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Theme Of Pride In The Cask Of Amontillado

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Many times, the word pride has a negative connotation attached to it. The reason being, is that too much pride skews the perception of reality. This concept is underlined in Edgar Allen Poe’s story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” through the character Fortunato. Montresor allows Fortunato opportunities to escape from his deceitful plan, but Fortunato’s pride gets in the way. Although the emphasis in “The Cask of Amontillado” seems to be focused around Montresor’s revengeful murder of Fortunato, a closer look at the tone, structure, and setting of the story, reveals that Fortunato’s pride and unhealthy lifestyle is what ultimately leads to his demise. Through this we begin to understand that too much pride in one’s life blinds him or her from reality. Throughout the entire story Poe develops a sardonic tone through the contrast of what Fortunato thinks his happening against the reality of the situation. One of the first incidents in which we see this is when Montresor says, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today! But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts” (Poe 194). The readers can clearly notice Montresor’s sarcasm and the irony of the situation. This is because, as the readers, we are predisposed to how Montresor feels about Fortunato. Montresor has already started to develop his plan this early in the story by building up Fortunato’s pride with his greetings and comments. Fortunato his too

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