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literary analysis from the cask of amontillado
literary analysis from the cask of amontillado
the cask of amontillado – edgar allen poe essay
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Revenge in Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado
In the story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, he writes about a man named Montressor who for some reason (one that we do not know) vows revenge on a well respected and even feared guy named Fortunato, to better understand the story though you will want to know about the author Edgar Allen Poe. Edgar Allen Poe has been a huge influence to many writers in short stories. Most of his tales deal with detective, and gothic horror tales, and in most of his tales readers live the story through first person narrator like in "The Cask of Amontillado" who tells the tale. The fact that Poe presents a first person narrator allows for the possibility that the information he provides is not reliable. From this we can conclude that the way Montresor sees things is not accurate reality. From this we can consider that Montresor is insane we better understand the nature of vengeful behavior. In this story from when Montressor vows revenge to when Fortunato is sealed up to his doom there is a lot that goes on such as certain foreshadows and ironies like when Montressor reveals that he is a freemason. I'm also going to support an analysis supporting the theme of the story on "revenge" and how it's demonstrated through out the story of "The Cask of Amontillado." By analyzing the rest of the story we'll come to understand that Montresor might really be insane.
Throughout the story Montresor portrays himself as a rational person. This is true throughout t...
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... to the catacombs. Thus, both the motto and the coat of arms imply that the entire Montresor family history is filled with acts of revenge. This is my analysis of "The Cask of Amontillado" supporting the theme revenge and how it goes along with the story.
By reading this story and examining it you can easily say that this is one of Poe's best works. Its just one of those perfect horror short stories that throws all these different clues and ironies at you that you really think throughout the whole story. The theme here is best described as revenge through certain ways in the tale like that of Montresors arms and motto.
In conclusion, Montresor is a very unique and demented character. This story strongly represents three characteristics that Montresor possesses. Montresor’s cleverness is the reason he can irony and detail to the situation. His determination is the driving force for all of his actions in the story. Finally, Montresor’s cruelty is what makes him a one-of-a-kind character with a unique course of action. All of these traits are what answer the question of who is
In the short story " Cask of Amontillado ", written by the famous poet, Edgar Allen Poe, the main character Montressor shows his deceptive side. Montressor wants to kill Fortunado as revenge for something Fortunado did in the past. So he unfolds a plan that he has set up to kill an enemy of his named Fortunado. One instance is when Montressor tempts Fortunado into the catacombs with a cask and wine called amontillado proving his skills in deceit. Montressor must have experience in tempting and deceiving people. He then plies Fortunado with good wine so that he will follow him and be swayed easier to go farther since he is not in the right mindand not recognize his deceit. Another time is when on Montressor asks Fortunado about his health when
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).
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.
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.
DiSanza begins with stating that the language and type of narration the story exudes is that of being drunk from the drinks that Fortunato is drinking, “His drunkenness is our drunkenness.” (195) DiSanza also says that as the audience, in our drunken state, we ignore details such as the motive and Poe’s purpose for telling the story. Some of the theories for motive in “The Cask of Amontillado” include James E. Rocks’ who opposes that Montresor regards Fortunato as both a political and a religious enemy and is therefore motivated by “a faithful Catholic’s hatred and fear of the brotherhood of freemasonry.” (Rocks, 1927). Another is that of Elena V. Barban, who believes that since there is no explanation for Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato, it concludes that Montresor is insane. DiSanza explains that if Montresor is insane, then he neither needs an audience or a motive. He also also compares this type of analysis to other Poe tales and their lack of
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor made up in his mind that he would carry out his act of revenge on Fortunato. Whatever offense Fortunato committed against Montresor drove him to the brink. The hatred inside was somewhat poetic. Montresor schemed to every detail how to carry out his revenge. The setting of the story is a dark, gloomy night at a celebration during carnival season. Montresor would be detailed in describing the monetary status of his enemy, his wardrobe or costume he wore to the celebration. He would set the mood as cheerful. Despite the ill feelings he has towards the now drunken Fortunato, Montresor pretends to care for his company to lure him towards his cunning plan. He strokes Fortunato’s ego and his love for wine to draw him towards the cellar. The dark, damp halls, the claustrophobia, and the human skeletons lying about the earth were all a foreshadowing of Motresor’s plan for the drunken Fortunato. It enhanced suspense to the story, building up to the climax which would be Fortunato entering into his grave. As they further enter the hal...
The Cask of Amontillado is centered entirely upon revenge and vengeance. This conflict between the narrator and Fortunato explores his past decision to kill a man based on perceived injustices. Poe uses this conflict to explore the difference between Fortunato and Montresor’s character flaws which led to the major conflict, while simultaneously studying how obsession can control the mind. By studying these downfalls , the story darkly shifts from the carnival celebration to death in the catacombs. The story descends to madness much like how the mind does when it deals with strong fixations.
In The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of revenge is established at the start of the story, when the narrator states that he suffered irreversible insult by his associate, Fortunato, thus he vowed to avenge this action. This is evident in the following statement in the opening paragraph of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 7). Therefore, it is apparent to the reader from the onset of the story that revenge is a major driving force for Montresor for him to dreadfully murder his acquaintance,...
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.
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
“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.
Because Montresor narrates the story in the first person, the reader is able to perceive his thoughts and understand his motivations and justifications for his ruthless murder in a manner which a third person point of view would not allow. Montresor’s personal narration of the events of the story does not justify his crime in the audience’s eyes, but it does offer a unique opportunity for the audience to view a murder from the perspective of a madman killer. It is Poe’s usage of this unique angle that causes the story to be so captivating and gruesomely fascinating. As the story opens, Montresor explains why it is necessary that he “not only punish but punish with impunity” to avenge for Fortunado’s insult to him. This justification for his crime is a piece of information that the audience is able to learn only because they are permitted inside the mind of the protagonist. In the final scene, when Montresor is carrying out his murder pl...
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
The main reasons for Montresor’s traits are his family arms and family motto. He mentions his family arms as, “[a] huge human foot d’or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (Poe). This quote, to me, means as, “[a] ...