The Cask Of Amontillado Literary Analysis

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.

Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.

Anyone who knows anything about Edgar Allan Poe’s work probably knows that he is a very dark writer. This holds true in his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” “The Cask of Amontillado” follows the character Montresor through the Carnival where he meets up with his friend Fortunato, who is a wine connoisseur. Fortunato has recently crossed a line by insulting Montresor and does not quite know what is coming his way that night. Edgar Allan Poe uses the literary element of irony in order to portray the theme of revenge within “The Cask of Amontillado.”

All of these descriptions that Poe creates through conversation between the characters and the details we are pulled along through the story, much as Fortunado is pulled along through the catacombs, where we all see his demise. Montresor eventually chains Fortunado to the wall and build up the cask that he will forever be in, alluding to the talk of the mason background of Montresor’s family. At the end Montresor thinks to himself, “my heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so,” (Poe

Montresor is the brutally insensitive narrator and presents his story from a unique first person perspective. Poe was intricate in telling this story from his point of view. He could have chosen to paint a picture for the readers through the eyes of Fortunato or possibly an outside narrator’s perspective. Poe makes an interesting decision as to who was going to tell the story. Significantly, he does not explain the nature of Fortunato’s transgression through Montresor's point of view. To explain further, Montresor tells the story in the first person, the reader is able to be directly aware of his thoughts therefore

Poe uses simple but effective color imagery to help express the theme of revenge, horror, and uncertainty of what is to come. When Montresor puts on his black, silk mask, it is as if he has become a different person. The color represents death and the darkness that has overcome Montresor and him trying to play God. The mask itself is how he separates himself from his once best friend. He views himself as the judge and jury in the situation. It represents him cutting himself off from the rest of the world and cutting off all his emotional ties to Fortunado. Montresor sees himself as the one to give Fortunado his death sentence, so “he is costumed as an executioner” (Platizky 207). Another example of important color images is the change of setting from a cheerful, colorful festival to descending into the dark and mysterious catacombs. When the story starts, Fortunado is wearing bright party clothes to enjoy the carnival; his “carnival identity is a motely clown” (Whatley 56) with bells for the occasion. He is dressed as a fool because that is what Montresor plans to make out of him by the end of the night. Montresor is very manipulative and uses a merry carnival setting to throw off his friend and makes Fortunado realizes that even supposedly cheery settings can have unsettling secrets but catches on to this a little too late. Montresor sends off the servants and uses the carnival to make sure no one will ever notice the horrendous crime he will commit later in the night. As they both go deeper into the catacombs, the quicker the setting changes into an uneasy environment with a “long and winding staircase”

One literary device Poe uses to create a disturbing mood is dramatic irony. During the story as Montresor and Fortunato are walking through the underground crip Montresor makes a toast for Fortunato long life. Fortunato and Montresor say in the text, “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us.”“And I to your long life.” (3). We the readers know Montresor wants Fortunato dead and he is only making Fortunato drink to keep from discovering his plan to later finish with Fortunato's life. Fortunato love to drink so he fell right into Montresor's trap. Montresor talk about drink, “Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.”“And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.” (2). Montresor is clearly telling him that some people will say that Luchesi has better taste in drinks, Fortunato then quickly says that that's nonsense, he will go with him to taste the Amontillado. Montresor knew what he was doing and made Fortunato go on with his plan.

the reader is already aware of Montresor’s plan to kill Fortunato, but Poe's uses dramatic irony to show the strategy Montresor uses, to lead Fortunato to his death. Montresor acts like he deeply cares about Fortunato health, although the well-being of his health will soon be no matter of concern. “Come … we will go back; you health is precious… we will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible.” Montresor uses this line multiple times throughout the story, and even offers the sickly man wine, which he had placed throughout the catacombs before hand. “… you should take proper caution, a draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.” Another example of dramatic irony used to move Fortunato down the catacombs, is when Montresor lies and tells Fortunato he is a part of a secrete society know as the masons. Fortunato denies Montresor ability to be in the secrete society, thus again insulting Montresor. The reader knows Montresor is not apart of the secrete society, but is referring to the masonry skills he will later use to entomb Fortunato into his grave, which is foreshadowed when Montresor shows his

