Literary Analysis Essay on The Cask of Amontillado

Introduction

The cask of Amontillado is a short recital by Edgar Allan Poe, published in November 1846. The chain of events in the story follows a man, Montresor, seeking revenge on another man because of the abusive and offensive comments he encountered. The story works on the intoxication of Fortunato, who is the adversary in the tale, and how he ends up being buried alive. The scope of the narrative takes place in Italy at the "carnival season, which is referred to as a time of extreme absurdity, which can explain the persona's mental state of madness. "The cask of Amontillado covers distinct themes throughout the plot of the story as the readers put themselves in different shoes of the characters. This article highlights the prominent issues such as vengeance, fear, and death that appear on the plot of the story

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The themes of betrayal and vengeance are evident in the start of the story: the persona writes in the first line, "the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge," Montresor clearly states of his schemes to murder Fortunato who was once a companion. The protagonist welcomes his friend to a wine tasting in his cellar, but it turns out to be a plot to kill him (Rea, 57). This first sentence has the motive for his atrocious plan. He does not talk about the insults that Fortunato gave him, which makes the whole plot look like it's from a sick mind. The readers cannot decide if the abuses that were made were worth punishing with death. On the other hand, the betrayal from a friend can also consume a person and drive them to extremities of even committing heinous crimes.

The irony is theme readers pick when reading "The Cask of Amontillado." The inescapable paradox of Montresor's portrayal muddles endeavors to comprehend his thought processes and different conflicts at the core of the story (Stepp, 447). Simultaneously, layers of irony additionally contribute to the story's tone of frightfulness. The character of Fortunato remains stupidly unaware of Montresor's actual motives for a large part of the story. In contrast, there is obvious delight where Montresor takes in telling his story: gladly reviewing everything that happened years after.

Another matter that occurs in the story is trust. In this present day, people have learned to be careful around adversaries, especially after your fair share of poking. Fortunato can be called naive for easily trusting someone he initially insulted to serve him wine. Montresor felt provoked to murder someone who was once a friend: this must mean that the insult must have been grave. One can say he attacked his ego, status in the society, or accused him of something unacceptable (Gargano, 119). When Fortunato agrees to get drunk past his sober limit and walk around the ends of the vault of his "friend's" house, we can conclude that he was very gullible or trusting to his friend. The story also tries to show that to manipulate someone's trust, alcohol should be the tool to do it. Montresor also convinces his friend to trust him by being very welcoming and a warm host. On the other hand, Fortunato may not have placed himself in that situation because he believed Montresor, but because of his inability to reject the offer of a free drink. Fortunato's insobriety and drunken nature can be argued as the cause of his misfortune and not trust.

The fear of death can also be discussed as an issue that appears in this story. Everyone from both the present day and past is terrified by the end. Death by being buried alive is especially taunting when one thinks of it. Allan Poe plays with us by taking us into the mind most of us would recognize as insane (Baraban,52). The acts by Montresor are utterly evil, considering that he took his time to plan it. Everyone in life would want a short-lived death, that is painless and not traumatizing. For Montresor to make his victim's death long and dreadful causes panic and fear to readers. He vividly describes the details leading to Fortunato's burial: of how he was first handcuffed to the wall, also how "He stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant, he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. On its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended on a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key, I stepped back from the recess." The description given on the chain of events towards the burial creates a vivid mental picture which brings about suspense and goosebumps to the reader as fear is instilled upon them.

Edgar's style of writing consists of imagery and symbolism: these can be interpreted as a theme appearing in the narrative. He describes Fortunato to have been dressed in a carnival consume of a jokester, and the tale shows that he followed Montresor back to his house like a fool. The relation between his dressing like a fool and his foolishness trusting Montresor to his death. Allan also describes Montresor to have put on a black silk mask to cover his face and coat himself in his cloak. From this image, he seems to be hiding from something, while from the story, he is masking his true intentions of trying to kill his friend by pretending to be hospitable.

Deceit is another theme that is present in the Cask of Amontillado. Montresor lures Fortunato into his trap by telling him lies. He deceives him that the vault down the staircase was a wine cellar. When they are at the small opening at the stone wall, he misleads Fortunato by saying that there is an amontillado inside. This is where Fortunato is not so fortunate as he is buried alive in the catacombs. Some other point in the story where there's a form of lies being told is when Montresor holds the trowel trying to prove to Fortunato that he was a mason, yet Fortunato knew well enough that he was not. Fortunato, plastered and wearing motley, flaunts that he could tell apart an amontillado from other sherry. Thus Montresor baits his adversary down into Montresor's family tombs, saying that he has some amontillado for Fortunato to taste.

