Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado
Fate is full of irony, what you dish out will come back to you. This slogan has never rung truer than in the ironic tale of the Cask Of Amontillado. Presumably taking place in the Italian countryside this story follows the protagonist, Montresor, in his quest to reap revenge on the antagonist, Fortunato, for an insult in the past. Ultimately culminating in Fortunato being buried alive this story is a textbook example of revenge. Edgar Allen Poe’s dark tale revolves around themes of betrayal, pride, and revenge that allow the reader to assume Fortunato's death before he does. The Cask of Amontillado uses irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech to obscure Fortunato’s fate.
The plot of this horror story revolves …show more content…
around two characters, Montresor, the narrator, who is a cold and calculating man seeking revenge against Fortunato, a prideful man that enjoys bragging about his extensive wine connoisseurship and his superiority to all other wine experts. The story begins with Montresor baiting a drunken Fortunato to follow him into the depths of the catacombs to examine a bottle of Amontillado, an exquisite and expensive wine that Montresor had bought at the carnival. Fortunato, who only sees two outcomes, getting free amontillado or seeing Montresor embarrassed for being foolish enough to buy fake Amontaliato follows Montresor down into the catacombs under Montresor's mansion where Montresor chains and eventually bricks Fortunato in behind a wall.
Looking back at the story you can see the irony and symbolism Poe uses in the setting to foreshadow Fortunato’s death. Starting off, situational irony can be found in the carnival, which is supposed to be a time of joy but Fortunato is being buried behind a wall, which is a very unpleasant experience. Also, the word carnival derives from the latin roots carne- and vale- which means “O flesh farewell” which is symbolic of Montresor's intent for Fortunato, to kill him. Fortunato’s burial place is an example of dramatic irony because Fortunato believes that the Amontillado is resting there but Montresor knows that Fortunato will be the one resting there, not the amontillado. Poe uses contradicting ideas in irony and symbolism to make the reader bewildered about Fortunato's true fate.
In a story a conflict is driven by motivation and the motivation in the Cask of Amontillado is revenge. Montresor is trying to get revenge on Fortunato but Fortunato does not know this so the conflict should not be man vs man, it should be man vs self. Montressor is broken over whether he should kill Fortunato or not. Montresor has an incredibly passionate desire to kill Fortunato but towards the end of the story when Fortunato says ”For the love of God Montresor” Montresor doubts whether he should kill Fortunato saying “My heart grew sick”(Poe 87-89).
Contradicting the events of the story Montresor seems to be the victim based on the characters names. Fortunato’s name, meaning “the lucky one” in Italian, is an example of situational irony because Fortunato was not lucky getting buried behind a wall. Montresor's name, which derives from the roots Montrer- and sort- which mean to show one his fate which is ironic because Montresor has no intention of showing Fortunato his fate. Ironically, if switched, Montresor and Fortunato names symbolize their desires when going into the catacombs. Montresor wants good fortune in carrying out his plan for revenge and Fortunato wants to find amontillado, a wine that he treasures(“Mon-tresor” translates to my treasure). If not switched through Montresor appears to be the one getting buried which fogs Fortunato’s fate further.
In The Cask of Amontillado the setting, characters, and the speech help the reader experience the theme emotionally and intellectually. The theme of the Cask of Amontillado is undoubtedly revenge, for Montressor is trying to get revenge on Fortunato. This is seen through Montresor quoting “...I would make him pay for this-that I would get my revenge!”(Poe 1). As the reader, you can experience the theme of revenge through the setting. The catacombs under Montresor's mansion, damp with niter, set a gloomy feel to the story which works well with the eventual outcome of the story, Fortunato’s death which is a gloomy and revenge filled affair. Montresor, who is the narrator, is cold and calculating and very energetic about getting revenge on Fortunato. Due to the fact that you get to see it from Montresor's perspective, you get to connect with Montresor intellectually since you get to know all of his thoughts. Also, you experience the adrenaline rush of revenge with Montresor when he chains up Fortunato. Towards the end of the story when Montresor says “My heart grew sick; it must have been the cold” you can feel the fear that Montresor feels about himself and how scared he of himself he was after he buried Fortunato alive.
Montresor's view of whether he should kill Fortunato changes in his speech throughout the story. At the beginning, Montresor says to Fortunato “My dear Fortunato you are luckily met”(Poe 5) and then he explains that he wants Fortunato to examine Amontillado that he bought.This is verbal irony because Montresor isn't glad to meet Fortunato to get advice for wine, he wants to lure him into a trap to kill him. In the middle of the tale Fortunato mentions that he is a mason and he wonders is Montresor is also and they have this exchange: You? Impossible! A mason?" "A mason," I replied. "A sign," he said, "a sign." "It is this," I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaure a trowel. "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces.(Poe 62-66)
Montressor used verbal irony in describing himself as a mason. He is a mason in the way that he will bury him behind bury Fortunato behind a wall laying bricks, not in the way that Fortunato suggests, a member of a secret society. Also at the end of the story when Fortunato is behind the wall Montresor begins to have come to a realization on what he did. When he says “Fortunato!" No answer. I called again-- "Fortunato--" No answer still.
I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs.(Poe 86-89)
This shows that for a moment Montresor wanted to go back on his deed but he quickly changed back and ironically said: “My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 89). This is ironic because you think that he would be sick after murdering somebody but he is sick because of the catacombs. Poe made Montresor indecisive at the end of the story to emphasize that it wasn’t clear to Montresor that he was doing the right thing ending Fortunato’s life.
