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Character of revenge in literature
Motifs about revenge
Character of revenge in literature
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In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism to show the them that family comes first because throughout the story and he feels like he needs to take revenge for his family. An example of how revenge is shown in the short story is the narrator coat of arms. This comes up when Fortunato asks Montresor about what his coat of arms is. Montresor replies that his coat of arms is “A huge human foot d’or, in a field azure; The foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.” The reason why this quote stood out to me showing revenge i was comparing the foot to Fortunato and the serpent to Montresor. So the foot (Fortunato) hurts the serpent in story as insulting Montresor but the foot hurt the serpent so the serpent got its revenge by hurting the foot back. But there's also another thing the foot can be Montresor and the serpent could be Fortunato i say this cause what if the serpent actually attacked the foot first. So then Montresor had an excuse to hurt the serpent probably killing it. Which is exactly what Montresor did to Fortunato at the end of the story. …show more content…
Also another relation is the family slogan of the Montresors.
The slogan is “Nemo me impune lacessit.” Which translated means No one provokes me with Impunity. I feel like Poe used this phrase for Montresor’s coat of arms to show more in depth on how the narrator is in on pursuing revenge. The reason why poe put this inside the story was to show that montresor doesn’t care if you are friend or foe but if you hurt him or his family in any way he will get you. He will somehow act out his revenge no matter what. As shown when he was acting revenge upon Fortunato. He didn’t care if Fortunato was sick or was his friend. You insult Montresor you get hurt apparently even
killed. Also Montessor even said in the beginning of the play of how he wants revenge against fortunato. He said in the beginning of the story “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” Judging by this quote the narrator is saying this out of rage and how much he hates fortunato. But it isn't clear on how he will commit his revenge but will figure it out later. Also how fortunato even insults Montresor in the middle of the story of when they are looking for the fortunato. How he says so rude like “You?Impossible! A Mason?”. Like he's saying the montresor couldn't be a Mason like it's impossible for him to be a mason. Then fortunato brushed off the narrator like he was dust ignoring him for the fact he is a Mason. Which shows the theme of evil always being punished which shows the message of revenge in the story. The whole story shows examples of Montresor’s hate towards fortunato and how Fortunato insults montresor which is why he hates Fortunato.
In Patrick White’s article “‘The Cask of Amontillado’: A Case for the Defense,” his stance on Montresor’s murder is one of justification and comprehension. White’s foundations for this stance is based upon the perspective that Montresor was acting on behalf of the Montresor’s family, similarly to how soldiers kill as a patriotic duty. White makes connections between the family motto’s origin being from the royal house of Scotland and the coat of arms resembling the American-Revolution flag. White claims that the Montresor family acts as a political unit with the same right to take action against an opponent as a governmental group would (White 550-555).
One of the most horrifying lines in the story is given by Montresor after Fortunato says, “I will not die of a cough” (Baym ). Montresor says, “True— true....” (Baym ). It seems that Montresor 's murder plot became subconsciously manifest in those two words. Dramatic irony is irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story (“dramatic-irony”) and Poe uses this effectively in this story. For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato and says, "Come, I said, with decision, we will go back; your health is
Montressor had said “In pace requiescat!”, but rest in peace Fortunato did not. As Fortunato took his last breath he heard Montressor yell his name and then leave. A strange sensation then came over Fortunato and he could sense the energy flowing out of him, a rising feeling held him above the ground as he became a restless spirit. He thought to himself “Why am I not allowed to go? What must be keeping me here?”, and then recalled that it was Montressor that had done this to him, Montressor that had led him into the vaults and then sealed him up to die of pneumonia. Revenge, that was what had drove Montressor to murder, and what was keeping Fortunato in the mortal world. Fortunato realized that he must find Montressor, and exact his revenge before he would be able to pass over. And down there, in the deepest, darkest vault, he planned his revenge.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” the main character, Montresor, leads his enemy, Fortunato, into his catacombs, and there buries him alive by bricking him up in a niche in the wall; Poe gives no actual reason for this except to say that Montresor has been “insulted” in some way. In his Science Fiction work “Usher II,” Ray Bradbury adopts many of Poe’s works in creating his story—including pieces from “TCoA.” What separates Bradbury’s work from other authors who borrow works and re-imagine them (Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Geraldine Brooks’s March, and Peter Carrey’s Jack Maggs, for instance), is that “Usher II,” in its imaginative way, is trying to be one with its predecessor. Bradbury seeks to retain Poe’s love of the double and the secretive (Gothic mentalities where the reader is meant to be a bit uncertain about what they’re reading and what’s going on) while adding, most notably regarding “TCoA,” the things Poe never had much care for: a beginning, an end, and reason—thus making “Usher II” not only an homage to Poe’s work, but a companion piece whose beating heart lies within the original work.
Russ,RJ.” Symbolism In edgar Allan Poe’s ‘ The Cask Of Amontillado’.” Yahoo Voices.Yahoo, Inc.,28 April 2008. Web.17 March 2014.
In her article, Renee utters that when the thought of vengeance build up in an individual’s brain, it coerces him insane and does not tolerate him to present it a second thought. The first sentence of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge,” clearly describes the whole theme of the story as a deeply enrooted revenge in Montresor’s mind” which is an absolute portrayal of retribution that occurs due to arrogance and jealousy. Author sees himself as a superior individual and was victimized by a superiority complex which is quite visible through the phrases which he wrote in the story that Montressor expresses superiority as showed his victim as a foolish person by attributing weird physical appearance and dress appearance in which he described his dress code of “tight fitting parti striped dress and head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.”
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
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.
An important element in any story is setting. Authors use setting to convey certain feelings brought on by the character’s surroundings. It also subliminally serves to illustrate the character’s intentions. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe uses the dark, imposing setting to do just that, communicate the underlying theme of the story, being death, revenge and deception.
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
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
Fake people are to be encountered with everywhere, especially in the days of middle school and in high school. Many adolescents have come across these people, and movies have even been made about these people. For example, the movie Mean Girls is made about a group of 4 girls who will act nice to people at their high school, then they will turn around and write mean things in their “Burn Book”, along with saying mean things behind their back. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates through indirect characterization that the narrator, Montresor, is fake towards his arch nemesis, Fortunato. In the short story, Fortunato eventually tricks Montresor and buries him alive. It begins with Montresor declaring
Edgar Allan Poe's strong use of symbols throughout "The Cask of Amontillado" is what makes this story worthy of examination. The clever use of these devices by the author to shape this horrifying and gripping short story has made this piece be regarded as a classic American horror story, which revolves around the theme of vengeance and pride.
This immediate familiarity helps the reader to see inside the calculating mind of Montresor, whom we later learn is a killer. When talking about the past insults of Fortunato, he takes on a cold, determined tone: “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled […] I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe, 618).