Irony is an important part of any story. As Thomas Foster writes in “How to Read Literature” that “irony trumps everything.” Some authors employ the use of irony to develop theme, setting, tone, or add depth to their characters. One example of this is Edgar Allen Poe using irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” to develop several themes, tones, and possibly some character depth. READ POETRY 846-848
Edgar Allen Poe is adept in using irony to portray grim themes. Mortality is one of the more prominent themes in “The Cask of Amontillado”. Poe starts of the story with irony in regards to mortality in the form of Montresor and Fortunato being at a carnival, a place of celebration, happiness, light, and life. This is a major contrast to later on when Montresor brings Fortunato into his family caverns a place of mourning, sadness, darkness, and
Fortunato name might stand for a number of things. Fortunato 's name can be seen as irony, because he ends up being very unfortunate in the fact that he is fooled into following Montresor into the catacombs only to be shackled to a wall and left to die. Perhaps another meaning to Fortunato’s name is that Fortunato was rich or won things that Montresor did not. This could give Montresor the motive of jealousy instead of just purely betrayal. It is also quite possible that Fortunato could have amassed his wealth by cheating and betraying Montresor. Montresor’s name could be used in showing that he is a monster, and it could have been on no part of Fortunato besides misfortune that Montresor killed him. Montresor could have been insane and only imagined that Fortunato had mistreated him time and time again. This would be a possibility due to Montresor never stating exactly what Fortunato had done to desire his cruel punishement. It would also act as an explanation to why Fortunato would trust someone that Montresor had borne one thousand injuries
“The Cask of Amontillado” starts out with the narrator, later discovered to be Montresor, positioning himself as a victim of Fortunato. In the opening line, he states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (714). Instantaneously one feels sympathetic towards a person that has withstood a thousand inflictions. Montresor goes on to tell a parable of sorts about vengeance, and “when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (715) he has lost. In this instance Poe has set Montresor apart from being at the least an unsuspecting
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.
For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato and says, "Come, I said, with this decision, we will go back; your health is precious. Montresor does not want Fortunato to die from anything other than his own plan of slow death by asphyxiation. Symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado" This story by Poe has numerous examples of symbolism. For example, the manner in which Fortunato is dressed is ironic for a man with societal prominence. Fortunato is a man of stature who is “rich, respected, admired” (Baym).
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story of revenge on the outside, but when on the inside, it is something deeper. His stories are dark and sometimes, like in “The Cask of Amontillado,” deadly. Poe’s main focus in “The Cask of Amontillado” is revenge, but if examined more closely, the irony that is present foreshadows the end result for Fortunato. In “The Cask of Amontillado” the Montresor is planning to seek revenge on Fortunato for “the thousand injuries.” The revenge results in the live burial of Fortunato, the actual reasoning is left a mystery, but this story goes to prove that things that one does can always come back ...
Fake people are to be encountered with everywhere, especially in the days of middle school and in high school. Many adolescents have come across these people, and movies have even been made about these people. For example, the movie Mean Girls is made about a group of 4 girls who will act nice to people at their high school, then they will turn around and write mean things in their “Burn Book”, along with saying mean things behind their back. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates through indirect characterization that the narrator, Montresor, is fake towards his arch nemesis, Fortunato. In the short story, Fortunato eventually tricks Montresor and buries him alive. It begins with Montresor declaring revenge on Fortunato
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
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.
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 ...
Writers often use symbolism in the story to give a more vivid description rather than just saying, pictures are a perfect example. Symbolism is the art of using any object, place, name or anything that represents something rather
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.
Fortunato. The story begins with Montressor’s vow of revenge. This is proven in the first sentence when Montressor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” Montressor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato. Through the words, acts, and thoughts of Montressor, one is able to see him carry out his plan for revenge.
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
Poe’s use of name choice in the story is also ironic. The literary critic, Elena Baraban discusses the meaning behind both characters’ names in her article “The Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’" By Edgar Allan Poe. Fortunato’s name shares the root word with fortunate and is Italian for blessed. However, his extensive misfortune in the short story tells the readers this name choice is paradoxical. Montresor’s name however, translates to “my treasure”, which is a metaphor for his ancestry being his most treasured possession (Barbaran