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The first-person narration style of "the cask of amontillado" is essential in creating the original quality of the story
Symbolism cask of amontillado
The first-person narration style of "the cask of amontillado" is essential in creating the original quality of the story
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"The Cask of Amontillado" Grimes ii Outline Thesis: The descriptive details in "The Cask of Amontillado" not only appeal to the senses of the audience, but also show that the narrator has a memory that has been haunted with details that he can recall fifty years later. I. Introduction II. Auditory Appeal III. Humor Appeal IV. Visual Appeal V. Conclusion Grimes 1 "The vividness with which [Poe] transcribes his sensory experiences contributes powerfully to the response his stories invoke" (Fagin 202). In "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe uses captivating images to descriptively tell a tail of revenge, while appealing to the senses of the audience. In "The Cask of Amontillado," Montressor seeks to have revenge on Fortunato for an unknown insult. Montressor confesses at the beginning of the story, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (Lowell 214). Montresor wants to "not only punish, but punish with impunity"(214). The nature of this insult is not made clear; however, the reader is led to believe that the insult changed Montresor’s social status. Montresor says to Fortunato "You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was." This leads the reader to believe that Montresor once had high social status, but that status has changed due to the insult by Fortunato. Fortunato, entering the scene wearing a jesters costume, is unaware of Montesors’ evil intentions of murder. Montresor persuades Fortunato, who prides "himself on his connoisseurship in wine," to go into the family vaults so he can taste and identify some "Amontillado" (Lowell 215). Along the way Fortunato becomes extremely drunk and unaware of Montresor’s evil plot of murder. Montresor then proceeds to lead him through the catacombs and finally buries him alive behind a wall. Montresor calls to Fortunato, but the only reply that he receives comes in the "jingling of the bells" from Fortunato’s cap (222). Grimes 2 II. Auditory Appeal The fact that the narrator mentions the "jingling of the bells" several times after fifty years indicates that he is haunted with a memory of their sound. Poe knew that the audience would relate the terrifying sound of the bells to premature burial. Premature burial is a concern during the 19th century when Poe writes this short story (Platizky 1). Live burial is practiced during this time as a form of capital punishment in Europe (1).
The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are two stories written by Edgar Allen Poe in the 18th century. Both of these stories are primarily focused on the mysterious and dark ways of the narrator. Since these stories were written by the same author, they tend to have several similarities such as the mood and narrative, but they also have a few differences. For instance, the characteristics of both narrators are different, but both stories portray the same idea of the narrator being obsessive over a certain thing.
A man clever and ruthless, but when one gets to know him one will realize he is a conceited murderer. The man that fits the description is Montresor, a fictional character created by Edgar Allan Poe. He is of noble venetian descent but other than that not much else is known about him. He is the villainous antagonist who illustrates the theme of a perfect revenge. In the story The Cask of Amontillado he exacts his perfect revenge without impunity upon his victim, Fortunato.
Is there really a perfect crime? This is the main point in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” The story is a dark tale of a presumably insane man who suffers from, according to him, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (Poe 75). One of the major factors in telling this story is the setting. The story is set primarily in the Montresor family catacombs, which provides the dark setting, filled with human remains, and this reflects where Montresor commits his crime, where no one will expect. Furthermore, the narration also helps in telling the story. It is first person point of view, so the story is heard entirely from him. Readers will go into Montresor’s thoughts and be curious about why he wants to kill Fortunato so badly. Furthermore, the symbolism of the story is very important and many symbols in symbolizing Montresor killing Fortunato. Finally, the insane Montresor tried to pull the perfect crime but fails; he does not pull the perfect crime, he fails his goal when he realizes he is doing a bad thing.
The setting of a story lays the foundation for how a story is constructed. It gives a sense of direction to where the climax is headed. The setting also gives the visual feedback that the readers need to picture themselves into the story and comprehend it better. Determining the setting can be a major element towards drawing in the reader and how they relate to a story. A minor change in the plot can drastically alter to perception, interpretation, and direction of the message that is delivered. These descriptive elements can be found within these short stories: “the Cask of Amontillado”, “The Storm”, “The Things They Carried”, “Everyday Use”, and “The Story of an Hour”.
The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is a chilling story about two men named Fortunato and Montresor. The story begins with a narrator voicing his anger and resentment towards a man named Fortunato for “a thousand injuries” and insults. Our narrator sees Fortunato and lures him down into his vaults, or “catacombs,” on the premise of verifying that some wine is a certain type. Fortunato was already drunk, and had a cold. Eventually, the men reach a crypt, and the narrator chains Fortunato to the wall. Not stopping there, the narrator begins to trap him in the hole by filling it with bricks. Fortunato is quiet, until the hole is nearly filled, when he screams and then tells the narrator that it was a good joke. The narrator’s name is revealed to be Montresor. Montresor calmly takes the last brick and prepares to slide it into place, but stops and listens. All he hears are the jingling of bells. Then Montresor puts in the last brick, hence sealing Fotunato’s fate. There is chilling irony woven all throughout The Cask of Amontillado. It isn’t until the end of the story that we discover the tale took place fifty years before. Montresor’s vile deed’s motivation can be largely attributed to social class, fulfilling what he considered to be “just retribution” for the unnamed insult that was given him by Fortunato.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
To some of the most fanatic and most creative Poe fans the question may arise: could I reproduce the great Edgar’s works? And if the answer is yes, then how? We might assume that Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognizable authors and poets not only of his age but of the whole modern literature, but still we would face numerous difficulties in trying to imitate his writing. Also, placing him into a certain style or literary movement would give us some really tough hours. Poe can be considered either a Romantic or Gothic writer but we could find a number of arguments and counterarguments for this matter. Poe, in fact, reinterpreted the whole Gothic horror style and created a unique, distinct brew of Gothic fiction, Romanticism and his own gloomy mind. On the basis of A Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, we can deduct that despite the uniqueness of Poe’s works there are some recurring elements in Poe’s short-stories. Generally, if anyone wanted to write a Poesque short story, here are the ingredients: a fine case of murder, a big spoonful of madness and a pinch of revenge.
Treachery and revenge are the most horrific ways to express the anger toward friends, but what happens when they lead to a painful death? “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (5). This is how Montresor, the main character in Edgar Allane Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado, described his desire to kill his friend Fortunato, the second character. Montresor was seeking for vengeance of his friend Fortunato, because the latter had insulted him. The narrator during his telling the story did not refer to the reason that motivated him to kill his friend or even not mention to the readers what kind of insult he received form Fortunato. During the carnival festival, Fortunato is mesmerized by Montresor through reverse psychology.
In "The Cask of Amontillado," Edgar Allan Poe uses several different artistic choices in the construction of the story. He manipulates the story to be the way he wants it to be by using the point of view of the narrator, the setting, and a common monotonous sentiment throughout. Poe is successful in maintaining a "spirit of perverseness" that is prevalent in most of his works.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
The setting of a story sets the tone for the entire piece. Without the appropriate setting, what the author is trying to express is lost. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe uses the setting as a way to set the stage for the events that will come. Poe’s settings make his stories interesting, as well as easy to understand because of his descriptiveness and writing techniques. His use of vivid details and symbols in his settings intrigue the readers and set a particular tone. Each and every setting has a direct meaning and reason attached to that of the story and time.