The Cask Of Amontillado Essay Questions
Cask Of Amontillado Questions
1) There are many underlying meanings to the title of this story “The Cask Of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe. First off, Amontillado is an alcoholic beverage, closely related with Sherry, and in the way it is treated by the characters, it is obviously a beverage that is either rare or very delectable. In the story, Montresor mentions he has “a pipe of what passes for Amontillado” (p 133) In the context pipe is used in, it has been used to mean cask, which is a barrel of sorts that is used to hold alcohol, and to age it. It can also be tied into the fact that while Fortunato goes looking for a cask of Amontillado, he finds a casket of death, the casket, or coffin literally being the walls of bone. As mentioned, Amontillado, the drink means something different to each character. To Fortunato, it is very valuable, and when he finds it, it will make him happy. …show more content…
He is willing to risk quite a bit, seeing as he is drunk and is going into a relatively isolated place with someone who he has wronged many times, a mixture that could get him killed. In the end, Amontillado means for Fortunato a sort of failed journey, one where he was determined to find something, but instead had it used against him as a weapon. You could say that the Amontillado betrayed him. For Montresor, Amontillado, or at least the idea of it, gives him power, power over someone that in his eyes, has wronged many a time. To him, it is a way of getting revenge on Fortunato. This is part of the meaning of the title because the Amontillado has such a profound influence on the two characters.
2) Edgar Allan Poe creates his intended atmosphere very well in the story “The cask of Amontillado. He creates a somber, dark and tense atmosphere in the gloomy catacombs, in contrast to the cheery carnival aboveground. He does this in many ways. The first one is by simply having the characters in a dark, shadowy place, and this is made all the more dangerous by the fact that one of the characters has a grudge on the other, one that could potentially turn fatal. This ramps up the tension quite high. Another way he makes it tense is with some foreshadowing. When Fortunato says “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me.” (p 135) this is a double meaning, sort of a no, the cold will not kill you, but something else will. Montresor afterwards says “True” (p 135), with the above double meaning evident in his voice. The tension keeps going afterwards, when Montresor gets Fortunato drunk, and starts to build walls around him, making it tense because it is obvious now that Montresor is getting his revenge on Fortunato. But what really makes it tense and horrific is the fact that even during the evil deed he is committing, Montresor’s voice stays steady and calm, making it clear that he feels no remorse or pain from his actions. This is tense, because when a normal person commits a murder, afterward and often when they are doing it, they feel some sort of pain, it is hard to kill a person, however, someone that feels no remorse is even more dangerous, as they will not realize the weight of their deed and stop halfway through, they will keep going and never look back.
3) There are many examples of foreshadowing in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe.
One of these is evident at the start. As soon as the narrator, Montresor speaks his first line, it is obvious that he is fed up with his friend, Fortunato. He later on goes to say that he never gave Fortunato even a clue that he is mad at him. This shows that he has decided now is the time to strike, and once he has committed, by leading Fortunato down into the catacombs, he can really not go back, seeing as his lie would fall apart, and Fortunato would realize there is no Amontillado. When Fortunato states that a cold will not kill him, and Montresor responds with “True”, it gives readers an inkling that there is a more devious plan in the making. He also orders his servants to all leave the house, seeing as he will be passing through his apartment on the way to the catacombs. This implies that he doesn’t want them seeing him for some reason, and as the story progresses you figure out that it is because he does not want to be traced back to the disappearance of
Fortunato.
4) The climax occurs precisely when Montresor says “ Withdrawing the key, I stepped back from the recess” (p 137) This is the climax because it is the moment of most tension, the moment when all the lead-up finally comes to an end and Montresor finally commits his evil deed. Also, It is the climax because afterwards, no action or any excitement takes place, all that happens is Fortunato screaming, and then eventually the story ends.
5) Montresor manipulates his friend, Fortunato in many ways in the short story “The Cask Of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe. The first and most obvious is he fools Fortunato into thinking that he has a rare liquor in his possession, specifically in his catacombs. He uses Fortunato’s pride of being a connoisseur of wines, to lure him in for a rare type of the stuff. He also seems to realize Fortunato is full of pride, perhaps even arrogance, and uses this to his advantage by being self-deprecating and admitting Fortunato is superior on the subject of wines. This gives Fortunato a false sense of superiority. He continues to admit that he should have asked Fortunato first when buying the Amontillado, making Fortunato think he made a mistake, knowing that Fortunato will take any opportunity to gloat. He then leads Fortunato down into an isolated and enclosed space, where he can hardly escape. Montresor constantly refers to the fact that the nitre on the walls will make it hard for Fortunato to breathe, and Fortunato, thinking of this as a slight upon him, proudly rebuffs these queries on his health, and as he does not want to admit that Montresor is right about his self-perceived weakness, and so continually says he is in good health, and will be fine. Montresor proceeds to get Fortunato drunk, with the bottles of wine he has in his cellar, so drunk that he hardly notices the chains going around him, so distracted by the cask of what he thinks is Amontillado. Montresor then proceeds to wall Fortunato in, with Fortunato only becoming sober in the last moments of the process. All in all, Montresor manipulates him by using Fortunato’s trust in him against Fortunato, and proceeding to kill him.
6) I empathize with Fortunato, because he seems to be a quite happy guy, and is very trusting, the sort of person who most people choose to prey on.Many of the wrongs he has done Montresor were probably minor, and even so no one deserves to have one of the items they dream of possessing, or tasting used against them. He also dies a horrible death, something that no one wants to have happen to them, and is betrayed by the person he put his trust in. No one deserves to be taken advantage of, and that is exactly what happens to Fortunato, which is why I empathize with him.
