The short story “The Cask of Amontillado” can be interpreted in about one thousand different ways. My initial impact on the story is far - far different from what I think the story is really about after thinking about it for a day or two. But, I think they are both equally feasible. So I will tell you about both of them in the paragraphs below. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a strange, at first puzzling, very Edger Allen Poe-esque tale about a clearly mentally unstable narrator named Montresor who lures an intoxicated former friend, named Fortunato, into a system of tunnels and traps him at the end by chaining him to a wall and constructing a wall of his own to make sure he stays there to die. My initial take was it was a story very similar
Edgar Allen Poe's brings us a twisted tale of vengeance and horror in "The Cask of Amontillado." Poe's character, Montresor, acts as our guide and narrator through this story. He grabs a hold of the reader as he tells the story from his own apathetic and deceptive mind to gain vengeance from the weak and dismal Fortunato. Montresor's mentality is disturbing as he uses his clever, humor, ironic symbolism, and darkness to accomplish this.
What this shows is a disturbed, confused, and sick mind that finds pleasure in his task. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a story nothing more than the behavior of a sociopath and psychologically deranged killer.
A story that aims to frighten will attempt to develop an ambience that evokes uncertainty. It must create scenes that exhibit verisimilitude; it is a necessity to contain details that add to realism. The Cask of Amontillado is a fictional horror that presents the act of premeditated murder, biased revenge, and injustice. All of which are elevated by the imagery presented within the setting. The setting of The Cask of Amontillado plays a crucial role in the narrative; it is not merely a backdrop setting, but it is integral.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a goosebump-evoking tale that follows one man’s twisted plot for revenge. Although carnival season is in full-swing above ground, Fortunato finds himself being lead to his death underground in the catacombs. His “past insults” will ensure that he will never again participate in such feasts and merriment; Montresor, his “frenemy”, will make sure of that. As if the story isn’t creepy enough, Poe uses dialogue and sensory details to produce a mood that is both suspenseful and dark.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in an issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book in November of 1846. The story is set in an unnamed city in Italy during the carnival season. The story is told by a man name Montresor; he is confessing to someone about the time he murdered his “friend” named Fortunato fifty years ago because Fortunato had insulted him.
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go
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.
Both of Poe’s texts “A Dream Within a Dream” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are contrasting, but they are also similar in some ways. Both of the texts portray their ideas in a dark and gloomy matter. The poem presents its theme on the beach with pitiless waves, whereas the short story is related with murder and driven with evil intentions. These similarities are all aspects of Dark Romanticism. These Dark Romantics reveal that they will do anything to reach their goal. For example, Montresor explains, “AT LENGTH I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled” (Poe). The passage further solidifies the idea of Dark Romanticism by the degree of pursuing one’s goals. In the poem, it shows Poe’s life is ending
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.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.
Compare and contrast These four texts certainly have many elements in common, they are all written by the same author, in the same genre. All the stories have the narrators recollecting their experiences. In The Cask of Amontillado it was over 50 years later, where the Premature burial were 10 years later and the last two is unknown in time. They all have a motive for telling their story where some is trying to prove their sanity and others wants to brag about their accomplishments and therefore disproves their sanity.
The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the driving force for the entire short story. The
Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846) is narrated by Montressor. He is a gothic narrator, as his motives are associated with revenge and mental instability. In fact, the story opens with Montressor’s description of revenge of his friend Fortunato, who supposedly “insulted” him, and he lures Fortunato to his family’s catacombs for his death. However, Montressor is unwilling to reveal Fortunato’s insult and he is uncertain of why he wants to commit the horrendous act. Montressor’s narration is unreliable, and as the story unfolds we deduce his mental state. By carefully analyzing the tale, Montressor’s psychological dilemma encourages us to find the missing pieces of the puzzle and interpret the events in a metaphorical sense suggesting that the events are far less associated with revenge but more with Montressor’s guilt.
By: Harshul Jain The Cask of Amontillado is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is known for using Gothic conventions in his stories which mostly includes the atmosphere of mystery, oppressiveness to create terror but interestingly he subverts the Gothic conventions by having having human beings, instead of a supernatural element, create most horrible deeds. Poe tries to achieve that horror via the capabilities of the humans. Poe uses unreliable narrator and psyches to propel the story. The Cask of Amontillado is a classic example of such a story. The Cask of Amontillado is a story of 2 friends, Fortunato and Montresor. Montresor in this story is the narrator. Montresor has been
The Cask of Amontillado is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe published in 1846. The story focuses on a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes betrayed him. Because of the plot arrangement, this short story seems to be written using biographical strategy. Biographical strategy is concerned about how the author’s biography may have influenced the story. The similarities between Poe’s personal life and the characters love with alcohol, failures in his life and along with the misfortunes Poe had lived shared many likenesses.