In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe displays the theme of revenge. In the story, Montressor narrates the story and feels he has been wronged by Fortunado and vows for vengeance against him. Montressor attempts to justify his future crime to the reader. “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.” (Poe 101) Fortunado is unaware of the wrong he caused Montressor by insulting him. Montressor feels that this is reason enough for his retribution. “The thousand injuries of Fortunado I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed for revenge.” (Poe 101) The thought of revenge is …show more content…
It’s merely a costume that he chooses to wear during “the supreme madness of the carnival season.” (Poe 101) The costume shows that the joke was essentially played on Fortunado in exacting Montressor’s revenge. “Amontillado! You have been imposed upon.” (Poe 102) The Amontillado or the wine mentioned in the title and throughout the story is a symbol for Fortunado’s death. “The Amontillado!” (Poe 104) The Amontillado never existed and was the means by which Montressor lured Fortunado to his less fortunate demise. The “Cask” mentioned in the title is a euphemism for the final resting place or coffin for Fortunado. Montressor even jokes with Fortunado about being a member of the freemasons by “producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel.” (Poe 103) Montressor is using the word mason to describe a craftsman who uses brick and mortar and is a precursor to the methods by which he would kill Fortunado. Ultimately, irony is a useful tool used by Poe to help convey Montressor’s intentions of revenge. Edgar Allan Poe uses literary devices to describe and support the underlying theme of revenge. Poe uses foreshadowing in the story since you pretty much know what’s going to happen to Fortunado in the form of his heinous death by the end of the story. Throughout there is a steady change of scenery from a lively carnival to a dark
The first thing that I found ironic in Poe’s story is its title, “The Cask of Amontillado”. Without reading this story, it was difficult for me to understand why Poe used this
Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands.The short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe tells a tale of a man who let his need for revenge consume him. The central idea of the story is revenge. The author’s use of characterization helps us to develop the central idea and allows us to see the change in the characters as the revenge takes place.
Although injustice is a common theme throughout the works of C.K. William’s “The Nail,” Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles,” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” there are many different forms in which injustice is expelled. For example, the injustice in Poe’s “The Cask” is dissimilar from the injustice found in Glaspell’s “Trifles,” and William’s “The Nail” in the sense that “The Cask” talks about injustice in the form of one man murdering another without a clear, justly motive. Glaspell’s “Trifles” talks about injustice through saving the wife whom was the perceived murderer of her husband, because some women withheld key evidence that they found, which would have led to the wife being rightly convicted. And lastly, the injustice found in William’s “The Nail” is unlike the other stories mentioned, in the context that William’s eludes to the point that injustices are tackled from within one’s sense of reason, and outward injustice is simply a result of inward turmoil. Therefore, one can only conclude that injustice cannot be categorized to simply a terrible act not being rightly judged – nor can it be marginalized. It surpasses the borders of actions which can be judged by law, and can be found just as often in the silence of a thought.
<br>The Cask of Amontillado is a horror short story, which revolves around the themes of revenge and pride. The plot involves two men: Montresor, the narrator, who is an Italian aristocrat seeking revenge against the second main character: Fortunato, a proud man that boasts about his conoisseurship of wines and who finally walks to his own death.
Many people in today's world use revenge to satisfy their troubles or situations they are in. Often times people desire revenge so bad that it ends up driving them crazy. In the short story, ¨The Cask of Amontillado¨ by Edgar Allan Poe, this situation is displayed perfectly. A character by the name Fortunato triggered Montresor, which resulted in him developing a deeply thought out murder plan. This is why the theme, revenge can drive a person crazy, fits with this short story. This theme works because the author shows it through foreshadowing, verbal irony, and indirect characterization.
"It was about dusk....". The word dusk means dark and usually dark makes people afraid. Little kids and even adults are afraid of the dark due to what people betray happens in the dark. In the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado" written by Edgar Allen Poe, when it was said,”It was about dusk….” in line 21, it makes the reader scared and frightened to read the next sentence of the book because of the unnerving dialogue Poe uses.
