In The Cask Of Amontillado, author Edgar Allen Poes use of the words “I” and “Fortunado” are to be read symbolically. The “I” character, who doubles the part as the narrator, takes on a persona of psychotic, revenge filled thoughts. Poe most likely used these two specific names to represent the characters because without them, the story would be read quickly without any thought as to whom these actual characters speak for. When a tale commonly has designated character names, plot line, climax and resolution, it is more often than not a story you aren’t likely to remember. Poe used noteworthy names throughout the drama to make the reader really think about who “I” and “Fortundo” represents in the eyes of a community. Throughout the story, …show more content…
In The Cask Of Amontillado , Fortunado is conned. The narrator acts kindly, nonchalantly and overall friendly towards him. The narrator finds a way to gain Fortunados trust in him. Fortundao held so much faith in “I” that he was completely willing to go into a dark and scary catacomb with him. The initial reason Fortundo had agreed to go into the underground cemetery with his acquaintance was to retrieve an item of only materialistic value. The wealthy often end up overwhelmed with their privilege they live life decadently. Fortundo, though of a higher class, was of a lower intelligence. Understandably, he was beyond drunk upon arriving at the catacombs, but I solely believe that even impaired judgment could see that this idea was catastrophic. Even the sound of a name like “Fortunado” inclines the reader to think that this man is either royalty or of a wealthy status. Fortundos name within itself represents the entire upper society. The affluent people in this social class have a reputation of being naive, un-responsible, and merciless to the rest of society. When you are rich, you arent worrying nor even deliberating how much of a better life you have than
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are
Poe uses grim diction throughout the story to set the mood. For example, in the beginning of the story, the main character, Montresor, uses the words “retribution,” “revenge,” and “impunity” (Poe 61). The central idea of this word group is payback and consequences.
According to Desmond, " Fortunato in the Cask of Amontillado is the literary reincarnation of Thomas Dunn English; and Luchesi, the butt of the real sarcasm of the tail is editor , Hiram Fuller. Montressor is Poe careful, crafty and methodically wrecking vengeance on his enemies; and the cask of amontillado is symbolically the Law suit"(144). Poe did not think he had done anything to warrant the attacks of both English and Dunn. Poe had worked in the Evening Mirror so English and Dunn can be taken to be his contemporaries and they had interest in the same field. They prided themselves in "Literary Connoisseurship" (Desmond,!46). Poe did not think English and Fuller knew good Literature even though they prided themselves to be best in the field. This can be associated to Luchesi's ignorance in wine even though some thought his taste was as good as Fortunato's. "Poe felt that English and Fuller were slandering and ridiculing him with impunity because he no longer had a journal in which to defend himself" (Desmond, 145). This can also be seen in the story when he told Fortunato, "You are rich, respected , admired, and beloved. You are as happy as once I was"(Poe, 241). Poe felt he had been insulted
An important element in any story is setting. Authors use setting to convey certain feelings brought on by the character’s surroundings. It also subliminally serves to illustrate the character’s intentions. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allen Poe uses the dark, imposing setting to do just that, communicate the underlying theme of the story, being death, revenge and deception.
<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is
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
"I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. 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." With these ferverous words from the introductory paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's Cask of Amontillado, the story of Montresor's revenge begins. Poe repeatedly stresses the need for revenge due to bitterness and resentment in Montresor's character towards Fortunato, but more importantly, stress is placed on revenge by which the victim realizes their injustice towards the redresser. Unfortunately, it seems that Montresor is denied this pure and encompassing revenge when his victim,
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.
The Cask of Amontillado is considered to be one of the best short stories. Written by Edgar Allan Poe in first person and having all the main events as a three hundred page fiction book, The Cask of Amontillado is a complete novel. This short story has several themes which function from the first page of the story such as: suspense, fear, and 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.
In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, Fortunato is shown as determined, careless, and hedonistic. Fortunato is shown to be determined in the story when he said while in the catacombs, “I have no engagement;-- come” (Poe 49). This quote shows that Fortunato does not care about his cold and he will taste the wine. During the story, Fortunato is also careless. He shows that he is careless when he does not catch on to what was happening and when he says, “We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo” (Poe 199).
In his ‘Amantillado’, he uses the foregrounding and integration of language to accentuate the themes and issues of his story, while also enticing an audience with the fascinating mentions of revenge and sinister ideas by addressing the “weak point” REF of Fortunato. He creates his sense of intrigue with the inner monologue of Montresor REF before then reverting onto the actual situation and interaction between characters in this story. Poe plays with irony by contrasting the prior mentioned weak point to the “respected and feared” aspect of Fortunatos’ personality. Poe’s work is in fact literary as clarified by his interesting, complex language
In conclusion, Poe characterizes Fortunato and Montresor as contrasts by describing their dress, educational background, personalities and their psychological changes.
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.
The story has subtle clues of how the grotesque conclusion will end. The name Fortunato has an indication of luck, a word association that his success is from being lucky. A fortune possessed that was not earned infuriating our narrator. The Fortunato has a rising social status, a status that used to be associated with the Montresor family name. This is stated by the remark, “You are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed” illustrates the Montresor who has a social status in decline and the