Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado

Horror themed stories frighten, scare, or startle the reader by inducing feelings of terror and dread. In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe tells the tale of Montresor, a disgruntled noble man who plots revenge on his adversary. Montresor declares that another noble man named Fortunato that has constantly battered him and insulted him. Montresor has plotted his revenge over time and has carefully constructed a plan to blatantly and consciously destroy Fortunato right before his very eyes. The most terrifying aspect of Montresor’s plan is the methodical nature in which he leads Fortunato to his doom. Poe continually builds terror in The Cask of Amontillado, masterfully utilizing plot, setting and symbolism to develop horror in his classic

The horror that presents itself in “The Cask of Amontillado,” like in many of Poe’s short stories, resides in the small amounts of proof that lies in Montresor’s alleged “insult” and “thousand injuries” from Fortunato.(insert citation here) Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado” features vengeance through a secret murder as a method of avoiding the use of the legal system for doing him justice. Law has no place in Montresor’s life, and the enduring terror of the short story is the epitome of execution without evidence. (insert citation here) Montresor subjects himself to re-experience Fortunato’s unintentional offense over and over making Montresor build in anger. In Montresor’s mind then appoints him to judge Fortunato’s fate in this story, which is Fortunato's enviable demise. It is because of this that Montresor becomes an unpredictable narrator.(insert citation here) Montresor admits to what he has done in his story approximately fifty years after its release. (insert citation here) Such a huge amount of time in between the actual events and the narration of the story makes the narration of the events less reliable and seem more fiction. The story “The Cask of Amontillado” has a skewed interpretation, it can be interpreted many ways. The fact that many different people find meaning of the story differently it all comes down to the stories horrific destination.

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.

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

"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).

German poet Friedrich Schiller once said “Revenge is barren of itself: it is the dreadful food it feeds on; its delight is murder, and its end is despair.” The burning sensation you feel inside when imagining how to get back at someone who has wronged you has tremendous power, and more often than not it leads to hurting yourself more than what was done in the first place. In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe the protagonist Montresor gets revenge on his dear old friend Fortunato without causing any more pain to himself. The setting of this story is limited to two different places. While they contrast each other in certain aspects the carnival and Montresor family catacombs go hand in hand to portray the implicit meaning of the feud

The name of the character, Fortunato holds dramatic irony within itself. The name Fortunato resembles the word fortunate. In this story, the character Fortunato is anything but fortunate. At the beginning, Fortunato believes that he is fortunate to have a friend, Montresor, who believes to have found a pipe of Amontillado. However, in the end Fortunato learns that he has been tricked and is buried alive. Another ironic feature about the character Fortunato, is the way he is described to be dressed, like a court jester. The time period in which The Cask of Amontillado takes place, court jesters are considered fools. Throughout the story, Fortunato is fooled to believe Montesor’s claim of the Amontillado. When Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall the statement that he says, makes Fortunato look like a fool. “’ Pass your hand over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is VERY damp. Once more, let me IMPLORE you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you. But ...

To begin with, Montresor does not get back at Fortunato immediately but he waits for the opportunity to get his revenge. Montresor is really calm, and he keeps his friendship with Fortunato. Also, he smiles at him, hiding his anger inside. Montresor has his plan already to kill Fortunato but he does not find an opportunity. Finally Montresor finds this opportunity in a carnival where everybody in the city is partying and Fortunato sways while he is drunk. Montresor uses a really smart way to lure Fortunato to come with him to his house underground store which is like catacombs where he keeps his wine and where...

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.

Clearly, Fortunato is intoxicated because he is having a merry time at the carnival. Upon meeting, Montressor takes advantage of Fortunato’s excessive drinking in that he will be taking revenge on Fortunato on that night. Therefore, the carnival setting emphasizes on the theme of revenge. Montressor takes benefit from the catacombs setting, where he uses deception against Fortunato:

In "Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. "The thousand of injuries of Fortunato he has borne as he best could; but when he ventures upon insult, Montresor vows revenge" (Poe 528). As the story unfolds, "Montresor's idea of perfect revenge" is "characteristically precise and logical in detail" as to how he commits his crime (Delaney 1).

Fortunato’s obsession with wine leads to ignorance in, “Cask of Amontillado”. In the beginning of the story, Montresor and Fortunato discuss their wine connoisseurship when Montresor reveals that he had received Amontillado, making Fortunato jealous. This leads to Fortunato practically begging Montresor to let him join in the trip to his wine vaults. However, what Fortunato does not know is that Montresor is tricking him into going so that he can get revenge. When in the catacombs, Montresor urges Fortunato to leave because of the conditions and says, “We will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as

In the commencement of the story, Montresor speaks of Fortunato’s mastery judgment of wines. Although this skill was desired at the time, Fortunato was conceited about the ability he was blessed with.

Fortunato is revealed to be an extremely arrogant man. Not only is Fortunato richer than Montresor, with a more prosperous lineage, Fortunato believes that he is more sophisticated than most. Fortunato insists on going into the tomb, despite Montresor’s half-hearted protests. When Montresor mentions that he could ask someone else to ensure that the wine is indeed the rare Amontillado, Fortunato arrogance shines through. He says, “As for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” (Poe, 109). Fortunato thinks of himself as better than others in tasting differences in wine. Fortunato is tricked into walking to his death by Montresor’s claim that he bought a cask of a rare wine. Once the pair reaches the tomb where the wine is supposed to be, Montresor chains Fortunato up and begins to build up a wall. Fortunato reacts with thinly veiled panic and attempts to talk out of the situation: “Ha! ha! ha!- he! he! he!- a very good joke, indeed - an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo- he! he! he!- over our wine- he! he! He!” (Poe, 113). However, despite Fortunato’s pleads, Montresor throws his dying torch into the now closed off alcove, sets the last brick in the newly built wall, and leaves his friend to