The Cask Of Amontillado And 'The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber'

In the short stories “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, irony is the main element used. Like many authors, these authors both use irony to their advantage. One story is about a hunter being hunted, an ironic twist, for a reason yet not stated. And the other is about a murder being committed using reverse psychology which takes place in a family catacomb with a fondness for wine ironically enabling the crime.

<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

As Poe goes on to tell the story he states“ My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Lines 27-28). Fortunato is not very lucky at all! But he does not know at that time that Montresor is plotting his revenge. Montresor makes Fortunato believe that he wanted his opinion on the wine before he purchased it, but it was just a hoax (Lines 33-34).

Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.

Without doubt, Edgar Allan Poe’s story is one of the author’s masterpiece. The story is an exhibit of artistic genius with various literary features well incorporated. Among them, irony, defined as, “A figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs”, is the most evident. Allan Poe demonstrates the use of various types of irony throughout the play, which he uses to pass the intended message to the audience.

In the stories “Story of an Hour”, “Everyday Use”, “The Necklace”, and “The Lottery” it is evident that irony was quite a large part of the short story. There is situational irony, which is when the situation turns out differently than expected. Also, dramatic irony is present, which is when you as a reader knows more than the character. The authors seem to base their whole story around irony to surprise their readers.

After talking highly about him, Montresor strikes a conversation of the new wine he bought, telling Fortunato that he is much too busy and that he will have Luchesi taste the wine to see if it is real Amontillado, but Fortunato refused. Finally he declares, “ ‘My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchesi-’ ” (152), causing Fortunato to invite him to go down to his vaults and taste wine. Poe’s use of manipulation through Montresor at this point highlights the dark nature of the situation. By Montresor using Fortunato’s weakness against him reveals that he isn’t a true friend of his, which portrays Montresor’s true colors. As the men were traveling down the catacomb, Montresor noticed Fortunato’s “two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication” (152) and urged him to “drink … to the buried that repose around us” (152). Poe’s use of nature depicts Montresor as a bad influence by bringing out his dark side. He makes his friend drink more, when he is clearly intoxicated, instead of having him stop. At the end, when Montresor was finally about to finish the wall that would seal Fortunato chained-up in the room,“[f]or a brief moment [he] hesitated-[and] trembled” (155), showing

The second occurrence of Poe’s use of verbal irony takes place when Fortunato toasts to the dead surrounding him and Montresor to Fortunato’s long life. While they are venturing through the vaults towards the Amontillado, Montresor presents Fortunato with a bottle of wine after he has a coughing fit. Once Fortunato receives the bottle he says, “‘I drink, to the buried that repose around us’”, and Montresor replies, “‘And I to your long

In The Cask of Amontillado Poe engages the reader by using suspense to emphasize Montresor’s villainous mindset. On page 209 Montresor stated, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne best I could; when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” This explains his feelings towards Fortunato and how he “insults” him.

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a story full of irony. Irony is defined as a literary technique in which what appears differs radically from what is actually the case. In addition, irony can be divided into three groups: dramatic, verbal, and situational. Dramatic irony is when the readers notice something before the characters do. Verbal irony is when the characters say something that differs significantly from what they really mean. Situational irony is when the actual result is different from what was initially expected. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe combines all of these ironies to tell the story and to construct the personalities of the characters in an entertaining way.

Along with foreshadowing Poe also uses verbal irony, to portray how revenge has made Montresor go crazy. While Montresor and Fortunato walk into the cave Fortunato starts coughing: “,We will go back; your health is precious” (214). Montresor’s intentions are to kill Fortunato so clearly Fortunato’s health really means nothing to him. When Montresor says “your health is precious” he really meant the complete opposite, he doesn’t care whatsoever. Montresor is pretending to be comforting to Fortunato, when just shortly will be killing him. The fact that he is pretending to be all kind, when he is about to

First, Poe’s use of verbal irony helps convey his theme more clearly throughout the story. In the beginning of the story, Montresor tells Fortunato that his “severe cold” will get even worse with how “insufferably damp” and “encrusted with nitre” (Poe 63) his vaults are. Montresor is playing off of Fortunato’s pride

Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour," irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesn't. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" through the use of situational irony and the use of dramatic irony.

In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” it deals with how someone can turn a seemingly nice night into a horrible and tragic ending. Montresor lures an inebriated Fortunato to show him a rich wine. But in a twist, Montresor chains him up and suffocates him. It uses an exceptional amount of irony, verbal, situational, and dramatic irony. Edgar Allan Poe, author of “The Cask of Amontillado,” writes using three different variants of irony to create an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere within the plot.

The Cask of Amontillado is about a man named Montresor who believes this other man named Fortunato insulted him. Montresor’s family motto is “no one insults me with impunity”, he feels justified in taking revenge on Fortunato. In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are many examples of irony to convey Montresor’s crime, while using another layer of irony to undermine his revenge.