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Revenge in literature throughout time
Revenge literature
Edgar Allan Poe works related to his life
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Your best friend insulted you. Do you seek revenge or let it go? Many of us would think no more of it and go on with life, yet Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a gloomy short story where one character takes the common saying “taste of your own medicine” quite seriously and declares revenge. Set in the damp, dirty catacombs of Italy during the carnival season, the tale revolves around two characters, Montresor, a psychopath who “vowed revenge” against his ‘friend,’ Fortunato, a gullible and prideful man addicted to wine, after withstanding the thousands of injuries Fortunato has caused him. On the other hand, “The Cask of Amontillado” has numerous amounts of foreshadowing and irony throughout, that discreetly helps develop and move the story’s theme of revenge along: showing Montresor’s dark, yet humorous personality and Fortunato’s tragic, inhumane, and ironic end.
Foreshadowing is a key component pronounced heavily throughout the tale that gives the audience clues of the character’s
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Lastly, once Fortunato and Montresor are exceedingly lured deep inside the filthy catacombs, Fortunato initiates to brag of his Mason status and how Montresor is discernably not part of the clan. Whereas Montresor argues otherwise and produces “from beneath the folds of [his] roquelaire a trowel” a sign signifying that he is not at all a Mason but nevertheless, in fact, a mason, a builder in stone. Montresor dark humor in playing with Fortunato shows the exact way, Fortunato will shortly decease, by being bricked alive. To conclude, foreshadowing is another important
Foreshadowing appears multiple times in The Veldt with two prime examples leading the way. The first case of foreshadowing comes in the form of screams emanating from the nursery. Lydia Hadley, George´s wife, says that the screams seem awfully familiar. Although they don't realize it then, those screams are actually the screams of a dying George and Lydia Hadley. These shrieks are played over and over again in the nursery
Though Fortunato is an intelligent wine expert, his expertise leads him to his death. In Italian the word Fortunato means fortunate, something that he is not by the end of the story. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe uses foreshadowing and dramatic irony and verbal irony to show Fortunato’s misfortunes which eventually lead to his death.
In Edgar Allen Poe’s tale, the setting of Montresor’s catacombs provides Montresor with a place where he can kill Fortunato with almost no evidence on who killed him, helping his attempt at making the perfect crime. The catacombs in “The Cask of Amontillado” are old with spider webs as well as “long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost rec...
In Edgar Allen Poe’s story The Cask of Amontillado the main character Montresor tricks his friend Fortunato into his catacombs and buries him alive. Edgar Allen Poe’s character commits this deed out of a need for revenge because of some hurt that was committed against him. Poe conveys this need for revenge through his attention to the small details within his story.
First, the journey that Fortunato and Montresor take is from the light and joy of a carnival through an underground tunnel that becomes darker, colder and more poisonous as they continue walking. Poe describes their descent into a "deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame," and talks about the nitre in the air around them as they go deeper underground and Fortunato comes closer to death. This slow, dangerous descent helps build suspense as the reader becomes increasingly aware of Fortunato's murderous plan.
...ows the reader to interpret the end of the story by himself, which brings imagination into the picture. Why does Montresor hesitate in putting up the last stone? This makes the reader wonder if Montresor was beginning to feel guilty. At the end of the story Montresor and Fortunato talk a little. Montresor called aloud, "Fortunato!" No answer came so Montresor states, "I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so"(153). This statement leads the reader to believe that Montresor may have had a moment when his conscience begins to creep up on him. He quickly states that it is the dampness of the catacombs that makes his heart sick.
Montresor is planning on seeking revenge on a man who wronged him named Fortunato; however, in order to carry out his plans he “gives explicit orders [to his attendants] not to stir from the house” (118). Through telling his attendants not to leave the home he knew with certainty they would vacate in the blink of an eye. With the usage of irony in his story, Poe displays Montresor’s mastery of manipulating his attendants showing to the reader the more atrocious side of the human mind. Carrying on with the “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor’s manipulative and wicked characteristics come to full front when Fortunato ironically comments about the stupidity of his rival. As they are walking about the catacombs, Montresor comments,“herein is the Amontillado.
Revealed from the murderous view of Montresor, Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” tells a story of thoroughly operated revenge against his friendly rival Fortunato fulfilled by manipulation, and verbal irony throughout the story.
The author establishes a mood of bitterness, agitation, and anger, but it leads to quietness and mystery. For instance, this can be said true when Montresor informs Fortunato of the pipe he purchased. Fortunato then insults Montresor when he tells him that the pipe was bought from the carnival. As a result, Montresor plans to take revenge, a thousand injuries of Fortunato “I had borne as I best could when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” Montresor had been upset by the insult, he did not reveal it to Fortunato and pretended to remain friends. On numerous occasions, Montresor referred to Fortunato as his friend. Montresor also alludes to the fact that Fortunato health is a concern and tries to stop Fortunato from going to the vaults, knowing that Fortunato would still go regardless of his health. About his horrific cough, Fortunato even replies, it is nothing. This proves that Fortunato would sacrifice his health for Montresor thinking there was a
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go to great lengths to fanatically defend their honor.
Through the acts, thoughts, and words of the protagonists Montresor, the reader is able to feel the psychological torment that Fortunato is about to endure. The first line in the story Montresor said “The thousand of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (553). Revenge remains a constant theme through the entire story. Montresor went to great lengths planning the revenge and murder of Fortunato. He knows that during the carnival everyone will be dressed in costume, mask, and drinking. No-one will be able to recognize them. Montresor himself put on a “mask of black silk” (554) and a “roquelaire” (554). He has also made certain that his attendants’ would not be at home, to be sure that there are no witnesses to his horrendous act.
For instance, Montresor’s family crest is a serpent biting into an ankle treading upon it. The emblem is symbolic of Montresor’s response to being bitten by Fortunato’s foolish pride. The snake on the crest and the family’s motto, “No one wounds me with immunity,” both address Montresor’s seemingly inherited nature to retaliate. Another instance of symbolism in the story, is the reference to the secret society, the Freemasons. As a sign to prove his fellowship, Montresor pulls out a trowel to show his brotherhood. Ironically, this is the same trowel that will seal Fortunato’s tomb. The final major symbol in “The Cask of Amontillado,” is the Amontillado wine. The way the wine is created is through the deprivation of oxygen, the same way Fortunato is killed. The thought put into the murder portrays Montresor as a genius, but also shows the regard he has for his victim. Montresor sees his victim like a cheap bottle of sherry instead of the fine Amontillado that is revered and mature. Taking it upon himself, Montresor decides to mature Fortunato and views it as a masterpiece. The death of Fortunato is Montresor’s art (Lewis
Montresor lives up to his stated motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit.” He is one that seeks revenge and carries out his plans. Fortunato would not have been left to die in an isolated area, sealed away by a stone and mortar if Montresor had not planned for this death. The tools were placed at the crime scene in preparation for the crime. The victim was lured to the vaults by taking advantage of his interest in good wine and his pride. And finally, Fortunato was lulled into complacency by over-indulgence in wine. This was a well-planned, well-executed homicide.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are