The Cask Of The Amontillado

     In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a journey into the mind of a mad man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. In a short space and with ultimate technical skill, Poe creates a nightmare, guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night.

If a friend had demolished a part of someone, would that someone be able to go to the extent of taking the others life? In Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor is aiming to get revenge on another man named Fortunato. It is unknown what Fortunato did to Montresor, however we know it was a great insult. Montresor had made the perfect plan in order to take the life of his Fortunato. Montresor purposely bumped into the intoxicated man, Fortunato, and he begins to persuade Fortunato to come down into his catacomb to taste a wine for him. As he expected, Fortunato followed his way into the catacomb, which later caused Montresor trapping Fortunato and soon letting him die. Through his use of carefully constructed setting, symbolism, and verbal irony, Poe creates a mood that is both chilling and horrifying in “The Cask of Amontillado.”

The lavish black roquelaire absorbed nearly all of the light in the surrounding area which perfectly made a silhouette of Montresor’s figure. The smell of nitre permeated throughout the air like a plague. The smell was so overpowering that I nearly passed out. As I hung there, bound to the wall by cold rusted chains, I could make out the twisted smile of Montresor as he removed his silken mask. I looked him in the eye and could see the hate behind them. It seemed to be more primal and real than anything else I had ever seen. After staring me down, Montresor hastily produced that godforsaken trowel from underneath his cloak and started to lay layer after layer of brick, starting to enclose me into this horrible room. My last view of Montresor

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.

Thesis Statement: Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" was my short story of choice for this assignment. I particularly like the way Edgar Allen Poe builds the murder plot and the way he describes the details of the very visual setting throughout the story. The characters are relatable, and the mystery of the story really captured my attention. This short tale focuses in on the reader's imagination and their senses. Poe gives the reader just enough information to leave the reader dangling on the edge of their seats.

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.

“Give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot to punish an offender. But more than 2,000 years later, Martin Luther King Jr. responded, "The old law of 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind." (American Psychological Association) This is a story dedicated to revenge. Where the power of revenge makes the Montresor go do insane things in order to achieve his family motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit.” Which means no one insults me with impunity. Although the story may seem like it only talks about amontillado, vaults and Fortunato’s insult to Montresor this story has a deeper message. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Poe, he sends a message that revenge may blind the eye towards happiness.

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, is a story driven by revenge as Montresor carries out his plan to avenge his families “Motto”. Not to mention the families honor would be repaired, by the death of Fortunato. What a “Perfect Season” to put forth his morbid plan; “The Carnival Season, The Season of Madness”. Therefore, there are many symbols hidden within The Cask of Amontillado to explain the emotions of the story, such as, “the period”, “character Names”, and “Fortunato’s Costume”.

Could you keep a gruesome and murderous secret to yourself for 50 years? A good horror story should contain suspense and fear but also should include a well-produced plot, setting, and should include literary devices. Well, the author is able to successfully accomplish this in the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Due to its dark, eerie and crowded setting like the catacombs, the riveting plot that makes the story suspenseful, and the intriguing point of view that helps the reader understand what Montresor is feeling make this story clearly a prime example of a quality horror story.

"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,

In The Cask of Amontillado Montresor lived for fifty years after killing Fortunato and he narrates the events of the story coldly and that leads some to wonder whether or not Montresor has changed and if he has changed how did he change. Over the fifty years between the events of The Cask Of Amontillado and the time when Montresor narrates the story, time changed Montresor into a guilty and shamed man that may have PTSD.

Writer Kurt Vonnegut created eight tips that should be applied for any great story. In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allen Poe three of these tips are applied. Included in this story are: do not waste the reader’s time, each character must want something, and to be a sadist. Using these three tips makes Poe’s work a gripping short story that reveals how powerful words can be and that they can come with severe consequences. Also, that there can always be a lesson to be learned no matter the circumstances. This story illustrates a man’s revenge on the circumstance of an insult by a friend and how he decides to react to it.

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.

Being raised based with Catholic principles implies that certain values, such as the respect for a persons life, became part of my own identity. Therefore, I personally believe that no one has the right to decide whether or not someone deserves to die.

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.