After examining Irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech in the Cask of Amontillado one can see that Poe's diagnosis of Fortunato’s fate was inconsistent throughout the story. Through irony and symbolism Poe creates two unstable characters that both a bit crazy. Montresor yearns to be protected from the harm of Fortunato’s insults so he decides to kill him but in doing so he kills a portion of himself, the good noble Montresor. Montressor may have walled up Fortunato in darkness but in doing so he walled himself in darkness
too.
The plot of this horror story revolves …show more content…
around two characters, Montresor, the narrator, who is a cold and calculating man seeking revenge against Fortunato, a prideful man that enjoys bragging about his extensive wine connoisseurship and his superiority to all other wine experts. The story begins with Montresor baiting a drunken Fortunato to follow him into the depths of the catacombs to examine a bottle of Amontillado, an exquisite and expensive wine that Montresor had bought at the carnival. Fortunato, who only sees two outcomes, getting free amontillado or seeing Montresor embarrassed for being foolish enough to buy fake Amontaliato follows Montresor down into the catacombs under Montresor's mansion where Montresor chains and eventually bricks Fortunato in behind a wall.
Looking back at the story you can see the irony and symbolism Poe uses in the setting to foreshadow Fortunato’s death. Starting off, situational irony can be found in the carnival, which is supposed to be a time of joy but Fortunato is being buried behind a wall, which is a very unpleasant experience. Also, the word carnival derives from the latin roots carne- and vale- which means “O flesh farewell” which is symbolic of Montresor's intent for Fortunato, to kill him. Fortunato’s burial place is an example of dramatic irony because Fortunato believes that the Amontillado is resting there but Montresor knows that Fortunato will be the one resting there, not the amontillado. Poe uses contradicting ideas in irony and symbolism to make the reader bewildered about Fortunato's true fate.
In a story a conflict is driven by motivation and the motivation in the Cask of Amontillado is revenge. Montresor is trying to get revenge on Fortunato but Fortunato does not know this so the conflict should not be man vs man, it should be man vs self. Montressor is broken over whether he should kill Fortunato or not. Montresor has an incredibly passionate desire to kill Fortunato but towards the end of the story when Fortunato says ”For the love of God Montresor” Montresor doubts whether he should kill Fortunato saying “My heart grew sick”(Poe 87-89).
Contradicting the events of the story Montresor seems to be the victim based on the characters names. Fortunato’s name, meaning “the lucky one” in Italian, is an example of situational irony because Fortunato was not lucky getting buried behind a wall. Montresor's name, which derives from the roots Montrer- and sort- which mean to show one his fate which is ironic because Montresor has no intention of showing Fortunato his fate. Ironically, if switched, Montresor and Fortunato names symbolize their desires when going into the catacombs. Montresor wants good fortune in carrying out his plan for revenge and Fortunato wants to find amontillado, a wine that he treasures(“Mon-tresor” translates to my treasure). If not switched through Montresor appears to be the one getting buried which fogs Fortunato’s fate further.
In The Cask of Amontillado the setting, characters, and the speech help the reader experience the theme emotionally and intellectually. The theme of the Cask of Amontillado is undoubtedly revenge, for Montressor is trying to get revenge on Fortunato. This is seen through Montresor quoting “...I would make him pay for this-that I would get my revenge!”(Poe 1). As the reader, you can experience the theme of revenge through the setting. The catacombs under Montresor's mansion, damp with niter, set a gloomy feel to the story which works well with the eventual outcome of the story, Fortunato’s death which is a gloomy and revenge filled affair. Montresor, who is the narrator, is cold and calculating and very energetic about getting revenge on Fortunato. Due to the fact that you get to see it from Montresor's perspective, you get to connect with Montresor intellectually since you get to know all of his thoughts. Also, you experience the adrenaline rush of revenge with Montresor when he chains up Fortunato. Towards the end of the story when Montresor says “My heart grew sick; it must have been the cold” you can feel the fear that Montresor feels about himself and how scared he of himself he was after he buried Fortunato alive.
Montresor's view of whether he should kill Fortunato changes in his speech throughout the story. At the beginning, Montresor says to Fortunato “My dear Fortunato you are luckily met”(Poe 5) and then he explains that he wants Fortunato to examine Amontillado that he bought.This is verbal irony because Montresor isn't glad to meet Fortunato to get advice for wine, he wants to lure him into a trap to kill him. In the middle of the tale Fortunato mentions that he is a mason and he wonders is Montresor is also and they have this exchange: You? Impossible! A mason?" "A mason," I replied. "A sign," he said, "a sign." "It is this," I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaure a trowel. "You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces.(Poe 62-66)
Montressor used verbal irony in describing himself as a mason. He is a mason in the way that he will bury him behind bury Fortunato behind a wall laying bricks, not in the way that Fortunato suggests, a member of a secret society. Also at the end of the story when Fortunato is behind the wall Montresor begins to have come to a realization on what he did. When he says “Fortunato!" No answer. I called again-- "Fortunato--" No answer still.
I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs.(Poe 86-89)
This shows that for a moment Montresor wanted to go back on his deed but he quickly changed back and ironically said: “My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 89). This is ironic because you think that he would be sick after murdering somebody but he is sick because of the catacombs. Poe made Montresor indecisive at the end of the story to emphasize that it wasn’t clear to Montresor that he was doing the right thing ending Fortunato’s life.
After examining Irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech in the Cask of Amontillado one can see that Poe's diagnosis of Fortunato’s fate was inconsistent throughout the story. Through irony and symbolism Poe creates two unstable characters that both a bit crazy. Montresor yearns to be protected from the harm of Fortunato’s insults so he decides to kill him but in doing so he kills a portion of himself, the good noble Montresor. Montressor may have walled up Fortunato in darkness but in doing so he walled himself in darkness
too.