Examples of Irony and Symbolism in The Cask of Amontillado

Conflict: For Montresor to revenge himself for Fortunato’s insult, he has to get away with it – if Fortunato can revenge him back,

Since we do not have suffice information on how Fortunato insulted him, Montresor may be exaggerating on a few parts and wants to be the hero of his own story. This may have led to the reason why Montresor tells his story years later; Guilt built up because the way he was supposed to kill Fortunato did not end up the way he wanted. He is not satisfied because Fortunato did not suffer when he was supposed to be plastered up without food or water in the catacombs for days before his death, yet he died quicker than Montresor expected (par. 89). When a person seeks revenge, they want to savor every part of it and see the person suffer, but not die…quick. Apart from Fortunato not suffering, Montresor was backing up from his own plan to get his revenge. Montresor was slowed down every time he would ask Fortunato if he wanted to go back. Occasionally, Montresor would command Fortunato, “Come, we will go back; your health is precious (par. 35).” According to his own words, Montresor hesitated whether he wanted to go through with his revenge, and that was against one of the three features that he considered essential for it to be a

A type of dramatic irony in the story can be seen in Fortunato’s attire at the carnival. Fortunato was dressed as a jester, though it was actually Montresor who was laughed at and ridiculed. Professor Charles N. Nevi, of the department of English in Medford, Oregon, writes about the irony in Fortunato’s dress when he says, “Fotunato’s dress is ironic, for a jester is not just a man to be laughed at; he is a man who makes others laugh by being aware of the frailties of mankind and then ridiculing them, but Fortunato is aware of very little and who ridicules nothing. It is Montresor who came closer to the role of jester,” (Nevi par.8). Here Professor Nevi suggests that Montresor is the one who is actually ridiculed and should be a better fit in the jester dress. These examples demonstrate Fortunato’s ironic misfortunes that lead to his eventual death.

However, in Montresor’s eyes, this “carnival” is a crazy event, since he was going to kill someone in this “carnival”. Therefore, during the event, Montresor wore a “black silk mask” and a “roquelaure”. Here, “black” can symbolize as a dead, evil and unlucky thing. It is just like the conspiracy that he set for Fortanato, without any hope and future. On the other hand, Fortanato wore a “tight-fitting parti-striped dress”, which is full of joy and happiness in the event. At this point, besides the season, the author also shows irony in Fortanato’s costume. It is because nobody would dress in colorful attire in his own funeral. It seems stupid for Fortanato dressed in this way.

Fortunato,” ‘I should like your opinion. But if you are too busy, I will get Luchesi’s advice. If anyone is a good judge, he is’”(Poe 68). The citation shows Montresor's deceitfulness since he is trying to guilt Fortunato to come with him. By saying he would like Fortunato's advice, it’s guilting Fortunato to come into the catacombs; only a brilliant and deceitful man could come up with this proposal. I can deduce that without Montresor's deviance, he would’ve never been able to trick Fortunato into the catacombs and to his death. Montresor's deceitfulness also fooled Fortunato to help him in carrying out his own death. Montresor tricks Fortunato into drinking for his cough, intoxicating him more and more with each sip. “I do not wish to alarm you-but you should take care of yourself. A drink of this Medoc will defend you from the damp”( Poe 69). This cite reveals how Montresor is tricking Fortunato into killing himself practically, and helping Montresor succeed. I can summarize that Montresor planned from the beginning to fool Fortunato into helping him by

Montresor is trying to lure Fortunato to his vaults by telling him that Luchresi can just come and taste the Amontillado because he knows best. He knows Fortunato will freak out by this statement, and then show Montresor that he is wrong in saying that. Indeed, this leads Fortunato down into the catacombs, just so he can prove Montresor wrong. That 's when Montresor will take his final step in his plan to end Fortunato. This event leads to the most suspenseful part in the short story. The reader doesn’t know what Montresor’s next step is going to be in his plan, along with what stupid move is Fortunato going to take to leading himself closer to his death.

