“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. The story deals with Montresor's means of deceiving Fortunato and carrying out his revenge upon him. Montresor has never let Fortunato how much he truly despised him. Montresor knows that Fortunato considers himself a connoisseur of fine wines, and especially of one known as Amontillado, so he asked him for his opinion on a newly acquired cask of Amontillado. Montresor enticed Fortunato with the rare wine. Fortunato was determined to taste the wine and insisted on being taken to Montresor's home. Montresor agreed while wrapping himself in a black cloak to make sure that he would not be recognized, and off they went. …show more content…
He did this so he could avoid Fortunato's suspicions, and it would also prevent anyone being a witness to this terrible crime. He had chosen carnival time as the setting for his wrongdoing because amid the vivacity of the carnival, he was sure he could avoid any possibility of being detected. As they passed deeper into the vaults, the nitre caused Fortunato to cough constantly; he was determined to continue. At one point, Montresor paused and offered Fortunato a bottle of Medoc wine to “help ward off the cold and the fumes of the nitre.” Here it seems like Montresor preformed a good deed, but this was only done to keep the victim drunk and unaware of his impending
Montresor tells the story in detail of how he leads a man, Fortunato, to his death. Montresor repeatedly expresses the need to kill Fortunato because he has done something to insult him and he must pay for it with his life. Montresor tells readers early in the story that he is going to be lying to Fortunato’s face by acting one way, but thinking about killing him the whole time. He says "I continued, as was my wont, to smile in
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.
“Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you.” This quote means that people act in such a devious way as the person who hurt them which does not make them any better. In the short story, The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor wants to seek revenge from Fortunato’s iniquity. Montresor feels that he has been insulted by his acquaintance. In Montresor’s mind, retaliating the same way Fortunato did toward him is the right thing to do. He decided to get Fortunato boozed up on wine since he knew that was his fondness. By this time Fortunato is very gullible and will do anything Montresor insist on him doing. Montresor planned out everything in detail what he cinched to do to Fortunato whether it was right or wrong. He just wanted to seek revenge, but conceal every detail so that it is not obvious. Montresor is a sociopathic character who did everything in his mite and power to show that revenge is a successful ending.
The cast of Amontillado was written by Allan Poe at a time when he felt he was being unjustly attacked. Most critics believe that the cask of Amontillado was written by Poe against his critics in the Mirror. I believe the cask of Amontillado is a story of Revenge and Hatred against some friends whom be believed had wrongfully accused him. A review of Allan Poe as a person and his experiences in life is essential a clear understanding of "The Cask of Amontillado". Hence, I will apply a cultural method of interpretation.
Cask of amontillado is on of Edgar Allan Poe’s best works it tells of deception and murder. In the cask of amontillado Edgar Allan Poe uses gothic literature to describe murder. Poe’s use of an unreliable narrator in his short story successfully creates a eerie effect for his reader.
Montresor’s actions lend to his vengeful and manipulative nature. He lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home to carry out his plans to kill Fortunato. In the first step of his plan, he boosts Fortunato’s ego by saying that Luchesi was almost as worthy a judge of wine as he. Then Montresor tricks Fortunato into believing that there is an
It is Edgar Allan Poe's intense use of symbolism and irony throughout the Cask of Amontillado that establishes the short story as an indeed interesting candidate worthy of thorough analysis. The skillful use of these devices are utilized by the author to create this horrific and suspenseful masterpiece.
Montresor does this by flattering and acting concerned about the health of Fortunato when really his only concern is killing Fortunato. While in the wine cellar, Montresor says to Fortunato, “Come, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi-.” Montresor does an excellent job of being Fortunatos’ friend and at the same time convinces him to continue drinking and telling him, “A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.” Montresor was not trying to defend either one of them, his only purpose was to place Fortunato into a higher state of drunkenness. Montresor causes Fortunato to become so drunk that while he was being chained to the wall by Montresor, “He was too much astounded to resist.” “The Cask of Amontillado” is filled with many ironies and also life lessons; such as know who your real friends are. Fortunato thought his real friend was Montresor when, in reality, Montresor was anything but his friend. Not only did Montresor fake his sincerity towards Fortunato, he was also vengeful and very intelligent in his actions to kill Fortunato.
Vengeance and murder infects the minds of Montresor and Fortunato upon an exchange of insult in Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Cask of Amontillado”. This is the story of pure revenge after Forturano disrespects Montresor. The story follows the characters meeting up at a carnival and eventually the disguised Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home by convincing him that he acquired something that could pass for Amontillado, a light Spanish sherry. Fortunato grows eager to taste this wine and to determine for Montresor whether or not it is truly Amontillado. He leads him back to the catacombs of his home and carries out his plot to bury him alive. Edgar Allan Poe writes from a mysterious first person perspective, uses colorful symbolism and situational irony to present the man's inner self, in turn revealing that revenge is fundamentally infeasible.
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.
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.
Montresor was very cleaver and carefully planned the perfect time for the murder. He had chosen a holyday and decided to release all his servants for the perfect plot. With that being said, Montresor tricked Fortunato into the cask by using his weakness for wine connoisseur for the killing. In the middle of the story, Poe uses a sarcastic tone when Montresor was talking to Fortunato before killing him.
The Cask of Amontillado – To Be or Not To Be The Cask of Amontillado is a well publicized and widely read short story by the famous Poet Edgar Allen-Poe. It was written in the year 1846 in a periodical named Godey’s lady’s Book. The short story is based on intrigue, suspense and murder the opening line states “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. (191) However, the elixir to the plot is the Cask of Amontillado.
As the story progresses, Montresor devises a careful plan to lure Fortunato to his death trap, but he is careful enough not to place himself at risk. He approaches him at a carnival, and plays on his victim’s weakness for wine by offering to show him a brand of wine akin to the light Spanish sherry, Amontillado (8). The narrator presents an interesting description of his encounter with Fortunato at the carnival; at first expressing dislike for his friend’s behavior by claiming that he approached him with too much warmth since he was drunk, but then he adds that he was extremely delighted to see Fortunato at that particular moment. This illustrates the depth of Montresor’s desire to exert revenge on his friend, since the sole reason of his pleasure at seeing Fortunato is that he knew his plans had taken off, and he anticipated the satisfaction of the act of brutal revenge.
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.