Gothic Era writing often include ideas about mystery, death, and the supernatural. Edgar Allan Poe, famous for his many short stories and poems throughout the era, manages to include these aspects in most of his writings. “Annabel Lee,” “The Purloined Letter,” and “The Cask of Amontillado” all include aspects of gothic writing. “The Cask of Amontillado,” immediately demonstrates gothic ideas through the narrator’s revenge against Fortunato for insulting him. Afterward, the narrator invites Fortunato into his catacomb to show him a rare brandy called Amontillado. Their venture into the dark and mysterious tomb exemplifies a prime example of gothic writing through the eerie setting. Along the way, skeletons of the narrator’s dead family are seen. …show more content…
Upon entering the tomb, the area is described as dark and damp. Throughout their quest, the remnants of the narrator’s ancestors are seen, creating an uneasy, ominous feeling. This setting conforms to many of the gothic writings of the time. Not only does the setting of the vault create a suspicious feeling but also Fortunato’s health begins to decline throughout their venture. The confined area filled with skeletons further demonstrates gothic writings by trapping Fortunato inside. Ultimately, the ominous setting of “The Cask of Amontillado” is typical of most other gothic …show more content…
After leading Fortunato throughout the tomb with promises of the rare brandy, Amontillado, the narrator traps Fortunato inside a room, leaving him to die. Not only does Poe include the idea of murder in his story but many other gothic writers also introduce this thought in their works. The fascination with death is notorious throughout most gothic literature. Ultimately, Montresor’s fascination with killing Fortunato in “The Cask of Amontillado” is a common trend of other characters in gothic
However, the struggle goes deeper once one has read the entire story. With great detail, Montresor is telling this tale fifty years after the fact. Why take the nearly last piece of evidence Poe has left, “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed [Fortunato’s bones]” as the key source of information to shine the light upon? (Poe) This quote is the link to the growing suspicion that this murder is not so perfect.
...or mocks him harshly about leaving him there and waits around the newly built tomb to be witness to his victim's dying words. Afterword he recants this entire story in narration on his death bed while mentioning that the wall he has entombed Fotunado isn't been bothered in 50 years. “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge...For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.”(Poe)
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
...ows the reader to interpret the end of the story by himself, which brings imagination into the picture. Why does Montresor hesitate in putting up the last stone? This makes the reader wonder if Montresor was beginning to feel guilty. At the end of the story Montresor and Fortunato talk a little. Montresor called aloud, "Fortunato!" No answer came so Montresor states, "I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so"(153). This statement leads the reader to believe that Montresor may have had a moment when his conscience begins to creep up on him. He quickly states that it is the dampness of the catacombs that makes his heart sick.
... in which the foul air made our torches glow, rather than burn brightly”, foreshadow Fortunato’s outcome in his search for the Amontillado. The sense of foreboding the reader feels adds to the suspense of the story. By using specific figurative language, he is able to arouse emotions in the reader that set the tone.
Edgar Allan Poe has a unique writing style that uses several different elements of literary structure. He uses intrigue vocabulary, repetition, and imagery to better capture the reader’s attention and place them in the story. Edgar Allan Poe’s style is dark, and his is mysterious style of writing appeals to emotion and drama. What might be Poe’s greatest fictitious stories are gothic tend to have the same recurring theme of either death, lost love, or both. His choice of word draws the reader in to engage them to understand the author’s message more clearly. Authors who have a vague short lexicon tend to not engage the reader as much.
Gothic literature is known for captivating readers by bringing to light the dark side of humanity. The Gothic possesses many key elements such as paranoia, anxiety, death, etc. It strikes fear and suspense in the reader not by creating fictional monsters, but showing the reader the types of monsters that lurk within human beings. In “the Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, various themes of the Gothic are present throughout the short story such as gloom and doom, darkness, and madness. These elements are used to enhance the central theme of the piece: revenge. I will argue that Poe uses a number of the Gothic elements to craft an intense dark tale of revenge: an unreliable narrator, madness, darkness, a haunted setting, and evil/devil
Reading Edgar Allen Poe’s works such as “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart” are both written around 1840’s and written in the gothic style. Poe displays his horror short stories, in which the reader can differentiate his signature style. Although many of Poe’s significant works may have a similar theme, the reader can distinguish the themes through the characters in “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart.”
In the "Cask Of Amontillado" there are three main symbols that are crucial to the storyline. There are the Catacombs which while obviously representing death as it is a eerie place that is full of dead bodies, it also shows the isolation of Fortunato to the outside world; While also foreshadowing his impending fate.
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.
...rfeited” (33). Montresor has inquired about Fortunato’s health throughout their walk to the catacombs. It is too late for him to change his mind so all that is left to do is seal him in.
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.
Poe begins setting the tone of the story by describing the gloomy and threatening vaults beneath Montressor’s home. The first description of the Montressor home, as well as the reader’s first hint that something is amiss, is the description of the time off Montressor had required his employees to take. This alone lets us know that some of his intentions are less than virtuous. He describes the vaults as extensive, having many rooms, and being insufferably damp. This description of Montressor’s vaults strikes a feeling of uneasiness and fear in the reader, as well as a fear of malevolent things to come. References to the bodies laid to rest in the ca...
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
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.