I Don't Think He Loved Wine That Much
In any story, the feelings or emotions presented are made up of a combination of three things; tone, atmosphere and theme. This simply means that the overall effect of a story of fiction relies on the story at hand as well as the described setting to get a general effect in the end. In Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado his dark setting description, and sinister characters present a story with a theme that can be only described as revenge.
The point of view of this story is first person through the eyes of the lead character Montresor. This character is presented from the start as being a cold hearted man that believes Fortunato, an old friend of his, has done him wrong and should die for it. His character's evil is shown more upon his greeting with Fortunato, he comes off as friendly and invites Fortunato to come enjoy a recently purchase cask of "...what passes for Amontillado"(203). At this point of the story the main character has already professed his plan for the murder of his so-called friend. This proves how much disdain Montresor has for Fortunato, who has a rather unfitting name. The use of first person narration goes a long way in the work of fiction. It allows the reader to go into the mind of the murderer and see exactly what makes him tick. It also adds to the tone and atmosphere of the story. Montresor is so cold and evil that he seems to become a part of the dark surroundings that Poe creates in the catacombs. He is almost used as a vice to set tone in the story. Thus showing that his character use plays a big part in setting the tone for a story.
The atmosphere that Poe sets throughout the story is that of darkness and gloom. He presents the whole tale as if it took place in the darkest setting that could be described with words. In one such description of a crypt room Poe states," Its walls had been lined with human remains piled to th...