The second and the main part of this revenge journey starts by walking to the catacombs where Fortunato thinks where the wine is, but, in fact, it is the place where Montresor kills him. They start walking down on their way to the catacombs and here it shows how cold blooded Montresor is; he is already pointing out this kind of mold on the walls of the catacombs that may cause lung problem. In fact, Fortunato already has a kind of cough, but this does not make him want to go back. Montresor savors his revenge; he enjoys the journey to Fortunato’s inevitable death which is so sinister, cruel, and cold. On the other hand, his voice is so calm, and he acts normal as an educated man. There are a couple of details to notice here: Montroser’s code of arms and his family motto. The code of arms is a symbol for the family and the old royal families had these kinds of symbols. Montresor explains this image of a serpent biting a heel. That means if anyone bites someone in the family, he will be crushed as the heel is crushing the serpent. In fact, that image is an exact reflection of what happens here as Montresor gets revenge for insult. The written motto on

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a story rife with symbolism, irony and psychological horror brought on by the writing that Edgar Allan Poe has been known for throughout literary history. The story follows Montresor, a man who was insulted by his friend Fortunato, as he enacts his revenge for the betrayal. Poe’s use of Gothic rhetoric adds to the horror and violence of the story as a whole but more so on a psychological level. The setting brings about a constant flickering of emotion between freedom and confinement, causing the reader to be in a constant hyperaware state throughout the reading. Poe used symbolism all through this story and managed to tie it in with the setting causing an even more sinister vibe to take hold.

In this story, the author provides the reader with a specific setting. The reason why it is considered a specific setting is because the time and place is clearly specified. The time is seen in the story when Montresor says, “It was dark, one evening in the spring,” (Poe 69). The place where the story takes place is revealed when Fortunato says, “’ to your vaults,’”

When authors write a story setting can be just as, if not more important, than the characters and plot. Whether it’s a sleepy town in New York or a haunted hotel in Colorado the setting has major symbolic value. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe uses setting to show Montresor and Fortunato’s loss of freedom. The story begins at “about dusk, one evening” (Poe 108).

”(Page 286) This sentence gives insight to both characters showing that Montresor despises Fortunato and will act in spite of anger and shows that Fortunato is a character to be feared because he is wicked. Montresor makes Fortunato in fact seem like he’s the twisted one in the story which is his point as the narrator because he wants those as readers to feel bad for him but hate Fortunato so we can reason why he killed him. Besides this sentence we don’t get much other understandings of Fortunato’s character which is also due to having the story told by Montresor because again he wants us to perceive Fortunato as an evil

Enticing him with the allure of Amontillado and introducing competition, Fortunato agrees to follow Montresor into his vaults in disbelief of such a bargain. Montresor uses “reverse psychology” (Reynolds 184) so that Fortunato is always eager to continue their descent. Thus they journey on passing ‘through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again arrived at a deep crypt” (Poe 146). Montresor cleverly using Fortunato’s health as reason for them to turn back knowing it would just tempt him further. Giving him “a drought of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.”(Poe 145). Fortunato’s connoisseur-ship for wine supports Montresor in his plans. The more Fortunato becomes taken with the wine Montresor eases him into a recess where Montresor is able to accomplish his

Edgar Allan Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado, is a fictional story based on the psychopathic personality of the narrator Montresor. Angry over some unspecified insult Montresor relates the events which led him to murder his friend Fortunato fifty years ago. While one does not know precisely what “transgression” is to be “avenged,” one learns that Montresor intends to “punish with impunity,” as per his family motto, “nemo me impune lacessit.”