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Examples Of Irony In Montresor

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Thirdly, there are several examples of verbal irony within Montresor's words. He says one thing and means something else. Montresor at the start, for example, gives explicit orders to his attendants, not to leave the house, knowing that this will ensure that they would. Very frequently in the text we can see Montresor calling Fortunato his friend, while taking him to death. We can also see it when he says "Once more let me implore you to return", when he expresses concern about Fortunato's health - your health is precious - and several times he suggests that they should turn back for fear that Fortunato's cough would worsen as a result of the cold and dampness of the catacombs. However, Montresor was secure that by asking him to return Fortunato would continue. …show more content…

This is one of the most memorable lines of the story, because he was sure that the cause of his death would not be his cough. Another quote to look at deeper is "You are a man to be missed", it is clear that he was already warning Fortunato of his near death. The narrator also says while asking him to go back "I cannot be responsible", but he was conscious that he would be the only one responsible for that murder. Other examples can be seen when Montresor toasts Fortunato's long life, while he knew that it was close to an awful end, as well as when he says that he is a mason, but not in the sense that Fortunato means. Fortunato wanted to verify if Montresor was a member of the Freemasonry, but when he said he was what he really means is that he is a bricklayer about to brick him in for all of eternity. This shows that Montresor got the revenge he vowed to get against Fortunato, whose taste for wine and pride of his expertise on the subject has led him to his own death. And we are reminded of the coat of arms and the Montresor family motto. The insignia is symbolic of Montresor's evil character, who like the serpent intends to get

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