Cask Of Amontillado
The setting of a story can completely change the meaning or the reasoning behind sayings and quotes in a story. However, parts of the setting could be there just to create imagery. Even if part of the setting may not seem to be important when it first comes up in the story it may be of importance later on. Much like any other piece of literature the setting of “The Cask of Amontillado” affects many parts in the story, it creates a dark mood, causes the characters to become less aware of everything around them, and foreshadows death.
This story has many setting descriptions that give the reader a dreary feeling. The characters were just beginning to walk into the catacombs and it is said that “The drops of moisture” from the river above “trickle among the bones” (113). The moisture from the ceiling created a cold and creepy feeling and the bones intensify this ambience. Later on the characters …show more content…
began to pass under the low lying arches and as they descended the “arrived at a deep crypt” where the stench in the air caused their “flambeaux rather to glow than flame”(136-137). The foulness of the crypt almost made their torch go out which creates a creepy feel since they could barely see without the flame. While traveling deeper into the catacombs Fortunato wandered “into the depth of the recess… the feeble light did not enable” the characters to see (150-151). The light in the catacombs created some suspense since the characters could not see and they are where dead people lay. All three of these examples could give the characters and the reader a sense of dreariness. The characters are in the midst of a carnaval which causes the characters to be less weary of everything around them. Fortunato approached the narrator at the carnival and he “accosted” the narrator “with excessive warmth for he had been drinking much” (22-23). Due to the amount that Fortunato had been drinking, due to the carnival, he does not recognize the narrators body language or attitude towards him. The narrator tells Fortunato about his purchase of wine and Fortunato asks him to see his vaults with the wine. Fortunato put “on a mask of black silk” from the carnival when traveling into a vault most would not think to put on their carnival mask showing Fortunato does not really understand what is going on (56-57). While walking into the vault Fortunato begins to ask where “The pipe” is and the narrator tells him “It is farther on” (71-72). Even though it is quite a bit farther into the cavern than Fortunato thought he does not question the narrator since they are going to look at the wine that the narrator bought before the cavern. The carnival effected how the main characters acted whether it was because they were drunk or less aware of the actions of others. During the characters trip into the cavern the setting described creates a creepy sense of death.
While traveling deep into the catacombs Fortunato and the narrator walked passed “walls of piled bones” (108). The character are walking past dead corpses but do not seem to be phased and the fact that there were dead bodies may have lead the characters to feel that they may be killed. Walking even deeper into the crypt the narrators find part of it “lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead” (139). The characters were literally standing within human remains which may have created some feeling in which they may have felt like they were going to be killed. When they reached the end of the crypt the narrator lead Fortunato to the granite where there “were two iron staples” one of them “depended a short chain, from the other a padlock” (157-159). If Fortunato had been paying more attention he probably would have felt that he was going to be hurt or maybe even killed. The descriptions in the story could give the characters some sense that they would die or be
injured. The setting of any story is extremely important to analyze and understand. If a reader does not understand the meaning behind parts of the setting their idea of the story could be completely different than what the author intended. This may cause confusion to the reader later on in the story. In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the setting plays an important role by creating a mysterious atmosphere, changing the way characters may act, and creating a sense of death later to come.
This story has many setting descriptions that give the reader a dreary feeling. The characters were just beginning to walk into the catacombs and it is said that “The drops of moisture” from the river above “trickle among the bones” (113). The moisture from the ceiling created a cold and creepy feeling and the bones intensify this ambience. Later on the characters …show more content…
began to pass under the low lying arches and as they descended the “arrived at a deep crypt” where the stench in the air caused their “flambeaux rather to glow than flame”(136-137). The foulness of the crypt almost made their torch go out which creates a creepy feel since they could barely see without the flame. While traveling deeper into the catacombs Fortunato wandered “into the depth of the recess… the feeble light did not enable” the characters to see (150-151). The light in the catacombs created some suspense since the characters could not see and they are where dead people lay. All three of these examples could give the characters and the reader a sense of dreariness. The characters are in the midst of a carnaval which causes the characters to be less weary of everything around them. Fortunato approached the narrator at the carnival and he “accosted” the narrator “with excessive warmth for he had been drinking much” (22-23). Due to the amount that Fortunato had been drinking, due to the carnival, he does not recognize the narrators body language or attitude towards him. The narrator tells Fortunato about his purchase of wine and Fortunato asks him to see his vaults with the wine. Fortunato put “on a mask of black silk” from the carnival when traveling into a vault most would not think to put on their carnival mask showing Fortunato does not really understand what is going on (56-57). While walking into the vault Fortunato begins to ask where “The pipe” is and the narrator tells him “It is farther on” (71-72). Even though it is quite a bit farther into the cavern than Fortunato thought he does not question the narrator since they are going to look at the wine that the narrator bought before the cavern. The carnival effected how the main characters acted whether it was because they were drunk or less aware of the actions of others. During the characters trip into the cavern the setting described creates a creepy sense of death.
While traveling deep into the catacombs Fortunato and the narrator walked passed “walls of piled bones” (108). The character are walking past dead corpses but do not seem to be phased and the fact that there were dead bodies may have lead the characters to feel that they may be killed. Walking even deeper into the crypt the narrators find part of it “lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead” (139). The characters were literally standing within human remains which may have created some feeling in which they may have felt like they were going to be killed. When they reached the end of the crypt the narrator lead Fortunato to the granite where there “were two iron staples” one of them “depended a short chain, from the other a padlock” (157-159). If Fortunato had been paying more attention he probably would have felt that he was going to be hurt or maybe even killed. The descriptions in the story could give the characters some sense that they would die or be
injured. The setting of any story is extremely important to analyze and understand. If a reader does not understand the meaning behind parts of the setting their idea of the story could be completely different than what the author intended. This may cause confusion to the reader later on in the story. In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” the setting plays an important role by creating a mysterious atmosphere, changing the way characters may act, and creating a sense of death later to come.