Edgar Allen Poe is renowned for being able to tell a memorable story. His use of characters and ability to describe each setting enhances the story for any reader. The imagery that he creates for his reader places them directly into the story while the plot of the story keeps them at the edge of their seat ready to read more. With lines like “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settled” (Poe, 764) Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” delivers another fascinating tale that you just cannot put down.
“The Cask of Amontillado” has two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. The story is being told by Montresor’s point of view and we are with him as he brings down his opponent Fortunato. Poe builds each character throughout the story but in the beginning he introduces us to a character that is angry and is now ready to serve his form of justice “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.” (Poe 764). With this Poe is setting the scene of anger and justification that the character is feeling. Montresor is angry because of the “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could”, but he is also smart in that he knows in order to get his revenge he must maintain his appearance of friendship, which he had been doing for some time. I think because of Fortunatos power in Montresors community, Montresor has delayed in enacting his revenge. In the text Montresor says that “He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared” (Poe 764). Fortunato fancied himself as a “connoisseurship in wine” (Poe, 764) which means that he regularly imbibed in spirits. So while he may have a weakness in spirits, he is not a stupid man, Montresor will have to keep his wits about him to succeed in enacting his revenge. To lure Fortunato to his doom Montresor will have planned this revenge for quite some time. …show more content…
When meeting Fortunato on the street Montresor gains his attention by mentioning the cask of Amontillado that he has acquired and with that Fortunato, who had been drinking, insisted that they go down into the vaults to try this cask of wine. The irony of this is that under the guise of friendship and concern he tells Fortunato’s health he tells Fortunato “Come, we will go back ere it is too late.” (Poe 766) due to the cough that is exacerbated by the cold and dampness of the cellars of Montresor’s home. During the trip going further and further into the catacombs Montresor asks Fortunato again if he would like to go back. The symbolism that Poe uses in the story is fascinating because while he describes their decent into the crypts he is tells of a dank, dark area that is cold and wet. This progressively gets worse with their progress under “low arches” (Poe 767) and walls lined with “human remains” (Poe 767). As they get further and further into the catacombs they get closer and closer to death. Montresor is also keen on being dramatic as the stone and mortar that he uses to build the wall that entombs Fortunato is hidden under a pile of bones. Just as at the end of the story when Montresor says that he “thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within”
“The Cask of Amontillado” has two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. The story is being told by Montresor’s point of view and we are with him as he brings down his opponent Fortunato. Poe builds each character throughout the story but in the beginning he introduces us to a character that is angry and is now ready to serve his form of justice “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.” (Poe 764). With this Poe is setting the scene of anger and justification that the character is feeling. Montresor is angry because of the “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could”, but he is also smart in that he knows in order to get his revenge he must maintain his appearance of friendship, which he had been doing for some time. I think because of Fortunatos power in Montresors community, Montresor has delayed in enacting his revenge. In the text Montresor says that “He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared” (Poe 764). Fortunato fancied himself as a “connoisseurship in wine” (Poe, 764) which means that he regularly imbibed in spirits. So while he may have a weakness in spirits, he is not a stupid man, Montresor will have to keep his wits about him to succeed in enacting his revenge. To lure Fortunato to his doom Montresor will have planned this revenge for quite some time. …show more content…
When meeting Fortunato on the street Montresor gains his attention by mentioning the cask of Amontillado that he has acquired and with that Fortunato, who had been drinking, insisted that they go down into the vaults to try this cask of wine. The irony of this is that under the guise of friendship and concern he tells Fortunato’s health he tells Fortunato “Come, we will go back ere it is too late.” (Poe 766) due to the cough that is exacerbated by the cold and dampness of the cellars of Montresor’s home. During the trip going further and further into the catacombs Montresor asks Fortunato again if he would like to go back. The symbolism that Poe uses in the story is fascinating because while he describes their decent into the crypts he is tells of a dank, dark area that is cold and wet. This progressively gets worse with their progress under “low arches” (Poe 767) and walls lined with “human remains” (Poe 767). As they get further and further into the catacombs they get closer and closer to death. Montresor is also keen on being dramatic as the stone and mortar that he uses to build the wall that entombs Fortunato is hidden under a pile of bones. Just as at the end of the story when Montresor says that he “thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within”