From the very beginning of the story, one can obviously see that Montresor thinks that he has been wronged by Fortunato. His plan for vengeance is easily seen through his actions and his thoughts. "He had a weak

It is indicated that in the past that Fortunato has hurt Montresor many times, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” However, there were never any insults or unkind acts actually mentioned in the story. It is exactly the opposite. Fortunato was friendly and helpful towards Montresor. From the very beginning of the story, one can obviously see that Montresor thinks that Fortunato has wronged him. “He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared.” This line shows that Montresor’s plan was well thought out. There is not any indication of what Fortunato thinks about Montresor. It can only be assumed that he trusts him do to the fact that he follows Montresor into the catacombs. It is up until the last moment, before the last brick is laid, that Fortunato believes this is all a joke. “Ha! Ha! Ha! – He! He! He! – a very good joke, indeed-an excellent jest.” Montresor is successful in his plan for vengeance. He succeeds in having Fortunato follow him into the catacombs and with great ease, had him up against the wall and shackled. Then tier-by-tier, Montresor constructed Fortunato’s tomb of bricks around him. When Montresor called out to him, he heard nothing and thus his plan was a success. “In pace requiescat!”

In “Cask Of Amontillado” Montresor seems to have Fortunato's best interests in mind until his true intentions are revealed through his thoughts, not his actions. This is showing how Montresor is careful in his revenge; Fortunato disrespected Montresor, being the wicked and revengeful person he is must make him pay for his mistake. Therefore, Montresor carefully planned out his attack, he had every detail carefully outlined in his head. He made no mistakes; while Fortunato unknowingly made the biggest mistake of his life. Montresor felt satisfied and happy with the horrible crime he committed. While he was burying Fortunato alive, he enjoyed the screams of his foe, relishing in the fact that he won. “...felt

<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is

Fortunato had a rather… troubled adulthood. With his booming personality, he always made new friends. He got with the wrong group of friends that would feed him drinks again and again, which he became addicted to. Montresor on the other hand wasn’t as social as Fortunato so he was more of a loner and focused on his career into adult hood. He became extremely successful in his career endeavors and he also found the love of his life, Sara, while doing so! His life was perfect, him and Fortunato remained friends but they were not as close as they had once been because of their different life paths. Fortunato longed to spend more

Later on the story Montresor is offended by Fortunato when the fortuned one tells him that he

After Fortunato performs a hand symbol which apparently marks him as a mason, Montresor remarks that he is as well, jokingly pulling out a trowel, which is to be the primary tool of his enemy’s destruction. Fortunato himself, when Montresor is drinking to his health, says that he drinks to the “to the buried that repose around [them]” (Poe), whom he is about to join in burial and then death. The meaning of Montresor’s motto and crest, which Fortunato forgot, also stand as a warning: “Nemo me impune lacessit” states that none will harm him without retribution, and the arms, a foot crushing a serpent which is biting it, implies as much. Whether these are coincidentally so fitting to the story, were simply a strong influence on Montresor’s character, or may have been fabricated by Montresor, taking advantage of Fortunato’s ignorance to relish in his forthcoming defeat right before him, is not

Hoping to obtain revenge, Montresor, the narrator, lures Fortunato, one of his friends, into the depths of his

It is easy to question the Montresor’s sanity early in the story as the character smiles at the thought of the Fortunato’s immolation. He has joyful bliss with ideas and thoughts of Fortunato’s demise. In his mind, he is truly mistreated by the Fortunato and the act of slow execution offers a satisfaction too fulfil his desire of vengeance. The character has no moral conflict, he feels he was correcting a wrongful event that occurred in his life. Though a wine cellar would be cool and dark catacomb like, I don’t think there is any appropriate time that is normal to be that comfortable surrounded in human remains. The Fortunato had no reason to suspect the ill will of things to come, in actuality he did nothing wrong. The eeriness of the catacomb setting in hindsight should have alarmed the Fortunato.