Critical Interpretations of The Cask of Amontillado Essay

quot;The Cask of Amontilladoquot;: Critical Interpretations Among Poes most intriguing tales is quot;The Cask of Amontillado,quot; first published in Godeys Ladys Book in November of 1847. A surface reading of that story reveals only a simple description by Montresor (the narrator) of how he kills another man who was called, ironically, Fortunato. Montresor exploits Fortunatos vanity concerning the connoiseurship of wine; specifically, Montresor pretends to want a wine cask of Amontillado verified as genuine. Montresor chooses a time when Fortunato is drunk to dupe him into going down the spiral stairs into the catacombs, which serve as a sort of family burial grounds for the race of Montresors. But rather than a mere cask of†¦show more content†¦The fact that Fortunato easily succumbs to the pleasures of the flesh would seem to reinforce the view that Montresor and Fortunato constitute another of Poes divided personalities; they are actually but one person divided against himself. In addition, we have Montresor, the judging side of the personality, emblematic of the Imp of the Perverse. So far, so good. Montresor preys upon Fortunatos tendency to drink, as well as upon his vanity. Fortunato, representative of the flesh, dons the fools cap and is led by Montresor to a pitiful death. He walls Fortunato [the fool in himself] into a niche in the catacombs; the voice that speaks to us comes from beyond the grave. Yet still it must confess--only to suicide! The suicide thesis would preclude that Poe has purposefully encoded the story. This encoding would suggest that he has deliberately diddled his readers, or that he wants the story to serve as litmus for the intuition, or both. So, are there more clues to support the suicide thesis? We have Montresors coat of arms, a foot crushing quot;a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.quot; What symbol could better suggest the action that Montresor has taken. The foolish side of his nature plants its fangs in his heel; thus he must destroy it, lest it destroy him. Very similar is Montresors situation to that of William Wilson--except that the narrators areShow MoreRelatedThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Edgar Allan Poe And The Yellow Wallpaper Essay1486 Words   |  6 Pagesgives readers a chance to offer their own interpretations to the story being told. Unreliable narration is valuable to the reader and satisfying to the author because the audience must look beyond what the narrato r is portraying and view all the elements of the read to understand the author s message. The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are great examples of unreliable narration. The Cask of Amontillado, Poe tells the story through the eyesRead MoreThe Casket Of Amontillado . Edgar Allan Poe’S â€Å"The Cask1680 Words   |  7 PagesThe Casket of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a short story illustrating how pride leads to the downfall of two men. At the story’s heart is the tale of Montresor, the protagonist, getting revenge on a former friend, Fortunato. Poe’s characterization of Montresor shows a sinister, proud man, obsessed not only with his revenge but also not getting punished himself. â€Å"It must be a perfect revenge, one in which Fortunato will know fully what is happening to him and in whichRead MoreComparison and Contrast: A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe929 Words   |  4 PagesAllan Poe employ it to achieve distinctly Gothic effects. â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† are very different stories set in very different worlds, and the tone of the narration in each is equally different. Nonetheless, the stories both offer strong symbolism, and they each rely on how the shor t story amplifies the Gothic, or dark, by virtue of brief presentation. Poes â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and Faulkners â€Å"A Rose for Emily† both employ a narrator, if not of a similar kindRead More The Paradox of Revenge in Edgar Allan Poes The Cask of Amontillado1375 Words   |  6 PagesThe Paradox of Revenge in Edgar Allan Poes The Cask of Amontillado ?The Cask of Amontillado? raises a question pertaining to the multiple character of the self (Davidson 202); Can harmony of ones self be restored once primal impulses have been acted upon? This question proposes the fantasy of crime without consequence (Stepp 60). Edgar Allan Poe uses first person point of view, vivid symbolism and situational irony to show that because of mans inner self, revenge is ultimately not possibleRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s Father Of American Gothicism1178 Words   |  5 PagesThese works include  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Black Cat,†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Cask of Amontillado,†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Tell-Tale Heart. In his Gothic tales, Poe also employed an essentially symbolic, almost allegorical method which gives such works as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Fall of the House of Usher, â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death,†Ã‚  an enigmatic quality that accounts for their enduring interest and also links them with the symbolical works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and  Herman Melvin. Although, in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is wealthy as we can see from his mansionRead MoreThe Cask Of Amontillado, By Poe1700 Words   |  7 PagesThe narration â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Poe has been universally referred to as the world’s most perfect stories. It is an emotional piece with every verdict contributing to the overall effect of a completely unified work. Further, however, it may seem to be easy; this literary piece thrives in ironies of various kinds. The narrator commences by informing the audience about the hurt and insult he received from Fortunato. Besides, every sentence adds to the unity that the author wanted to achieveRead MoreEssay on Insanity: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe1165 Words   |  5 Pagesinsanity through ironic means. Edgar Allan Poe, the writer himself is the one who establishes the irony in this story, not the narrator because the latter seems to be completely insensible about the ironic component of his monologue. The conventional critical analysis of The Tell-Tale Heart might engage the story from the point of view that the narrators attempt to prove his sanity might be an exercise in irony. Irony, in today’s world, can be easily misinterpreted by most of us because we tend toRead MoreSymbolism And Charm : How Poe Accomplished His Peculiarity1153 Words   |  5 Pages1846, Poe wrote an essay titled ‘ The Philosophy of Composition, ’ which was printed in a publication of Graham’s Magazine. Traditionally, Poe was a man of limited words; he tried to write as concisely as possible. This proved accurate in this critical essay, as it is not very lengthy. It does, however, correctly depicts Poe s message; he wanted to explain to fellow writers his theory of how it is that acclaimed writers compose well. According to Poe, there are four essential theories regardingRead MoreEssay about â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† 1448 Words   |  6 Pagesinsanity through ironic means. Edgar Allan Poe, the writer himself is the one who establishes the irony in this story, not the narrator because the latter seems to be completely insensible about the ironic component of his monologue. The convention critical analysis of The Tell-Tale Heart might engage the story from the point of view that the narrators attempt to prove his sanity might be an exercise in irony. Irony, in today’s world, can be easily misinterpreted by most of us because we tend toRead More Edgar Allan Poes Writing Essay2378 Words   |  10 Pageshow Ligeias intensity began to decrease, how she fell ill, and how her illness devastated him. Poe had frequently encountered death since he was young, so typically, the characters in his writings represent people whom he had lost. One of the interpretations of the story â€Å"Ligeia† is from Carri Zlotnick-Woldenberg, a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology, interprets that the narrator â€Å"hallucinates that Ligeia kills Rowena and [she] returns from the dead.† Poe suffers from the loss of his wife and