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Critical Analysis of "The Cask Of Amontillado"

Uploaded by sls465 on Apr 18, 2007

Critical Analysis of "The Cask Of Amontillado"

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” presents the compelling drama of two men. Montresor, one of the two men, will stop at nothing to get the revenge that he deems worthy of from Fortunato. The other man, Fortunato, his own pride will ultimately be the catalyst for his death. From a critical perspective, Charles E. May states, “That a reader’s primary concern should not be Montresor’s reason for killing Fortunato, but his reason for telling about it.” I believe that Montresor does enjoy telling the story of the destruction of Fortunato and has never atoned for his sin in any way. The pride of Montresor has been dishonored and he could not bear to allow Fortunato to live. Montresor enjoys telling of Fortunato’s death by foreshadowing the planning of Fortunato’s death, showing the irony of his revenge, and demonstrating the pride and symbolism in his coat of arms.

To begin, “The Cask of Amontillado” is full of clues that hint towards the untimely death of Fortunato. For instance, the scene where Montresor was walking Fortunato to his pipe of amontillado in the catacombs contains foreshadowing. This scene displays that death is upon Fortunato. “‘The cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me’” (Poe 189). Montresor knows that Fortunato is going to perish from his vengeful scheme of trapping him and leading him to his own starvation. Fortunato is a proud man and doesn’t believe that his death will be due to something as petty as a cold. In reality, Fortunato believes that his life will end as a result of some courageous act and that he will die a noble death. However, Montresor only laughs and is entertained by Fortunato’s beliefs. Montresor knows Fortunato's death will not be noble and his pride will shatter in the dark depths of the catacombs. In addition, another important clue that foreshadows that death was near for Fortunato is in the symbolism of the trowel. “I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement- a grotesque one” (Poe 190). “’You are not of the masons.’” “…Producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel” (Poe 190). This quote describes how Fortunato makes a movement that was a secret sign of the Masons, a fraternity-like organization. Montresor does not recognize the hand signal Fortunato produces, but claims that he is indeed...

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Uploaded by:   sls465

Date:   04/18/2007

Category:   Literature

Length:   4 pages (860 words)

Views:   9617

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