Directions: Using complete sentences, answer the following questions about the themes in "The Cask of Amontillado":…
Delaney, Bill. "Poe 's THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO." Explicator 64.1 (2005): 39-41. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Sept. 2013.…
Edgar Allan Poe is known for his horror stories in 19 th century. Readers at that time were impressed by his scary writings. Edgar uses figurative language to create a morbid atmosphere throughout the story. His most famous story “The Cask of Amontillado” makes readers feel a macabre atmosphere because of the ironies he uses.…
In the short story “The Interlopers” and “The Cask of Amontillado”, the rising action gives you a good mental picture of the mood. When the reader reads the line of text from “The Interlopers” that says, “All around them lay a thick-strewn wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs.” you can picture in your mind the two men with broken branches and twigs lying around them. Also, in “The Cask of Amontillado”, one line from the rising action is “We passed by walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recess of the catacombs.” In this sentence, you get a good description of what the catacombs looked like.…
Montresor baits Fortunato by using his weakness, the love of wine. Another weakness he displays is his ego and Montresor knows this. It doesn 't take much for him to be baited into sampling his supposed newly acquired pipe of amontillado. During the trip in the catacombs Montresor compels him many times to return to the surface because of his cold, but Fortunato being drunk and a fool wants to be the one to sample the amontillado. He fails to understand the foreshadowing that Montresor provides him with the mason 's trowel, even when he asks about the Montresor coat of arms. "A huge human foot d 'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel" (Poe 208). He must not have realized how serious Montresor takes his pride. When he finally has him chained to the wall he is very shocked. His disbelief that his friend lured him to his death leaves him practically speechless. He quickly sobers up and begins to moan and cry, then to pull at the chains trying to escape then in a last ditch effort he begins to scream. Either in hopes that someone would hear him and come to his rescue or upon the realization that he is about to die. He knows that this is no joke, but he gives Montresor a chance at redemption by pretending that it is. Unfortunately whatever insult Fortunato had given, it leads to his demise. In the end all he can do is beg…
Hawkins, Willard E. “Fiction “Phases.”” The Editor: The Journal of Information for Literary Workers 37.5 (1913): 131. Print.…
Close Reading on “The Cask of Amontillado” Upon reading the dark, twisted comedy of “The Cask of Amontillado”, the view point of the Montresor can be characterize as an unreasoning, satanic murderer. He presents us with an unclear understanding of his actions, and his trickery of good and use of Fortunato which by the way indicates the care with which he will plan Fortunato’s death. However, close observation demonstrates the Montresor display of a perfect black sense of humor and satire, with which he amuses both himself and the reader as he leads Fortunato to his faith.…
Claiming to have suffered many insults from the latter, the aristocrat Montresor—whose name mon trésor “my treasure” calls to mind leisurely indolence and curbs our sympathy for the unlikely hero—vows revenge. He leads Fortunato to his doom in the meandering catacombs. The greatest weapon yielded by Montresor is his clever, witty art of manipulation. He utilizes reverse psychology and can thus control many weaker characters. Fortunato, already grappling with the clutches of inebriation, is an easy prey: “You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was”[2], croons our protagonist. The plump Fortunato is deceived into believing that his health and well-being are of importance to Montresor. Reverse psychology plays an important role in the story, without it Montresor would never have succeeded in luring Fortunato into and through the catacombs. Reverse psychology also contributes to the horror of “The Cask of Amontillado.” It is not physical horror; rather, it is a mental…
I opened my eyes. They felt heavy and my head throbbed. I was covered with beads of sweat. I stood up and the world seemed to turn. I was dizzy. I looked around and saw the unfamiliar view. Where am I? People with colorful costumes and masks were surrounding me. There were parade floats everywhere. Then, puzzle pieces began to form in my head. I was in the carnival.…
in a certain way, fortunato may have deserved some type of punishment for the continuous insults that he heaped upon montresor. whether that is true or not, montresor saw it that way. becuase of the various breaches of etiquette performed by fortunato, along with montresors background, it is clear that montresor did not later disagree with his decision to kill fortunato. even though by many standards, he was in the wrong, montresor felt justified through himself and his family. because of this, he will never show remorse for his…
Throughout the story, Montresor betrays Fortunado. He asks Fortunado to come into his catacombs aware that he would be killing him. He taunts Fortunado by asking him if he want to go back, because he is sick. Montresor does so when saying “‘Come,’ I said, with decision, ‘we will go back; your health is precious…’” (Poe 535) However, when Fortunado insists he comes to taste the amontillado, he is once again betrayed by Montresor when he drinks more of his wine. He becomes overly intoxicated and once again, is able to be taken advantage of. The entire walk through the catacombs Montresor betrays Fortunado by lying to him and taunting him about being sick. At the end of the story Montresor traps Fortunado by building him into a small shackled space. “A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me back violently” (Poe 536). According to Chad Dyer “The story is written in the form of confession, its reader learning of Montresour’s vengeful deed fifty years after its execution." (Dyer). When Montresor kills Fortunando he commits not only a huge crime but a betrayal that is unbelievable to most people.…
Many of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories contain a wide variety of irony, motifs, and symbolism. The unity of these elements within many of his tales creates specific moods in and throughout his works. One story in particular, The Cask of Amontillado not only displays Poe’s exquisite attention to detail and mastery of literary unity, but it clearly portrays his expertise in the use of irony within this story. The most evident use of irony is through the character’s name Fortunato. The name plainly means fortunate however, the very unfortunate fate of this character is obviously found out as the story unfolds.…
In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main character named Montresor is set out for revenge. Montresor’s only concern is to get revenge on the man who has wronged him named Fortuanto. Montresor never states why Fortunato deserves to be punished. The only statement Montresor makes is that Fortunato “causes him a thousand injuries” until “venturing upon insult.” (Poe, Online) Montresor plans to take out his revenge by burying Fortunato alive. Montresor carries out each detail while he smiles at his victim. Montresor doesn’t smile at the thought of Fortunato’s “immolation” but because of viciousness. (Sweet Jr. Online) Montresor smiles because he believes the sacrifice of Fortunato will bring him a great reward. Fortunato is ironically the “mirror self” of Montresor (Sweet Jr. Online). Montresor’s desire to bury Fortunato alive “paints the psychological portrait of repression” (Sweet Jr. Online). The burial of Fortunato represses Montresor’s evil nature and puts him at peace. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe uses irony to develop his theme of seeking salvation through repression.…
Revenge seems to be a haunting thing that eats away at someone’s mind. And that person only gets sweet release when and only when they get that revenge on who is haunting them. Revenge seems to make people go mad if not avenged and this only seems to haunt the weak-willed. And the only people who act upon revenge is those not in their right mind. For example in “The Cask of Amonitillado” the narrator gives no exact reason of why he thinks he deserves revenge on Fortunato. The narrator is also show to have something wrong with his state of mind playing little mind games with Fortunato along the way to the catacombs.…
Some people who want to get revenge often go to extents even to cheat people through hypocrisy. . "The Cask of Amontillado" recounts the last meeting between two aristocratic gentlemen, the narrator Montresor and the wine connoisseur Fortunato. While Fortunato remains joyful ignorant of Montresor's true intentions for most of the story, the visible pleasure Montresor takes in relating his story, proudly recalling every detail fifty years after the fact, suggests a state of mind free of remorse and detached from any sense of conscience. All Montresor thinks about of is killing Fortunato and he takes advantage of him. Montresor’s hypocrisy is shown by his the speech he uses to make Fortunato blind to reality. Fortunato does not have a clue…