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The Cask Of Amontillado Analysis

Decent Essays

Guilt and Motive Leading to Murder Edgar Allen Poe wrote the “The Cask of Amontillado.” It is a short story in which the narrator kills one of the other characters. But what was the reason behind the murder? Was it for revenge or was it for satisfaction? Many people have their own reasons as to the motive behind the murder. The motive behind the murder is revealed through the text of the short story using irony, diction, and imagery. There is much irony displayed in this short story. For example, Fortunato’s name means fortune; however, in this story, he was not fortunate at all. He was murdered by Montresor. It seems like Montresor has been wanting to plot revenge for the longest of the times. In the first sentence of the short story, Edgar Allen Poe states , “ Thousand Injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (183). It seems as if Montresor had a plan for a while., and at that moment, he was ready to implement it. Another example is when Montresor says, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe 138). Once again, Fortunato does not end up being the lucky one. The irony mainly lies in Montresor’s statements to Fortunato. Again, luck is reflected by Montresor. Luck of which Fortunato does not have. Towards the end of the story, Montresor says , “Yes, for the love of God.” This indicates that he may have killed Fortunato “for the love of God” (Karadas 3). Montresor’s dialogue mostly has an ironic twist to

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