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Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe’s Selected Short Stories
Symbolism and edgar allan poe essay
Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe’s Selected Short Stories
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Humans have always struggled against confinement and toward freedom. However, they choose not to recognize that history has proved time and again that too much freedom incites anarchy and too much confinement invites tyranny. It’s the nature of all animals to desire freedom and resist confinement. Many times the animal struggles so blindly it does not recognize it is destroying itself or condemning itself to further confinement. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato and Montresor are symbols of how human nature manifests differently in different people in varying combinations of psychological and physical freedom and confinement. As the story begins, Fortunato believes he and Montresor are friends or at the very least friendly. However, Montresor is secretly plotting Fortunato’s murder. Montresor believes that Fortunato has given a “thousand injuries” and it is not until he “insults” Montresor that Montresor springs into action. Unfortunately, it is never explained if these injuries and insults really happened or if they are a delusion. Montresor makes an unreliable narrator and one gets the feeling he suffers from a psychological disorder, such as delusional paranoid personality disorder. This disorder causes the victim to become obsessed with a delusion “involving a phenomenon that the person’s culture could conceivably regard as plausible.” They often believe “they have been injured by friends or strangers, and they tend to see other persons as enemies.” Montresor gives the impression he and Fortunato have known each other for an extended amount of time. Montresor knows more about Fortunato than Fortunato knows about Montresor; possibly because Fortunato is constantly drunk. Montresor is cunning, sinister, and cautious... ... middle of paper ... ...m were less desperate in their search, the story would very likely have a completely different outcome. Montresor and Fortunato both thought they were finding their freedom but were actually running straight into true confinement. It was not until it was too late that either of them realized their mistake. They madly rushed into a dead end with no possible escape to freedom left. Works Cited Bayer, Linda. Personality Disorders. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000. Hess, Julie R. "Poe's Use of Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado"." Writing for the Arts and Humanities. December 2, 2005. http://www.webpages.shepherd.edu/jhess02/TheCaskofAmontilladobyPoe.htm (accessed January 30, 2014). Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Cask of Amontillado." In An Introduction to Literature, by Sylvan Barnet, William Burto and William E. Cain, 180-185. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006.
Montresor’s actions can then be explained due to Antisocial Personality Disorder. “A person who has this disorder overlooks the rights of others, is incapable of loyalty to others or to social values, is unable to experience guilt or to learn from past behaviors, is imperious to punishment, and tends to rationalize his or her behavior or to blame it on others" (MacKenzie). Antisocial personality disorder affects a person and their ability to function properly in society. Montresor had Antisocial Personality Disorder since he acted irrationally and blamed his action on Fortunato. Montresor kept justifying his actions and convincing himself he was doing what was right. By Montresor refuses to recognize his actions he further showed that he had Antisocial Personality Disorder. Montresor also was unable to ever feel remorse to Montresor and did not have any guilt. For these reasons presented, it can be justified that Montresor suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder. This diagnosis would help justify to the reader his strange behavior and his desire to seek revenge on Fortunato. By analyzing the characteristics of Antisocial Personality Disorder, it explains Montresor’s desire for revenge, manipulation and lack of empathy for
Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, is confessing to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thous...
Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his
563-7 Reynolds, David S. "Sources and Analogues of 'The Cask of Amontillado.' " From "Poe's Art of Transformation: 'The Cask of Amontillado' in Its Cultural Context. " New Essays on Poe's Major Tales. Ed.
As Montresor is the one that is not drunk, he acts more normally than Fortunato would and therefore shows more character traits. For example, Montresor shows smartness as he manages to get Fortunato into chains, he also shows manipulation as he manipulates Fortunato into thinking that they are friends as Montresor is drunk for the majority of the story making the reader unable to comprehend how he would like normally when the only part in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” that he is sober is when he has been chained up and about to be buried alive. During this part, the reader still can not understand Fortunato’s character traits as all he does is moan and trash like a normal person would do if they were to be in the same type of
Wood, Kerry.” Literary Analysis : Irony In ‘ The Cask Of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe.”Humanities 360. Helium, Inc., 9 Nov 2007. Web.17 Mar 2014.
In the story when Montresor tells Fortunato, ‘’Drink,’’ presenting him the wine, not as friendly but as him knowing that if he kept drinking that it would just lead to the demise of him. As Montresor knows that Fortunato cannot turn down a drink, he led him down to the cellar where all his prized wines are and made him a drink. This is a mental illness, because he is planning for his demise of Fortunato and to get back for revenge. This story had a lot of issues that were involved in the 1840’s, alcoholism was a big thing in society, at that point and drinking was better viewed in that era than today’s era.
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
Edgar Allen Poe uses irony and poetic justice all throughout “The Cask of the Amontillado”. The places where irony and poetic justice hold the most significance are the scenes where, Montresor speaks of the wronging done to him by Fortunato, where Montresor and fortunato speak of the coat of arms, and where at the very end when Montresor traps Fortunato in the catacombs and leaves him to die. These scenes clearly show the use of these two tools that Poe used to tell the story of Montresor and
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.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
Womack, Martha. “Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” The Poe Decoder. Christoffer Nilsson, 1997. n.pag. Web. 6 Nov. 2011 .
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Reading and Writing about Literature. Phillip Sipiora. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002. 240-244.
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