In the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, the reader finds out the series of events that leads to a man named Fortunado's death. The narrator and protagonist of the story is a man named Montresor, who had previously been insulted by Fortunado.
Montresor commits murder in the end through acts of manipulation for the sake of revenge. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a story to tell the reader that a person will be punished for their wrongdoings and moral weaknesses. Poe tells this lesson through several creative uses of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism.
At the beginning of the story, it is made clear that Fortunado is not a very pleasant man. The narrator, Montresor claims "The thousand injuries of Fortunado I had
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His punishment is death.
Fortunado's death is forshadowed many times. One of the first examples of this is when Montresor pulls a trowel out of his cloak. Strangely, perhaps in his drunk, ignorant state, Fortunado does not question why Mont would have a trowel on his person. Later, the same trowel is used in Montresor's plan to kill Fortunado. Fortunado also overlooks his cough, which is caused by the niter on the walls. He is too blinded by pride and his drunken state to sense the danger of the niter around him, Montresor's strange calm, and the piles of human remains around him. This could be related to how humans often view their sins. They are ignorant of signs that they need to change as they continue through life in ignorant bliss. It is only too late that they realize the error of their ways.
Poe also uses irony to further the impact of this lesson. Not only will those who do wrong be punished; they may be punished in unexpected ways. Fortunado was simply enjoying the festivities of the carnival when karma chooses to strike in the form of Montresor's revenge. Montresor's revenge also comes as a shock to Fortunado, because Fortunado had not seen any sign that his friend would want to kill him. In Fortunado's mind, he had been completely decent and fair to Montresor. The irony in this is that the punishment for his deeds had come from someone he saw as a friend and in a time of celebration. Even as a stone wall was being built around his final resting
Some people believe that Fortunato should have seen Montresor’s evil plan coming, and that he deserved this fate. At the very beginning of the story, Montresor “The thousand
In "The Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. He begins by describing very cryptically how he was wronged, "The thousands 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
To begin with, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a story of revenge in which Montresor, the protagonist, retaliates to the “1000 injuries of Fortunato” (Poe 1) that he had bore; by meticulously planning the murder of his foe. Montresor seeks to avenge the insults made to his ancestral family name by Fortunato.
In the text montresor says”my heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(poe 67). Montresor is saying he feels bad for what he is doing and he feels sick in his heart To where he doesn't want to go through with it. But he thinks to the fact that he has made fun of him. In that case he continued down the catacombs and on with the murder. He thinks he is going to bring justice to himself but he loves the fact that he is taking Fortunato to his death. James F. Cooney says “ He seems to be unaware but the reader is not ,of the gleeful tone of his confession”(Cooney 15 ). At first Montresor acts as though he does not know what he is doing wrong. Suddenly he feels sick and knows he is wrong but thinks to when fortunato mad fun of him and feels no longer
In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is exemplified through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of the character, one is able to see him carry out his plan for revenge.
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
It is often said that revenge is sweet, but that phrase does not hold to be extremely true throughout The Cask of Amontillado. There are various themes and lessons throughout the story, but there is one theme that seems to be shown more than others. The most prevalent theme is that jealousy can lead to vengeance, and ultimately lead to the downfall, or even death, of a person. This theme is clearly evident through the two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. By looking closer at Montresor’s words and actions toward Fortunato, it is apparent that there is a superfluous amount of jealousy between them. This jealousy that is between them ends up playing a major part in Montresor ultimately killing Fortunato, someone who was thought to be one of his best friends. The author uses the characters and their actions to develop a solid plot line and prove the point that jealousy and revenge can destroy a person, both figuratively and literally.
Feuds and arguments between individuals who may disagree with or dislike one another are a common occurrence in everyday life, often varying in degrees of intensity, but rarely reaching a point of extremity. However, in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, This threshold of extremity is reached by the narrator of the story, Montresor, who explains that his acquaintance, Fortunato, has repeatedly and irreparably insulted him over the course of years, and uses it as justification to take justice into his own hands and seek retribution through murder, despite there being no proof of Fortunato's guilt other than Montresor’s claims. His motive for murdering Fortunato can be attributed to his state of mind, as Montresor’s lack of guilt, empathy, or remorse highlights him as a character with psychopathic tendencies. As the story progresses, Montresor’s cold and calculating nature leaves the audience full of dread and suspense while he lures the oblivious Fortunato towards his inevitable demise. The employment of rhetorical devices such as irony, theme, and structure builds the suspense for the ultimate climax of Poe’s gothic masterpiece.
Vengeance and murder infects the minds of Montresor and Fortunato upon an exchange of insult in Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Cask of Amontillado”. This is the story of pure revenge after Forturano disrespects Montresor. The story follows the characters meeting up at a carnival and eventually the disguised Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home by convincing him that he acquired something that could pass for Amontillado, a light Spanish sherry. Fortunato grows eager to taste this wine and to determine for Montresor whether or not it is truly Amontillado. He leads him back to the catacombs of his home and carries out his plot to bury him alive. Edgar Allan Poe writes from a mysterious first person perspective, uses colorful symbolism and situational irony to present the man's inner self, in turn revealing that revenge is fundamentally infeasible.
As they progress into the catacombs Fortunato is bombarded by all these hints and clues about his coming doom but this is what truly is evil that montresor is truly insane enough and mad enough to make fortunato a fool. Some hints and clues is when fortunato is encumbered with a cough supposedly from the nitre and Montressor acts as though he is concerned and asks if they should go back in which in return Fortunato replies "The cough is a mere nothing, it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough" (Poe paragraph 37). Which in reply Montresor says true true. Also Montressors coat of arms "the heel stomping on the snake that is biting the heel. As they get deeper and deper into the catacombs another thing that goes on between Montressor and Fortunato that stands out is when they talk about the freemasons which is a secret guild of
Later on the story Montresor is offended by Fortunato when the fortuned one tells him that he
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is thought to be one of his most popular vengeful short novels. The two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato are re-acquainted friends who meet each other at The Carnival. Montresor has intentionally planned to lure Fortunato to his own death by deceiving him to believe that Fortunato is coming to Montresor's family catacombs to taste a fine wine “Amontillado”. After Montresor leads Fortunato into the crypts, Montresor eventually chains Fortunato up in a secluded section and mortars him behind a brick wall while he is still alive. The story ends with Montresor throwing a flaming torch into the small opening while he continues to put the last brick in place, essentially burning Fortunato alive. Edgar Allan Poe creates conflict between characters Montresor and Fortunato which primarily creates the major theme of revenge in this story. Edgar Allan Poe depicts setting in this novel by portraying death by illustrating human bones, within a cold and damp crypt to contribute to the eerie theme of revenge. Montresor's characterization is expressed through the betrayal of his friend, which adds another element to the theme of revenge in this story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes conflict, setting, and characterization to create a theme of revenge.
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.
In "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a journey into the mind of what many would perceive as a mad man. The story tells of what seems to be a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been known. This notion sets the mood for true evil. The plot of the story is simple. Montresor takes revenge on his friend Fortunato by luring him into the wine cellar under the family estate. There he leads Fortunato into the depths of the catacombs where he buries him alive by walling him into a tomb in the wall. Was Montresor mad or was it premeditated murder?
In The Cask of Amontillado Poe engages the reader by using suspense to emphasize Montresor’s villainous mindset. On page 209 Montresor stated, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne best I could; when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” This explains his feelings towards Fortunato and how he “insults” him.