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.
Many would not look to a title of a piece of literature for symbolism. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe uses the key word cask as a huge symbol. The word cask refers to, “a sturdy cylindrical container for storing liquids,” such as Amontillado, a fine wine, in this case (Lorcher). Montresor introduces the topic of the wine to his former friend Fortunato by saying, “‘My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts’” (Poe). Fortunato is extremely intoxicated from carnival festivities prior to his conversation with Montresor, so it is probable that his decision to go into the catacombs with Montresor is not for the benefit of anyone but himself. He sees this journey with Montresor as a way to acquire one of two possible outcomes—free wine or a chance to further humiliate Montresor, especially after Montresor suggests that Fortunato is not capable of distinguishing the Amontillado and mentions the name of a rival, Luchresi (Lorcher). The symbolism in the key word of cask is that it has the same root as the word casket. Poe’s use of symbolism in this regard is often overlooked and written off as mere coincidence, yet that is far from the truth. Fortunato’s love of wine, and the ignorant and easily influenced state the wine puts him in, leads him to make some of his most destructive decisions to not only others, but also to himself. The Amontillado is a symbol of Fortunato’s downfall, or in other words, the love he has for the cask
“The Cask of Amontillado” has many objects that represent some different meaning than what are shown. “It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season.” (391) The setting which is during carnival season represents the madness of Edger Allen Poe. Edgar Allen Poe definitely a dark and mad individual shows even more of it in “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Therefore, Poe wrote “The Cask of Amontillado” to represent how alcohol can make your thought process work in a different mindset. Poe was a great writer of the gothic genre. “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a great representation of this genre because Poe incorporates the idea of the dark temperance. Poe collaborated these two things to create a frightening story. “The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess,” (Poe 195) Montresor is describing how Fortunato looks as he chained to the wall.
In the stories Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe creates a theme of revenge using conflict. The narrator decides to get revenge on Fortunato after he is insulted by him. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” This quote puts together that the narrator had been put through a lot by Fortunato, but all the pent up anger he had towards him have had enough when we in insulted.
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe In retrospect of the numerous short stories, poems and plays read during the last semester, Edgar Allen Poe’s, Cask of Amontillado, the demented dark drama, is a horror story written with meticulous suspenseful intensity, that it will easily be remembered five years from now. Indeed, Poe’s writing style is capable of taking the reader on emotionally charged journeys, which in most cases deal with the specter of death. As a result, Poe, today, is widely accepted as the master at producing haunting macabre tales filled with horrific imagery and irony.
In the book Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin said, “I will hurt you for this. I don’t know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid.” Revenge is a dangerous act and can lead to death and injury. Edgar Allan Poe wrote an eerie and sinister short story called “The Cask of Amontillado.” This story is told by a narrator named Montresor. He was insulted many times by a man named Fortunato. Montresor goes to great lengths to get revenge against his enemy. Montresor lures him into the Montresor family catacombs, keeps him drunk, and ends his life with chains and a trowel. Through his use of carefully constructed
People are constantly being commanded by the temptation of revenge and demolished by the aftermath of taking it. “I forced the last stone into place; I plastered it up. – For more than a half century no one has disturbed them” (Poe 8). In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is so hopelessly controlled by his desire for revenge, that he brutally murders his
Sometimes friends can get into an argument and some things can hurt them, but not to a point where they want to hurt each other physically. Vengeance can bring justice to someone, but as well bring pain to the other. Revenge is a horrible emotion which can lead someone to do horrible things. Two companions, Montresor and Fortunato, destinies are controlled by one thing only, vengeance and murder. In the story, the narrator seeks revenge on Fortunato because he mortally insulted him. Montresor succeeds in luring Fortunato to his death without raising any suspicion. A horrible revenge made significantly more awful by the way that the retribution is being taken when no genuine offense had been given. In the short tale, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar A. Poe, the major conflict of revenge is between Montresor and Fortunato, but it is interesting because Montresor is the only one who is aware of the conflict. The author uses the conflict to build suspense and to change the mood of the reader.