Essay 2: “The Cask of Amontillado” Analysis The darkest and most powerful force in the world is that of revenge. Revenge is the very emotion that controls and directs the actions of Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”. The story follows a man named Montresor who plots his revenge on his companion, Fortunato, for disgracing his family name. Poe portrays this theme of the power of revenge through his use of literary devices such as allegory, symbolism, point of view, setting, foreshadow, and irony. Montresor’s family motto found on the coat of arms within the cask plays as one of the most significant forms of allegory used by Poe. The motto of Montresor’s family is “Nemo me impune lacessit.” which translates
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Montresor plays as the narrative within the story, allowing the readers to follow along on this ruthless journey, and is a key tool used to show the various thoughts and actions of Montresor, all of which relate in some manner to his quest for revenge. The quote “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.” tells the readers that Montresor is telling the events of the cask 50 years in the future. This information provides useful insight into Montresor’s personality by revealing that he is not mournful at all for his actions, which shows how revenge still has consumed him to this very day. Montresor’s family catacomb plays as the setting to the story. The catacombs dark and isolated nature makes this setting the perfect place for Montresor to carry out his evil plan. This setting is also used to symbolize confinement. The catacombs is the final resting place of Fortunato, who is physically confined, it is also the source of Montresor’s dark evil plan, which can be seen as Montresor being mentally confined to his pursuit for …show more content…
The cask itself plays a part as a form of situational irony because it is closely related to the word casket, which Fortunato soon will meet. Fortunato tells Montresor to not worry about his cough because it will not kill him, Montresor’s devilish states “True- true” which plays as a form of dramatic irony because the reader already knows the true intentions of Montresor. When Fortunato asks Montresor if he is a Freemason, Montresor says yes stating that he is a “mason”, which is actually referring to his ability to build with stone since Montresor will entrap him within the catacombs. These various forms of irony each symbolize the dark and devilish personality of Montresor who continues to toy with Fortunato. Montresor continues to boastfully leave subtle hints of his evil plan to Fortunato, which portrays how Montresor’s revenge has left him quite cold and unsympathetic of his forthcoming
Montresor plays as the narrative within the story, allowing the readers to follow along on this ruthless journey, and is a key tool used to show the various thoughts and actions of Montresor, all of which relate in some manner to his quest for revenge. The quote “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.” tells the readers that Montresor is telling the events of the cask 50 years in the future. This information provides useful insight into Montresor’s personality by revealing that he is not mournful at all for his actions, which shows how revenge still has consumed him to this very day. Montresor’s family catacomb plays as the setting to the story. The catacombs dark and isolated nature makes this setting the perfect place for Montresor to carry out his evil plan. This setting is also used to symbolize confinement. The catacombs is the final resting place of Fortunato, who is physically confined, it is also the source of Montresor’s dark evil plan, which can be seen as Montresor being mentally confined to his pursuit for …show more content…
The cask itself plays a part as a form of situational irony because it is closely related to the word casket, which Fortunato soon will meet. Fortunato tells Montresor to not worry about his cough because it will not kill him, Montresor’s devilish states “True- true” which plays as a form of dramatic irony because the reader already knows the true intentions of Montresor. When Fortunato asks Montresor if he is a Freemason, Montresor says yes stating that he is a “mason”, which is actually referring to his ability to build with stone since Montresor will entrap him within the catacombs. These various forms of irony each symbolize the dark and devilish personality of Montresor who continues to toy with Fortunato. Montresor continues to boastfully leave subtle hints of his evil plan to Fortunato, which portrays how Montresor’s revenge has left him quite cold and unsympathetic of his forthcoming