Deception In The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe

700 Words2 Pages

The Price of a Vice The themes of revenge and deception appear throughout literature. In the short story “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the themes of revenge and deception are present. Montressor plans to murder Fortunato by gaining his trust, leading him with his vice, and then burying him alive. Poe uses many literary devices to make the reader question whether Montressor is being truthful while he is telling the story. Poe uses foreshadowing, verbal irony, and situational irony in the “Cask of Amontillado” to illustrate the themes of deception and revenge. To begin, foreshadowing appears in the story to let the audience know that Montressor is able to deceive Fortunato and that he succeeds in his revenge. In the beginning of the story, Montressor talks about how Fortunato wronged him. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I [have] borne as I best could, but when he [ventures] upon insult I [vow] revenge” (183). Montressor tells the audience that he could not stand the insult anymore and he plans to get his revenge. This foreshadows Fortunato’s death because Montressor feels that the only way to exact his revenge is to kill Fortunato. Another example of foreshadowing is when Fortunato asks if Montressor is really a member in the Masonic Order. Montressor replies that he …show more content…

For example, Montressor asks if Fortunato is okay when he has a coughing fit. It is ironic because he is planning to murder him in a short time. Fortunato says, “the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough” (185). “True-true” (185) says Montressor. He really does not care about his well-being, however, Montressor wants Fortunato to trust him enough to follow him down the catacomb. Poe also uses situational irony when he named Fortunato. Fortunato in Italian means “fortunate”, however, the audience knows that he is very

Show More
Related

  • The Revenge of the Montresor in The Cask of Amontialldo by Edgar Allan Poe

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...

    Read More

  • How Does Poe Use Dramatic Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dramatic Irony is when an author allows the reader to know more than his/her characters in the story. This technique is used by the authors to add suspense to their literature. Edgar Allen Poe created many suspenseful stories using dramatic irony for the purpose of creating themes about human nature. In the short story “The Cask Of Amontillado,” Edgar Allen Poe uses dramatic irony to develop the theme that one should be careful about insulting another because he/she will seek revenge.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Cask Of Amontillado'

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato

    Read More

  • Examples Of Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this short story, examples of irony and foreshadowing are presented very often in between lines. One of the very first things that I find as the biggest irony in this short story fiction is the victim’s name “Fortunato”. As I looked up the definition of the name, Fortunato means fortunate which is very ironic due to the fact that he is going to die, and be walled up in the catacombs. Aside from that, I also found a verbal irony at the very beginning of the story when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met,” (Poe) .I found this to be very much ironic because, Fortunato is not actually lucky to have met Montresor who is actually going to murder him.

    Read More

  • Fortunato Misfortunes In The Cask Of Amontillado Analysis

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “A Cask of Amontillado” the diabolical narrator, Montresor, has only one goal in mind. He seeks to get revenge on his “friend” Fortunato. Montresor composes a plan use Fortunato’s ego to ironically lead him to his death. Fortunato is supposedly a wine expert; however, this expertise will ultimately equip Montresor in his plan to kill him. Poe’s dark short story is filled with irony. “A Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe has irony in almost every line of the story and shows that Fortunato’s misfortunes ultimately lead him to his death.

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    The second type of irony used in this short story is dramatic irony which irony is when the characters do not know and the people reading the story or watching the play does know. Fortunato appears with an ill-looking “He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted but the conical cap and bells.”(1200) He dresses like a jester, and there are a big joke on him soon.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of The Cask Of Amontillado

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    For instance, the name of the wine connoisseur, Fortunato means fortunate in Italian, thus ironic because Fortunato is the opposite of fortunate. Secondly, the title of the short story contains the word cask, “[which means] wine barrel is derived from the same root word used to form casket, meaning coffin” (Cummings). Thus, the cask represents Fortunato’s own casket. Furthermore, Montresor’s use of the word friend. It is ironic that Fortunato is called friend because Montresor is filled with so much rage that he kills Fortunato. Another example of irony is Fortunato’s outfit. Montresor describes Fortunato’s by stating, “He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). Simply, this means that Fortunato is a foolish man, which is ironic because he is dressed as a fool. Next, the beginning setting of the story is ironic in that it is a carnival. However instead of a joyful place, there is no joy because of deception and murder. In addition, the moto on the Montresor 's coat of arms, “Nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe) which is Italian for nobody harms me without punishment. Fortunato has offended Montresor, thus Montresor punishes Fortunato by killing him. Furthermore, another example of Montresor’s intructions that he gave to his servants. This demonstrates that he has knowledge of human psychology. It is ironic that Montresor knew that as soon as he told his

    Read More

  • Essay On The Cask Of Amontillado

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe’s revenge driven short story “The Cask of Amontillado” is a tale in which an anti-hero narrates his account of how he carried out a plot to exact his vengeance against his nemesis “Fortunato”. Poe engages the reader with the use of first-person point of view, as the speaker gives an insidious play by play of his deeds to set the tone. Not as quite apparent as this plot for revenge, are the subtle usage of foreshadowing, and symbolism, helped along by the setting used by Poe, to set up the climax. The speaker’s tone and word choice hint to the reader, that something a bit more nefarious is just around the corner. The speaker lures his prey through devious action, to venture into the catacombs “in pursuit of a pipe Amontillado” (536). Unfortunately, all that awaited Fortunato was his undoing. Using these elements Poe eloquently constructs a tale of revenge that builds suspense before a satisfying surprising conclusion.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado is a story about fear and revenge. The story begins with Montressor's vow of revenge, foreshadowing future actions. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult vowed revenge..." Montressor had to be sure not to raise suspicion of what he was going to do Fortunato. Montressor knew that Fortunato had a weakness that he could use towards his advantage.

    Read More

  • The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her article, Renee utters that when the thought of vengeance build up in an individual’s brain, it coerces him insane and does not tolerate him to present it a second thought. The first sentence of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge,” clearly describes the whole theme of the story as a deeply enrooted revenge in Montresor’s mind” which is an absolute portrayal of retribution that occurs due to arrogance and jealousy. Author sees himself as a superior individual and was victimized by a superiority complex which is quite visible through the phrases which he wrote in the story that Montressor expresses superiority as showed his victim as a foolish person by attributing weird physical appearance and dress appearance in which he described his dress code of “tight fitting parti striped dress and head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.”

    Read More

  • Comparing the Narration of The Cask of Amontillado and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Use of First Person Narration in The Cask of Amontillado

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Literary Devices In The Cask Of Amontillado

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado”

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Deeper Insight of “The Cask of Amontillado”

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Cask of Amontillado” should be regarded as a slice of a horror story, which revolves around the theme of revenge and pride” (Levine 90). “Poe’s story is a case of premeditated murder. The reader becomes quickly aware of the fact that Montressor is not a reliable narrator, and that he has a tendency to hold grudges and exaggerate terribly, as he refers to the thousand of injuries that he has suffered at the hands of Fortunato” (Womack NP). The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. Montressor is “one who will stop at nothing to get the revenge that he deems himself and his family worthy of, and another who's pride will ultimately be the catalyst for his death” (Benton 215).

    Read More

More about Deception In The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe

Open Document