Cask of Amontillado
Brittany J. Davis
Dr. Michael S. Mills
ENGL 1312
September 20, 2010
The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a story of two men that appear to be total opposites, yet are connected through friendship. Montresor, who is the narrator and the person seeking revenge, says he meet “his friend,” referring to Fortunato during the carnival season. The story does not give any details of how long the two men have been friends, yet through the details given in the story, the men seem to have known each other for a long time. The first sentence in the story proves this when Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe 331) In this story, Poe gives a perfect example of how two people can see and interpret things in different ways, one can see friendship and one can see an enemy. Two people can have a relationship for years and one person will not know that they have offended the other person they consider their friend, so much that the offended person will hold a grudge and seek revenge, even if it takes years to achieve. In this story by Poe, Montresor meets Fortunato during the carnival season. Montresor says of Fortunato “He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much” (331). The use of the phrase “excessive warmth” can be interpreted that normally he would have been greeted by Fortunato with friendliness but due to the drinking Fortunato was in a much more happier friendlier state and greeted his old friend with excessive warmth. Montresor stated he was pleased to see Fortunato but not for the reasons Fortunato would have thought. Fortunato appeared to consider their friendship to be a mutual one and did not know the animosity felt toward him by Montresor. If he had known how Montresor truly felt about him he would not have reacted throughout the story as he did. He is the one that considered Fortunato as a friend, while Montresor considered
Dr. Michael S. Mills
ENGL 1312
September 20, 2010
The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe, is a story of two men that appear to be total opposites, yet are connected through friendship. Montresor, who is the narrator and the person seeking revenge, says he meet “his friend,” referring to Fortunato during the carnival season. The story does not give any details of how long the two men have been friends, yet through the details given in the story, the men seem to have known each other for a long time. The first sentence in the story proves this when Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe 331) In this story, Poe gives a perfect example of how two people can see and interpret things in different ways, one can see friendship and one can see an enemy. Two people can have a relationship for years and one person will not know that they have offended the other person they consider their friend, so much that the offended person will hold a grudge and seek revenge, even if it takes years to achieve. In this story by Poe, Montresor meets Fortunato during the carnival season. Montresor says of Fortunato “He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much” (331). The use of the phrase “excessive warmth” can be interpreted that normally he would have been greeted by Fortunato with friendliness but due to the drinking Fortunato was in a much more happier friendlier state and greeted his old friend with excessive warmth. Montresor stated he was pleased to see Fortunato but not for the reasons Fortunato would have thought. Fortunato appeared to consider their friendship to be a mutual one and did not know the animosity felt toward him by Montresor. If he had known how Montresor truly felt about him he would not have reacted throughout the story as he did. He is the one that considered Fortunato as a friend, while Montresor considered
Cited: Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado."Literature, Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Maureen Staudt and Michael Stranz. 7th ed. Mason: Cengage, 2009. 331-336. Print