Poes The Cask Of Amontillado: Themes Essay

The narrator never lists the “thousand injuries”, yet the impression is made that this is the last straw. Fortunato is a man prone to drinking; “He prided himself on his connoisseurship in win”. Our narrator also states that “He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much”. The pattern of drinking and losing control seems to be a frequent occurrence. Drinking prohibits inhibition; Fortunato could not control his mouth when he was drunk.

Everyone has character flaws. Everyone has underlying characteristics that make himself or herself feel insecure, jealous, or irrational at times, and although these characteristics are not necessarily good, that does not make them bad either. These character flaws are special; they make each person who they are. These flaws show that people really care, love and appreciate one another, albeit a little too much at times; however, they also show people’s hate and despise for one another. This side of character flaws is explored in Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado.” Although Montresor believes that he is superior to Fortunato, they both demonstrate similar character flaws that make them seem very similar.

“THE Thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 1). The first sentence supports the theme of revenge that is present throughout the story. One example that strengthens this belief occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato about the pipe of Amontillado that he has recently purchased. Fortunato’s surprised response is not necessarily directed towards Montresor, as he believes it is, but at the thought that the wine was bought in the midst of a carnival. However, Montresor takes this response as yet

The short story has areas were irony is used to show the reader the demise of Fortunato over time. From the beginning the name of Fortunato means fortunate, but by the end of the story he isn’t very fortunate. Another point is the wine that he so desperately hunts for and never reaches it. It is showed throughout the story that Fortunato has pneumonia as he is constantly reminded of his health by

Perhaps one of the most pervasive morals in Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories is the idea of just retribution. This means that while a character commits a crime or performs a destructive action – such as Prospero ignoring the subjects suffering in “The Masque of Red Death” or the murder of the old man in “The Tell Tale Heart” – something of equal cruelty happens to them. In both these short stories, both characters receive just retribution. Yet another example can be found in “The Cask of Amontillado”, where Montresor claims he is giving Fortunato just retribution for his “thousand insults” (Cask) to him. The difference between this and the other two is we see things from the point of view of the one enacting the retribution, rather than the one receiving it. We can see similarities in all of these short stories as they all show tales of revenge and retribution, whether God or human given.

Fortunato back to what is described as his home by playing on this arrogance by asking him to come back to his cellar with him to examine a barrel of wine. The storyteller further implores on this arrogance by saying if Mr. Fortunato is busy or does not have time, he will ask another person who Mr. Fortunato feels has inferior wine skills to his own. This twist allows Mr. Fortunato to believe that the decision is his alone even though our storyteller is running the show, so to speak. During their descent, we do get a small foreshadowing of things to come in the form of our storyteller describing the family coat of arms after Mr. Fortunato compliments him on the size and vastness of his wine vault. He describes his family motto as, “No one insults me with impunity”. This leads us back to the reason for our story, and makes the reader start to think something bad is about to happen. After luring him to the catacombs or wine cellar, under the pretense of helping him identify a unique barrel of wine, our storyteller puts Mr. Fortunato in a very compromising position by chaining him to a wall in a small alcove in the catacombs. After this is done, we are horrified to learn that our storyteller starts to build a masonry wall in front of the alcove with the intent of sealing Mr. Fortunato inside, basically burying him alive, (Kirszner, Mandell,

Do you remember talking to someone who was older than you and they used descriptive words and you had no idea of what they meant? You asked them and once they told you it made so much more sense than it did before. That is exactly what Edgar Allan Poe does numerous times throughout his stories. Edgar Allan Poe was masterful at using challenging words and complex thoughts to help deepen people’s understanding of his story.

In contemporary short stories, protagonist’s tragic demises are often derived within their own self-destruct. Such occurrence are clearly developed in Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado,” in which a wealthy aristocrat falls victim to his fine taste of wine. Poe continues this theme in his work “The Black Cat,” by depicting a protagonist failing to realize the significance of his wrongdoings. By articulating characters with rather narrow mindsets, authors show the vulnerability of ignorance. Perhaps the greatest example is Jack London’s masterpiece, “To Build a Fire,” in which a protagonist a journey leagues above his capabilities. Perpetuating detrimental hubris, protagonist’s tragic flaws are exploited through the boastful conoseighership of wine, through the contempt satisfaction of crime, and through the unwillingness to listen to elders.

Poe has written a several different stories relating to being buried alive, “The Premature Burial” and “The Cask of Amontillado” being the most popular. Edgar Allan Poe “was one of the seminal American poets and short story writers of the nineteenth century” he was an influencer for writers like Charles Baudelaire and Jules Verne. Poe lost both of his parents as a child and was raised with a foster family and lost his foster mom early, too. He lost many of his loved ones throughout his life including his wife shortly after he was married. All of these losses had a significant effect on him and influenced his stories ("Edgar Allan Poe - Biography"). “The Cask of Amontillado is a well-known piece of literature by

Based on his actions, we can see that Fortunato is eager which leaves him vulnerable to his enemy Montresor. The fact that Fortunato is eager, reveals to the reader that he really wants to try this special kind of wine. " ' You jest,' he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. 'But let us proceed to the

”Pg2 Fortunato doesn’t realize how stupid he is until he meets his death sentence. Fortunato also says this again, they keep proceeding “Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing Amontillado.” If he wasn’t so intoxicated and stupid he would probably be

You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and i cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi…” and of course just as he had planned Fortunato responded with retaliation insisting the he be the one and unknowingly foreshadowing his own death by saying “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me.

He acts as if he is immortal to things other people battle for disease wise for years, things as simple as a cold. That he should go out in a prideful hero’s death where he will be praised for his actions as he states the following.” Enough he said, the cough is merely nothing I shall not die of a cough”. (6) What makes this so arrogant is that no one on this earth can predict the future at hand. Fortunato feels he is not human, that he is immortal which a weakness for anyone is because it leaves you

The subjective interpretation of Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” allows readers to decipher the hidden meanings of the story through the gaps of ambiguity and vagueness that Poe produces. The iceberg theory is used because the writer has no time to illustrate every detail for the reader. It strengthens the stories meaning. According to Ammary, there are three specific omissions that Poe leave for the readers to interpret: the setting, the narration, and why murder was acted upon. The use of Ammary’s article from the Penn State University Press is to clarify what the theory of omission is through Poe’s short story. It elaborates how the theory produces a deeper meaning to the story by omitting information to interpret the story in their own

“It is nothing” he reassured to Montresors for the hundredth time. But truth, he was finding it harder and harder to breath, with the Medoc not helping. “let us go on. But first another draught of the Medoc.” His family had a motto as well: when in doubt; drink. Feeling him and Montresors are getting on friendly terms he did the hand gesture; to see if he was part of the brotherhood. Montresors looked surprised at the gesture, doubting himself Fortunato did it gain.