The Cask of Amontillado - Irony and Symbolism Essay

Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are

The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the driving force for the entire short story. The

Most who have read Edgar Allen Poe’s poems, short stories, and other writings, would come to the general consensus that he has a very dark, cynical, mind. Not only is Poe known for his twisted texts, but for using many literary elements within his writing. One main element that he uses is irony. Irony is “a figure of speech which is a contradiction or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs” (The 3 Types of Irony 1). There are also three types of irony, which includes verbal, dramatic, and situational. Poe offers multiple examples of irony in the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”.

The first sight of irony in the story is when Montresor waits for Fortunato at the carnival. The carnival is celebrated right before the Lent starts. In addition, this is ironic, because the last day of the carnival is usually the last day of sin before the Lent begins. Fortunato is already drunk from the party and Montresor leads him away with the promise of tasting a very expensive and rare wine Amontillado. As they walk down to the catacombs, Montresor pretends to act like he cares about Fortunato’s ill health. Similarly, it's ironic in the fact that he's planning on killing Fortunato. It’s also ironic that they're going in the catacombs, that's filled with bones that are hanging from chains, it's foreshadowing the death that awaits Fortunato. Basically, Montresor carries and explains away that he has it because he's a Freemason, the tool will lead to another murder. The toast that Fortunato makes is ironic. In other words, he toasts “a toast, to your long life”, having no idea that he's soon to be buried. Therefore, “It must be understood that neither by word or deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my goodwill. I continued, as was my won't, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.”

that he will have someone else taste the Amontillado, knowing that by doing this Fortunato will feel compelled to taste the wine himself. “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn I is he. He will tell me…” In addition to being manipulative and vengeful, Montressor also displays condescending traits. Montressor addresses Fortunato in the catacombs by saying, “...your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I was. You are a man to be missed.”

"The Cask of Amontillado" is one of Edgar Allan Poe's greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresor's friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story.

Some of the irony used on this story can be seen when Montresor asks Fortunato about how he's feeling with the nitre and Montresor warns him by saying "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, and 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." This phrases show all the irony necessary for a story to be ironic: first, Montresor saying that Fortunato's health is precious; second, when he says that Fortunato is a man to be missed; but after that, saying that to him it doesn't matter if he dies; and finally, saying that he will not be responsible.

It's certain that Fortunato has no idea of Montresor's anger, and this makes the story even more tragic and frightening as the story goes on. The seemingly happy jangling of the bells on the top of Fortunato's cap become more and more sad the deeper the two venture into the catacombs. ” Edgar Allan Poe uses irony to develop his theme of a man who seeks salvation through repression. In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor is out for revenge. Montresor's only concern appears to be exacting revenge with impunity.

The Cask of Amontillado is a tale of terror written by Edgar Allen Poe. This short story is from the point of view from Montresor’s memory. The setting of this story is in a small unnamed European city, at a local carnival and then at the catacombs under Montresor’s home, around duck. The brief synopsis of this story is about the revenge that the Montresor, the antagonist and narrator, wants against Fortunato, a wine connoisseur and the victim, that has insulted him. Montresor finds Fortunato at a carnival and lures him into the catacombs of his home by offering him a special kind of wine. While in the

The Cask of the Amontillado uses irony throughout the story by dialogical interactions between Montresor and Fortunato. In the event of Carnivale, Monstresor detects Fortuno on the street, and offers Fortunato to go see the wine in the catacombs. Fortunato insists to go see the catacombs of wine at once, but Montresor plays worried about Fortunato’s cough and alters his decision about the catacombs and advises him not to go. “ Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough-” ( 61). This dialogical interaction of verbal irony impacts the story because it shifts the climax of the story to the falling action. Montresor slowly shifts the climax of the story to the falling action, because he slowly captivates

Did the narrator really kill the beloved jester Fortunato or was it one of his many lies? In the story ¨The Cask of Amontillado¨ the reader can´t trust the narrator to accurately portray the sequence of events because he is a liar, psychopath and a killer. Montresor, the narrator, is definitely psycho since he prides himself in “killing Fortunato.” Montresor lied to Fortunato many times in the story, inferring that he lied about the murder.

The short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edger Allan Poe, is based on Montresor taking revenge on his old friend Fortunato. The play contains many literary elements that connect to the life of the author as well. The short story holds literary elements that in turn are used to depict the author himself. Some of the elements in the play that are detailed are irony, characterization, and symbolism. Fortunato’s name is ironic as well as the wine he so desperate to drink. This compares to Poe as he was a notorious drunk in his time. There are multiple symbols that are sprinkled throughout the story, the wine and the catacombs themselves are examples. The catacombs are a symbol to the amount of death that surrounded the author in his life. Characterization is used to give us an image of the two characters that the story revolves around. The characterization of both Fortunato and Montresor who could be both the author himself and the people he despised. Every author places their own experiences into their work to make it more believable, or to give more of a draw to the audience.

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a story rife with symbolism, irony and psychological horror brought on by the writing that Edgar Allan Poe has been known for throughout literary history. The story follows Montresor, a man who was insulted by his friend Fortunato, as he enacts his revenge for the betrayal. Poe’s use of Gothic rhetoric adds to the horror and violence of the story as a whole but more so on a psychological level. The setting brings about a constant flickering of emotion between freedom and confinement, causing the reader to be in a constant hyperaware state throughout the reading. Poe used symbolism all through this story and managed to tie it in with the setting causing an even more sinister vibe to take hold.

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’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