Foreshadowing or having premonitions is an element that is present in the story. When Montresor shows Fortunato the trowel, trying to prove that he is a mason, he also shows him the weapon that was to be used in burying him alive (Baraban, 58). The other time that we can say was some premonition is when they were descending the staircase to the catacombs, and Fortunato started coughing. The tension that the cough brought should have made him think twice about where he was heading. The cough was due to the mineral deposits found on the walls of the crypt. Montresor cunningly asks his friend if they should head back upstairs, knowing that he would still wish to stay because of the free alcohol.

The different statuses among the people in that place in Italy are vividly described in the story. The reason as to cause the homicide can be due to the various situations in the society. Montresor felt belittled by his adversary with the insults he received. From the name Fortunato, he is painted as this fortunate man, suggesting that he was born in the right refined family hence sourcing his wealth from an inheritance while Montresor maybe obtained riches instead of first position nobility.

The emotion that fueled this vengeance is hate. Montresor hates his friend after being betrayed by the insulting comments he received. To tie a person to rock with chains and sealing the room with stones and mortar, one must have enough hate in him to keep him going (Gargano, 119). Hate, therefore, can rise as a theme in this story. Montresor believed that his friend despised him. That's why he took the insults from Fortunato very seriously. The story also shows that Montresor had a heraldic coat of arms that was embroiled with a golden foot on a background that is blue, crushing a snake with its fangs buried in the sole. It had a motto that translated to "No one attacks me with impunity." From this motto, we can say that whether the insults he received were little or of no grounds to murder the perpetrator, they still had to be punished in some way. This goes to show that Montresor was a man full of hate. There are several reasons that make "The Cask of Amontillado" to be a very prominent tale over all these years. The story is still being read to this day and reviewed by literature experts 150 years after it being published. The story mirrors a minor part of civilization from the late 1840s, where drunkenness was not considered a big deal in society like today. Cases of homicides and heinous murders were part of their lives. Criminals charged with severe offenses were killed by the guillotine. This story ends with the death of the antagonist in a much cruel way: slow and painful.

Another theme expressed in the story is remorse. There are occasions when Montresor acknowledges that he isn't feeling great (Rea, 57). "My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs." When this sentence starts, readers can strangely feel a little bit relieved to find that he is somewhat having some regrets, possibly the frenzy that has taken him over has at long last been overwhelmed by some frightfulness at his very own activities, obviously, the entirety of that is immediately scattered by him accusing those feelings of being from the dampness of the vault. He would sometimes, one or two times, ask Fortunato to turn back, yet he tempered every one of those ideas with a nudge that would protect that his intoxicated companion would need to proceed. Montresor might have been doing this as a way to alleviate his guilt. Would he be able to persuade himself that he attempted to spare him, yet it was Fortunato's decision to proceed to his demise?

Conclusion

In conclusion, "The Cask of Amontillado" is a story that reflects on some cultural perspectives during the late 1840s. For one, liquor abuse was exceptionally more common in that past society than it is today. People also experienced horrifying deaths as a part of day to day existence in the 1840s. In "The Cask of Amontillado," a dreary demise is the finish of a man's life and the finish of the story. Several themes emerge when reviewing this story, but the topic of vengeance is more significant. It is a rarity indeed that a retribution story of this nature comes into the hands of readers. Poe is, without a doubt playing with the readers' judgment as he does in the vast majority of his accounts. He disseminates little signs for the observing pursuer to discover. My recommendation is to peruse this story a couple of times, and each time, ideally, another layer of the story will uncover itself to you. This is an extreme case of Poe and by specific individuals thought about his best short story.

Work Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. The cask of Amontillado. The Creative Company, 2008.

Stepp, Walter. "The Ironic Double in Poe's" The Cask of Amontillado"." Studies in Short Fiction 13.4 (1976): 447.

Baraban, Elena V. "The motive for murder in" The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe." Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature (2004): 47-62.

Rea, Joy. "Poe's" The Cask of Amontillado"." Studies in Short Fiction 4.1 (1966): 57.

Gargano, James W. "" The Cask of Amontillado": A Masquerade of Motive and Identity." Studies in Short Fiction4.2 (1967): 119.