A natural response when receiving slander is to fire back and seek revenge. Many say nothing is sweeter than revenge, and in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe emphasizes this fact through the actions of Montresor and Fortunato, the murderer and the victim of the story. Montresor leads Fortunato into his family catacombs under the false impression of a mysterious cask of amontillado that’s deep inside, and then buries him within the walls as his act of revenge towards Fortunato. Poe certainly accomplishes his purposes of creating an eerie tone and paralleling his characters off of his own double sided personality; however, Poe most strongly establishes the recurring idea that Montresor and Fortunato are complete opposites.
Throughout …show more content…
When the antipathy that Montresor has for Fortunato is established in the beginning of the short story at the scene of the carnival, Montresor thinks to himself, “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser” (Poe 1). The paradox assists in issuing the notion of Montresor’s deranged personality, as he contradicts himself, saying he must punish Fortunato without really punishing him. This shines a light on the fact that Montresor is just as loony as Poe himself was. It provides a deeper understanding of Montresor 's motives and feelings and aids the reader to see his confusing and messy thought process. All of this parallels to how Poe had a crooked and strange thought process in his lifetime, directly stemming from tragic events that occurred to him such as his parents death when he was young and his separation from his siblings after their passing as they were split up amongst different adopting families. As Montresor contradicts himself, it parallels directly to how Poe was essentially “confused” on what kind of man he was when he would drink, considering how excessively he did, and so when Montresor comments on how, “He [Fortunato] accosted me with excessive warmth for he had …show more content…
Imagery precipitates the eerie tone by appealing to the reader’s senses of hearing and sight as Fortunato 's laugh is heard and Montresor 's smile is seen, sending a chill up the audience 's spines. Paradox and symbolism support the paralleling of the characters off of Poe, which is seen when Montresor contradicts himself, and is again depicted in how the characters dress inverse of each other, symbolically representing two sides of Edgar Allan Poe. Finally, detail and irony back up the overall purpose of establishing that Montresor and Fortunato are opposites as the reader visualizes Montresor and Fortunato’s outward appearances, and recognizes the irony that is discreetly placed within the meaning of the characters names. The text exhibits that the thirst for revenge is a strong factor in influencing people, and shows that you should always be careful about what you comment to others because you are never sure how they might take it. This is useful to note, since everyone should be mindful of what they say and what they keep to themselves. After all, if you don 't have anything nice to say don 't say it at all, it could lead to your eventual
Throughout …show more content…
When the antipathy that Montresor has for Fortunato is established in the beginning of the short story at the scene of the carnival, Montresor thinks to himself, “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser” (Poe 1). The paradox assists in issuing the notion of Montresor’s deranged personality, as he contradicts himself, saying he must punish Fortunato without really punishing him. This shines a light on the fact that Montresor is just as loony as Poe himself was. It provides a deeper understanding of Montresor 's motives and feelings and aids the reader to see his confusing and messy thought process. All of this parallels to how Poe had a crooked and strange thought process in his lifetime, directly stemming from tragic events that occurred to him such as his parents death when he was young and his separation from his siblings after their passing as they were split up amongst different adopting families. As Montresor contradicts himself, it parallels directly to how Poe was essentially “confused” on what kind of man he was when he would drink, considering how excessively he did, and so when Montresor comments on how, “He [Fortunato] accosted me with excessive warmth for he had …show more content…
Imagery precipitates the eerie tone by appealing to the reader’s senses of hearing and sight as Fortunato 's laugh is heard and Montresor 's smile is seen, sending a chill up the audience 's spines. Paradox and symbolism support the paralleling of the characters off of Poe, which is seen when Montresor contradicts himself, and is again depicted in how the characters dress inverse of each other, symbolically representing two sides of Edgar Allan Poe. Finally, detail and irony back up the overall purpose of establishing that Montresor and Fortunato are opposites as the reader visualizes Montresor and Fortunato’s outward appearances, and recognizes the irony that is discreetly placed within the meaning of the characters names. The text exhibits that the thirst for revenge is a strong factor in influencing people, and shows that you should always be careful about what you comment to others because you are never sure how they might take it. This is useful to note, since everyone should be mindful of what they say and what they keep to themselves. After all, if you don 't have anything nice to say don 't say it at all, it could lead to your eventual