“The Cask of Amontillado”: Fortunato asked to be Buried alive “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allen Poe is nothing short of a brilliantly scary masterpiece. We are to believe that Montresor, who is a man of stature and significance, holds a deep dark secret. During a monologue in the story, Montresor tells the reader about his secret. Montresor, a flamboyant man befuddled by the sins of his past, uses cunning and disguise to convince Fortunato to finally ask to be entombed in the family vault. Montresor was insulted by Fortunato and takes his revenge. The author Edgar Allen Poe uses his main character Montresor to twist the fortune for Fortunato to ask to be buried alive by entangling him in a web of theme, allegory and allusion. …show more content…
Montresor states that he “must not only punish but punish with impunity” (par.1), which leads the reader to believe that he feels justified in taking the life of Fortunato. Poe describes the overall theme by giving us the impression that this is going to get ugly and quite possibly murderous. By the time we finally meet the transgressor in the middle of carnival time we know the gentleman’s fate, we are immediately clued into Montresor’s use of cunning and disguise. Being in the middle of carnival, people were in all sorts of costumes. Most of which did not allow each other to know exactly who is wearing what. Fortunato was dressed in “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (par. 4). After leading his prey into his house by using a symbol a pipe of Amontillado. We find that the house staff has left Montresor saying, “to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all” (par.24) we reflect to his cunning how he is telling us this story without a main reason for the …show more content…
BRUCE. "Poe's Amontillado, One More Time." American Notes & Queries, vol. 24, no. 9/10, May/Jun86, p. 144. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=43827580&site=ehost-live. Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable 12th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2017. Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Cask of Amontillado." 1846. The Norton Introduction to Literature, by Kelly J. Mays, Portable 12th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp. 115-21. Stepp, Walter. "The Ironic Double in Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado.'" Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 13, no. 4, Fall76, p. 447. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7133381&site=ehost-live. White, Patrick. "The Cask of Amontillado": A Case for the Defense." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 26, no. 4, Fall89, p. 550. EBSCOhost,
Poe, Edgar A. & Co. "Short Stories: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe."
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a short psychological thriller. The murder of Fortunato haunts Montresor so greatly that he feels the compulsion to tell the story some fifty years after the fact. He appears to be in the late stages of life desperately attempting to remove the stain of murder from his mind. That it is still so fresh and rich in specifics is proof that it has plagued him, “Perhaps the most chilling aspect of reading Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ for the first time is not the gruesome tale that Montresor relates, but the sudden, unpredictable, understated revelation that the murder, recounted in its every lurid detail, occurred not yesterday or last week, but a full fifty years prior to the telling” (DiSanza).
Valiunas, Algis. "No to Poe." Commentary 127.1 (2009): 42+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 7 Dec. 2010.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
“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.
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.
A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
The Case of Amontallido In a psychological perspective, the author’s life is linked with the behavior and motivations of characters in the story. The author’s name is Edgar Allan’s Poe who portrayed his self in his writing. The miserable life of Poe can be measured through “The Cask of Amontillado” in which character named “Montressor” showed indifferent feeling towards his victim. After burying Fortunado alive, Montressor felt bad after burying his victim alive but then he attributes the feeling of guilt to the damp catacombs.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Admontillado.” The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Hervey Allen. New York: Parkway Printing Company, 1938. 274-79.
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.
Poe, E. A. “The Raven.” Bedford introduction to literature: Reading, thinking, writing. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’s. 2013. 789-791. Print.
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.
Womack, Martha. “Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” The Poe Decoder. Christoffer Nilsson, 1997. n.pag. Web. 6 Nov. 2011 .
Poe, Edgar Allan. “That Cask of Amontillado.” Ibiblio. U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.d.