What does it take to achieve the perfect revenge? It should be surprising, unexpected, and he or she must get away with it unbeknownst to anyone else. Edgar Allan Poe makes sure to emphasize that the person who is scoring revenge must never be exposed to or caught by anyone else. A key ingredient to the narrator's plot in "The Cask of Amontillado" is the setting. It takes place in a creepy, underground catacomb in Italy during carnival season.
The setting of the story is ironic. During carnival season, everyone is dressed up and celebrating while Fortunato is blindlessly being lead towards his point of no return. Carnival season, similar to today’s mardi gras located in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the perfect time to commit a crime because everyone in the area is drunk or too busy partying to notice one’s absence. Due to the story being set during a time of celebration, everyone is wandering through town rather than sitting at home. The narrator states “There were no attendants at home, they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time.” This means that no one is home other than Montresor and Fortunato. No witnesses were around to see the pair of men or hear the screams of terror to follow. In the celebration of carnival, Fortunato is dressed as a jester, which is …show more content…
The suggestion that this is a season of “supreme madness” stimulates the suspense of the atmosphere. The catacombs contained death, violence, and revenge. This represents human nature. People dress in costumes and masks to disclose their true selves. The setting of the catacomb during the festival allows Poe to emphasize the relation between the characters in the story and everyday people. The setting of carnival is ironic while the catacomb gives the reader the emotion of death while still creating the best possible place for
The setting of the story is ironic. During carnival season, everyone is dressed up and celebrating while Fortunato is blindlessly being lead towards his point of no return. Carnival season, similar to today’s mardi gras located in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the perfect time to commit a crime because everyone in the area is drunk or too busy partying to notice one’s absence. Due to the story being set during a time of celebration, everyone is wandering through town rather than sitting at home. The narrator states “There were no attendants at home, they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time.” This means that no one is home other than Montresor and Fortunato. No witnesses were around to see the pair of men or hear the screams of terror to follow. In the celebration of carnival, Fortunato is dressed as a jester, which is …show more content…
The suggestion that this is a season of “supreme madness” stimulates the suspense of the atmosphere. The catacombs contained death, violence, and revenge. This represents human nature. People dress in costumes and masks to disclose their true selves. The setting of the catacomb during the festival allows Poe to emphasize the relation between the characters in the story and everyday people. The setting of carnival is ironic while the catacomb gives the reader the emotion of death while still creating the best possible place for