1) There are many underlying meanings to the title of this story “The Cask Of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe. First off, Amontillado is an alcoholic beverage, closely related with Sherry, and in the way it is treated by the characters, it is obviously a beverage that is either rare or very delectable. In the story, Montresor mentions he has “a pipe of what passes for Amontillado” (p 133) In the context pipe is used in, it has been used to mean cask, which is a barrel of sorts that is used to hold alcohol, and to age it. It can also be tied into the fact that while Fortunato goes looking for a cask of Amontillado, he finds a casket of death, the casket, or coffin literally being the walls of bone. As mentioned, Amontillado, the drink means something different to each character. To Fortunato, it is very valuable, and when he finds it, it will make him happy. …show more content…
He is willing to risk quite a bit, seeing as he is drunk and is going into a relatively isolated place with someone who he has wronged many times, a mixture that could get him killed. In the end, Amontillado means for Fortunato a sort of failed journey, one where he was determined to find something, but instead had it used against him as a weapon. You could say that the Amontillado betrayed him. For Montresor, Amontillado, or at least the idea of it, gives him power, power over someone that in his eyes, has wronged many a time. To him, it is a way of getting revenge on Fortunato. This is part of the meaning of the title because the Amontillado has such a profound influence on the two characters.
2) Edgar Allan Poe creates his intended atmosphere very well in the story “The cask of Amontillado. He creates a somber, dark and tense atmosphere in the gloomy catacombs, in contrast to the cheery carnival aboveground. He does this in many ways. The first one is by simply having the characters in a dark, shadowy place, and this is made all the more dangerous by the fact that one of the characters has a grudge on the other, one that could potentially turn fatal. This ramps up the tension quite high. Another way he makes it tense is with some foreshadowing. When Fortunato says “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me.” (p 135) this is a double meaning, sort of a no, the cold will not kill you, but something else will. Montresor afterwards says “True” (p 135), with the above double meaning evident in his voice. The tension keeps going afterwards, when Montresor gets Fortunato drunk, and starts to build walls around him, making it tense because it is obvious now that Montresor is getting his revenge on Fortunato. But what really makes it tense and horrific is the fact that even during the evil deed he is committing, Montresor’s voice stays steady and calm, making it clear that he feels no remorse or pain from his actions. This is tense, because when a normal person commits a murder, afterward and often when they are doing it, they feel some sort of pain, it is hard to kill a person, however, someone that feels no remorse is even more dangerous, as they will not realize the weight of their deed and stop halfway through, they will keep going and never look back.
3) There are many examples of foreshadowing in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe.
One of these is evident at the start. As soon as the narrator, Montresor speaks his first line, it is obvious that he is fed up with his friend, Fortunato. He later on goes to say that he never gave Fortunato even a clue that he is mad at him. This shows that he has decided now is the time to strike, and once he has committed, by leading Fortunato down into the catacombs, he can really not go back, seeing as his lie would fall apart, and Fortunato would realize there is no Amontillado. When Fortunato states that a cold will not kill him, and Montresor responds with “True”, it gives readers an inkling that there is a more devious plan in the making. He also orders his servants to all leave the house, seeing as he will be passing through his apartment on the way to the catacombs. This implies that he doesn’t want them seeing him for some reason, and as the story progresses you figure out that it is because he does not want to be traced back to the disappearance of
Fortunato.
4) The climax occurs precisely when Montresor says “ Withdrawing the key, I stepped back from the recess” (p 137) This is the climax because it is the moment of most tension, the moment when all the lead-up finally comes to an end and Montresor finally commits his evil deed. Also, It is the climax because afterwards, no action or any excitement takes place, all that happens is Fortunato screaming, and then eventually the story ends.
5) Montresor manipulates his friend, Fortunato in many ways in the short story “The Cask Of Amontillado” By Edgar Allan Poe. The first and most obvious is he fools Fortunato into thinking that he has a rare liquor in his possession, specifically in his catacombs. He uses Fortunato’s pride of being a connoisseur of wines, to lure him in for a rare type of the stuff. He also seems to realize Fortunato is full of pride, perhaps even arrogance, and uses this to his advantage by being self-deprecating and admitting Fortunato is superior on the subject of wines. This gives Fortunato a false sense of superiority. He continues to admit that he should have asked Fortunato first when buying the Amontillado, making Fortunato think he made a mistake, knowing that Fortunato will take any opportunity to gloat. He then leads Fortunato down into an isolated and enclosed space, where he can hardly escape. Montresor constantly refers to the fact that the nitre on the walls will make it hard for Fortunato to breathe, and Fortunato, thinking of this as a slight upon him, proudly rebuffs these queries on his health, and as he does not want to admit that Montresor is right about his self-perceived weakness, and so continually says he is in good health, and will be fine. Montresor proceeds to get Fortunato drunk, with the bottles of wine he has in his cellar, so drunk that he hardly notices the chains going around him, so distracted by the cask of what he thinks is Amontillado. Montresor then proceeds to wall Fortunato in, with Fortunato only becoming sober in the last moments of the process. All in all, Montresor manipulates him by using Fortunato’s trust in him against Fortunato, and proceeding to kill him.
6) I empathize with Fortunato, because he seems to be a quite happy guy, and is very trusting, the sort of person who most people choose to prey on.Many of the wrongs he has done Montresor were probably minor, and even so no one deserves to have one of the items they dream of possessing, or tasting used against them. He also dies a horrible death, something that no one wants to have happen to them, and is betrayed by the person he put his trust in. No one deserves to be taken advantage of, and that is exactly what happens to Fortunato, which is why I empathize with him.