Fortunato Irony

The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many

One of the main rhetorical devices evident within the short story is the use of dramatic irony, which Poe uses to foreshadow the climax of the story, which is Fortunato's death. For example, one of the most obvious uses of irony in the story is the name of Fortunato himself, which translates to “the fortunate one”. However,

<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

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.

All of these images of the setting and characters come together with the idea of Montresor’s premeditated demise for Fortunado. From the beginning we know that Montresor is upset with Fortuado and he is seeking revenge. With all of Montresor’s comments we see that this is not just talk but a reality. When the two men are discussing turning around due to Fortunado’s cough, Fortunado says, “I shall not die of a cough” which in reply Montresor says “true.” (Poe page 3) This foreshadows the demise of Fortunado, and what Montresor has in mind for him. Another example of this is when they discuss Montresor’s family crest, that his family moto is “Nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe page 3) which means no one attacks me without paying dearly. Along with this statement, is when he tells Fortunado that his family are of the masons, foreshadowing the way he will kill Fortunado.

Similarly, “The Cask of Amontillado” also revolves around the theme of confinement because Montresor’s revenge plan involves confining Fortunato in the underground catacombs in a state of intoxication and leaving him there to die. Fortunato’s end is a direct result of him being

The story initially starts off telling us the situation where Fortunato had wounded Montresor a “thousand” times. One day, Fortunato goes too far and insults Montresor ultimately resulting in Montresor vowing revenge. Montresor has to craft a perfect plan, for if Fortunato is able to revenge him in return then Montresor’s efforts will have been in vain.

    In the short story the characters do not have a massive change during the story and the plan of revenge was not that confident. Montresor wanted Fortunato to think he cared about his health

The rest of the story takes place in the catacomb. In the basement of the catacomb is a graveyard. The passageway is claustrophobic, dripping with nitre from its proximity to a water source, and always leads downward. Fortunato doesn't know this, but he is descending a stairway to Hell rather than to sample a rare wine. They walk through the graveyard in the middle of the night. Not to forget that they are drunk and are getting more drunk. The room gets smaller and smaller and the cold keeps on increasing. It is gloomy and they only have 2 torches. This is a setting that has all the elements, a perfect gothic story would have. Next lets look at the atmosphere. In the story the purpose of Montresor is very clear and Fortunato is completely unaware of it. This creates an atmosphere of suspense, mystery and horror. It is dark, oppressiveness, and full of strange sounds. Another element that Poe uses in his stories is the Psychology of the people. Montresor's motive for murder is vague. He refers to thousand injuries but never gives a specific reason for doing so. It can be concluded that Montresor is insane but even this is questionable because of intricate details of the plot. In this story the intentions of Montresor hurting Fortunato is very clear. Though this is not directly implied in the story but with every passing minute it becomes even more clear. But what will be Fortunato's punishment is still not clear. And that makes the plot

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.

Each element have a relation to each other, yet they all have significant differences that lead to make the mood of the story even stronger. The use of having an easygoing setting in the beginning of the story, switching it to a spooky catacomb creates a lot of new tensions. Symbolizing and using verbal irony hand in hand assists the reader in getting a tense feeling because the reader knows more than Fortunato did. The story “Cask of Amontillado,” is an advanced story full of different technique, making it more of a horrifying story. Montresor puts in a lot of time and effort in order to make this plan successful. Is someone allowed to go as far as Montresor did in order to put revenge on

A type of dramatic irony in the story can be seen in Fortunato’s attire at the carnival. Fortunato was dressed as a jester, though it was actually Montresor who was laughed at and ridiculed. Professor Charles N. Nevi, of the department of English in Medford, Oregon, writes about the irony in Fortunato’s dress when he says, “Fotunato’s dress is ironic, for a jester is not just a man to be laughed at; he is a man who makes others laugh by being aware of the frailties of mankind and then ridiculing them, but Fortunato is aware of very little and who ridicules nothing. It is Montresor who came closer to the role of jester,” (Nevi par.8). Here Professor Nevi suggests that Montresor is the one who is actually ridiculed and should be a better fit in the jester dress. These examples demonstrate Fortunato’s ironic misfortunes that lead to his eventual death.

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

     In this story the character of Montresor is revealed through his own words. When he reveals he is going to punish Fortunato for merely insulting him, that he has planned the whole act of vengeance, and that he has been playing as being Fortunato’s friend, we know we are dealing with a deranged personality. His character is also revealed with references to his family. It is almost as if Poe has Montresor’s ancestors tell the reader how nicely he fits into the family tree. His legacy from his family motto “No one attacks me with impunity” and a coat of arms that depicts a serpent whose last wish before death is to poison the foot that crushed it. Does the fruit of ever fall far from the tree? Montresor is as evil as his forebears were. He shows no remorse about what he has done, even in old age. When he says, “May he rest in peace” at the end of the story, the reader gets the feeling he means, “ I hope you stay there and rot” rather than, “I hope you found joy and peace in heaven.”

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