different aspects of an ending through two similar but yet different characters. Both characters possess the trait of greed, which hinders their ability to think rationally. The most obvious aspect of greed is carried out by Montresor, because this is a “short story of revenge.” He seeks to make Fortunato, the other character possessing the ignorant and greed trait, feel the pain that he has supposedly dealt onto Montresor. Throughout the book, one can experience how these two awful traits overtake them and eventually end their lives.
in the same way, when Fortunato coughs due to the nitre walls, Montresor uses reverse psychology and says, “Come,… we will go back; your health is precious… We will go back; you will be ill and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi -”
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
"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 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.
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.
When he completes his revenge plan he seems to be satisfied with his deed, and words "In pace requiescat" (Poe, 244) sarcastically emphasize his feelings and thoughts. It is difficult to determine what is more drastic: Fortunato's death, atmosphere of something unexpected, horrible, mysterious, and insincerity, false words, and betrayal, sarcasm, ironic, and pretended politeness, cold, calculated hatred. All of these images reveal the sophisticated cruelty of the protagonist. On the other side did Fortunato really do what he was accused of? Did Montresor was really right in his claims? If so, why Fortuanto was naive enough to accompany his enemy in the trip to vaults, to drink wine? Wine is a symbol of joy, consent, friendship, and companionship, but in this story is a very painful sign of betrayal. Maybe Montresor enlarged in his imagination Fortunato's real (or imagined) faults? Perhaps this entire story cover indirectly difficult problem of false, because both protagonists were very insincere persons. In this context the end of the story shows that both dishonest protagonists failed, even Montresor, who achieved his goal.
You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain (Poe 332)”. This revels Montresor notices that Fortunato is not able to tell Amontillado from Sherry as he is a great wine-lover. When Montresor is coughing, Fortunato is trying to convince him to leave: “Come,” I said with decision, “ we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was”. This shows jealousy and kindness of Montresor against Fortunato at the same time that is quite sarcastic. From this perspective, Montresor envious all of the things that Fortunato has and who is not reconciled to someone surpass him in the status. He mistakenly feels that this is the injury created by Fortunato resulting in his revenge. Therefore, he blame on Fortunato for all fault that he should eradicate him as soon as possible before he become a threatening when it is too late to take any action. Additionally, he does not even regret his choice and believes everything he does is right. This is because he tries so hard to makes an effort to draw Fortunato to his trap and put down his vigilance simultaneously by