A Critique on the Suspense in the Story of, The Cask of Amontillado

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Recommended: Importance of suspense

Suspense is one of the main reasons readers read. If there was nothing urging us to read on, then what would be the point? Something has to set off the sparks to keep us interested and hold our attention. It gets our hearts racing, putting us in wonder if we should stop reading, or continue to see the characters fate and what is in store for them. Suspense can be used in many different ways. It can be used in more of an intensity scene, or more of a calm eerie type. No matter which way it is used, readers always get the same reaction. Worry, wonder, and curiousness always gets to the best of us. In the text, The Cask of Amontillado, suspense is shown extremely well when Montresor is leading Fortunato deep into the underground, as Montrsor chains Fortunato up and begins to build the wall, and once the wall is completely built, it still leaves us in suspense.
To start, a very intense part in The Cask of Amontillado is when Montresor leads Fortunato deeper and deeper into the underground. We might ask ourselves, why would Fortunato follow him down there anyway? In the back of Fortunato’s mind, the best wine is kept below ground, so it almost makes sense to him. Yet, the readers see that something else might be going on. As they continue their journey, we recognize skulls and dead remains lying all around. Yet, it still does not affect Fortunato. We feel for him because as they go farther and farther, we are questioning what is actually going on, while Fortunato on the other hand has no clue and is completely oblivious to what he is getting himself into. In the Cask of Amontillado it reads, “I drink, to the buried that repose around us.” “And I to your long life.” The irony in those two lines that were shared was incredible. Montresor...

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... stories, but in everyday lives. This is also why readers might respond to suspense so well. Give anyone a murder crime scenario and human nature is they have to know exactly what happened. We keep urging for more, no matter what it may end up leading to. In the particular story of the Cask of Amontillado, the ending is almost so simple, that it makes it horrifying as we feel as though it actually could truly happen. All the suspense in the story, leading up to a man being buried behind a wall, alive, never to be found. Obviously in The Cask of Amontillado, suspense is shown extremely well when Montresor is leading Fortunato deep into the underground, as Montrsor chains Fortunato up and begins to build the wall, and once the wall is completely built, it still leaves us in suspense, as well as throughout the entire text.

Works Cited

The Cask of Amontillado

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