Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado
An Analysis of "The Cask of Amontillado In "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a trip into the mind of a madman. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeanceis being taken when no real offense had been given. Even though this is a short story, Poe createsa nightmare, almost guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night. The plot of the story is simple. Montresor takes revenge on his friend Fortunato by luringhim into the tunnels under the family estate. There he leads Fortunato into the depths of thecatacombs where he buries him alive by walling him into a recess in the wall. The story is told infirst person from the point of view of Montresor himself. The exposition of the story occurswhen Montresor tells us that he wants to take revenge on Fortunato because "he ventured uponinsult"(191). We also learn that he intends to go unpunished for this act of vengeance. Thenarrator informs us that he is going to continue to smile in Fortunato's face, but use the pride hisvictim has in wine to lure him into the catacombs to taste some of his non- exis
He uses imagery to help the readerexperience of the catacombs. I find that this story makes the hairs on my back of my neck rise every time I read it. He must not have been a guarded person. We hear the jingle of bells on Fortunato's cap, his hacking cough, and hislaughter of despair as he is buried alive. Even if thereader was confused by the language of the first paragraph or is puzzled by the motive of thenarrator, he/she is curious to know what will happen next. He sets most of the story in adark, damp series of winding tunnels piled with bones. Why does he hesitate at the end? Will he react to the desperatecry of Fortunato? When the last brick is set in place, we know Fortunato's doom has been sealed. There is no real violence in the modern sense of the word, it is almost more horrifying becauserayther than see it with our eyes we se it with our imagination. The two characters are underground and isolated. He says just the opposite of what he means. Just about everythingMontresor says is verbal irony. The true horror is that Fortunato died a terrible death, utterly alone, and his killerwas never brought to justice. The conclusion lets us know that Montresorwas never punished for this crime. Perhaps the theme in the story is the least important feature. The setting Poe chose for the story adds to the horror.
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