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The Cask of Amontillado

            
             A story that makes you stop and think and does not let you just flip from page to page is sometimes sought out by someone who appreciates good literary fiction. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe may only be six pages long but his use of language, and in depth character and scene descriptions will make anyone think twice about what he or she has just read. These characteristics that make you stop re-read or re-think about what has just happened is what makes "The Cask of Amontillado" a very strong literary piece.
             One of the key literary characteristics is Poe's use of language. Throughout the story language that is used, whether it is from character to character or from the narrator to the reader is of a very sophisticated nature. The language used in the story including such phrases as "drawing a roquelaire closely about my person" and "with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the most inner most recess of the catacombs" really is more sophisticated than the language a reader of a commercial piece would expect to find. As if the sophisticated phrases weren't enough Poe went and used some Latin terms in the story. These extensive uses of language in the story would really deter a commercial reader away from the story.
             The in-depth character descriptions really pull the reader deeper into the characters and what they represent in the story. The description of what they wear from black silk masks and roquelaires to tight-fitting parti-striped dresses and conical caps and bells. Besides what they wear the descriptions of Fortunato and Montresor continued when Poe described how they interact with each other and others in society. Fortunato, who was intoxicated when introduced, seems to think that he has an edge on everyone and appears a bit arrogant. However when intoxicated this side of him is vulnerable to Montresors pompous and skillfully wicked character. The descriptions of what chracters wear and how they act makes the story more realistic and easier to picture the characters as realistic people.


Essays Related to The Cask of Amontillado

1. A comparison of Poe's Work

... "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of Amontillado" the protagonists are the narrators. However, in "The Fall of the House of Usher" the narrator is only telling us the story through his eyes and is really not a part of the story line itself. This is odd for a story by Poe because most of his works portray the protagonist as the murderer, like in "The Cask of Amontillado." In "The Fall of the House of Usher," Roderick is more of a main character than the narrator is. "The Fall of the House of ... Usher" is more of an ... ...

  • Word Count: 1972
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Short Story Analysis Of: The Cask Of Amontillado By: Edgar Allen Poe

... exactly what he does. Next, the wines from the amontillado to the Medoc and the De Grave, the amontillado represent their wealth and "connoisseurship" (Jerome B et al. 70) in fine wines. The Medoc was used as medicine to help the Fortunato's cough. Finally, the De Grave (of the grave) is ironic due to the fact that it was his last wine before entering his tomb. "The Cask of Amontillado" had extensive usage of many literary devices. Poe used ... different types in one story and the way he does it is amazing. The narration of the story as a first person participant is outstandingly awkwar...

  • Word Count: 2072
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Revenge in The Cask of Amontillado

... also uses symbolism. Poe's use of symbolism in The Cask of Amontillado also supports the argument of taking revenge. Symbolism in the story can be shown on Montresor's crest and the title of the story. The use of symbols in The Cask of Amontillado is depicted on the Montresor's crest, a serpent biting the heel of the human stepping on it. This can symbolize the situation between Montresor and Fortunato. However, the serpent would eventually attack. Additionally, the saying on the crest reads, "Nemo me ... pay. Lastly, the title of the story, The Cask of Amontillado, means the storage of...

  • Word Count: 849
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado

... ;The Cask of Amontillado" were two completely different stories written by Edgar Allan Poe himself, they do have some similarities as well as differences. In "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Black Cat," the stories involved murder. In both the stories, the narrators killed in horrendous ways. "I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of ... a century no mortal has disturbed them" (The Cask 194). Here in this quote it explains how ... ...

  • Word Count: 774
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Irony in the Cask of Amontilla

... Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" "The Cask of Amontillado," by Edgar Allen Poe, is a story wherein irony plays a critical role in unfolding the intentions of the unreliable narrator Montresor. There are examples of both dramatic and verbal irony throughout this clever tale of horror. Even the setting reveals some sense of irony as we travel from a joyous carnival scene to the dark, dismal, catacombs of the Montresor's. In the naming, the dialogue, the characterization, and in the setting of "The Cask of Amontillado" the irony, as it ... is woven throughout the tale, becomes self-ev...

  • Word Count: 1170
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The Lure of The Cask of Amontillado

... to be appropriate not only for the carnival season but also for the fact that Montresor intends to make a "fool" out of him. (Paragraph 4) This story is well written. Edgar Allan Poe realistically portrays the inhumanity of Montresor. "The Cask of Amontillado" is also a carefully crafted story. This story is a case of premeditated murder. In the "The Cask of Amontillado", there are basically two types of irony present. The first is the irony, which Montresor uses on Fortunato ... to enable his revenge to take place, and the second is, the irony that follows the pattern of the story Amon...

  • Word Count: 788
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The Cast Of Amontillado

... in peace). His words are unmistakably sarcastic: he has been the performer of the dreadful murder, then how could he pray for him to rest in peace? Finally, the very title of the story: The Cask Of Amontillado, represents the imminent ruin of Fortunato: his pursue of the cask which, in the end, will be his own casket The Cask Of Amontillado is a carefully crafted short story. The originality and artistic genius of Edgar Allan Poe overflows through this "grotesque" tale. Every ... trait of irony Poe uses contributes to a single and meaningful effect: conveying his message ... ...

  • Word Count: 613
  • Approx Pages: 2

8. The black cat and the cask of amontillado by edgar allan poe

... investigate her disappearance he gets caught as they hear a wailing in the walls. The cat had been trapped with the wife. "The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story of revenge with a powerful man named "Montresor" vowing to kill the town jester Fortunato who insulted him. Montresor entices Fortunato to his wine vaults on the night of the Mardi Gras, where he makes the joker try some different, but equally strong, wine. When Fortunato ... cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity." This shows how deranged in the head this character...

  • Word Count: 750
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado begins before nightfall, one evening during the carnival season in a city in Europe. The location quickly changes from lighthearted and cheerful to dark and gloomy in the damp, dark catacombs under Montressor's palazzo which gives us a clue on how ominous this whole set up seems to be. This "Amontillado" seems to be hidden within the forbidden catacombs underneath his palace. The mood of the story starts out jolly and ... carefree. However as they go into the catacombs to where the supposedly hidden cask of Amontillado it becomes darker and more gloomy by the minute. I...

  • Word Count: 303
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

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