...Jonathon Criswell Essay 1 Assignment 3/14/2016 Foreshadowing Fortunato’s Fate in Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe introduces the readers with an unpleasant tale of revenge in The Cask of Amontillado. It is revealed by Montresor who confesses to the murder of his old friend Fortunato over fifty years ago. Montresor led Fortunato to the catacombs where he was entombed. Fortunato, is led into the catacomb to his impending death with the assurance of a magnificent sherry, amontillado. As Montresor pilots Fortunato deeper into the catacombs, Poe foreshadows the impending murder. The word cask in Cask of Amontillado, is an abbreviation for the term casket. Fortunato is being led to his casket or final resting place in the catacombs. Elena Baraban, of “The Motive for Murder in “the Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe”, believes that “the whole imagery of the crypt suggests that the word “Amontillado” is a metaphor” (55). This is symbolic of the way Fortunato is killed. The title could easily have read “The Grave of Fortunato.” Special importance is placed on Carnival in the story. Montresor saved his revenge until the Carnival celebration began, because it would be an excellent time to carry out his plan of revenge “during the supreme madness of the carnival season,” (Poe 227). Nothing is as it seems during the Carnival. People pretend to be something that they wish they could be. Carnival is an escape for the people. Many things happen at...
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...Symbolism in The Cask of Amontillado Symbols play an important part in literary works. Most stories are full of them, and each one adds detail and background to the story. Some of them are obvious, and others are hidden away like treasures waiting to be found. Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is full of all types of symbolism, some examples being the setting, clothing, and even the character names. The biggest symbol in the Cast of Amontillado is the cask itself. Not only is it something spoken of in the story, it is also mentioned in the title, showing its importance. Its dictionary meaning would be a large barrel like container used for storing liquids. However, in the story it means so much more. Symbols usually have connotative meanings as well, which have particular meanings based on the context. In this story, the cask’s connotative meaning is much more important than its denotative meaning. The cask was used to lure Fortunato to his death. The word cask shares the same root as casket, which is used to hold dead bodies for burial. While it did not hold Fortunato‘s body, it was the object that tricked Fortunato into falling into Montresor’s trap. This ended with Fortunato being buried alive, in what ended up being similar to a casket. The cask in this story is an example of a literary symbol, as a cask would not normally be associated with a casket. The meaning of the symbol was wholly established in the story....
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...The motive of a killer often serves as a stronger indicator of what the theme is. In, A Study in Scarlet, the writing was on the wall. The word ‘Rache’, was written in blood at the crime scene. ‘Rache’ means revenge in German. Revenge served both as the primary drive for surviving his aneurysm for decades and also his motive for murder. Both killers lure their drunken victims while walking beside “to keep him steady, for he was still a little top-heavy.” (A Study…55) into a dark area, “its infernally dark,” (A Study …56), but Drebber continued to walk in the room. Fortunato drunken and dressed like a fool is led into a dark burial chamber with bones and skeletons scattered at every step but he keeps going. Authors use figurative language...
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...Alcoholism through his Stories “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” Jen Andalou Edgar Allen Poe’s stories “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are among his most popular. Both of these stories can be read on several different levels causing everyone who reads them to come up with a totally different interpretations, yet none of the interpretations I have read seem satisfying. The two stories at first seem simple enough, with “The Black Cat” reading as a darker version of “The Telltale Heart”, this time with the conscience given a physical form, and “The Cask of Amontillado” as a chilling tale of revenge exacted told as a deathbed confession. Yet these simple interpretations leave too many questions. Many reviewers unfairly single Poe’s works out as coming directly from his subconscious, ignoring not only how carefully Poe chose his words and phrases but also the sources that inspired the stories (E A Poe Society, “Autobiography”). That being said, I think Poe did deliberately use his stories as a kind of self-therapy thus revealing at least a little about himself. A large constant in Poe’s life was his fight with alcohol, which made itself known in his writing in many ways. The main theme of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” centers on the narrators’ attempts to wall off, or suppress, his alcoholism, with the narrator succeeding over alcoholism in “The Cask of Amontillado” while the narrator of “The Black...
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...Edgar Allen-Poe, born 1809 died 1849, is widely acclaimed as one of the first and greatest gothic writers. His output mostly consisted of short stories and poems for various American magazines in the 1840s. During his lifetime, he achieved fame and recognition however he lived a life of poverty. An alcoholic and an opium taker, his stories often display a surreal or dreamlike style. The world which Poe would have known was more superstitious and dangerous than what we know today. For example, in the 19th century having a coma could be mistaken for death, as a result, it was not uncommon to be buried alive, Poe included live burial in many of his works – to exploit public fears. One of the main assets of his work however is his ability to build intense suspense. By using a variety of techniques Poe was able to create tension and mystery in his (short) stories: Poe employs excessively detailed descriptions and repetition to delay the reader’s arrival at the final climax; Poe does this because he wanted to give time for the suspense to build up before arrival at the inevitably blood-curdling climax. For example, In tell-tale heart before the murderer kills the old man there is a substantial amount of repetition and more complex sentences : ” cautiously -- oh, so cautiously -- cautiously (for the hinges creaked), I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.” As a result of this delay, the reader becomes even more inquisitive over what events will happen...
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...All the reader knows of the character, Fortunato, in the Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado, is learned through the unreliable narrator, Montresor. Dramatic, situational and verbal irony develops the character of Fortunato as a naïve, foolish and gullible person. Fortunato has many weaknesses that lead to his eventual death. Although his name gives the impression that Fortunato is a fortunate person, he’s actually very unfortunate and makes himself an easy target for Montresor’s perfect crime. Fortunato does not realize he is being led into his own death. Dramatic irony is shown as Montresor says, “Neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued…to smile in his face and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (127). The reader knows Fortunato is being led to his own death, yet Fortunato remains oblivious. This dramatic irony shows Fortunato as an oblivious, naïve character. Montresor gives Fortunato several opportunities to turn back from this trip, yet Fortunato is too gullible to comply. “Come…we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy… You are a man to be missed. We will go back,” Montresor says to Fortunato after hearing his cough. Too drunk and eager to get a taste of Amontillado, Fortunato refuses. Dramatic irony develops Fortunato as he says, “Enough…the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me.”...
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...By the time he kills the old man, the reader can only wonder what will happen next. But Poe merely continues to build one horrible act upon another, first with the matter-of-fact description of the dismemberment, followed by the burial beneath his floor. Just when the reader wonders if this--like "The Cask of Amontillado"--will feature a perfect crime, a knock on the door reveals the police, investigating a scream in the night. The combined madness, nervousness and guilty conscience reveals that the killer's act is not so...
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...The Case for Sanity The story of “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is a thought-provoking and intellectual short story woven together by thorough detail, symbolism, and analysis of human nature. The reader is left with many questions regarding the mysterious and dark story because it is a confession of sorts by Montresor. The most prominent question of all, is Montresor insane? Could it be possible to murder someone over a verbal insult and still be in one’s right mind? One could conclude after multiple reads and after gaining a better understanding of the irony in the story that a person in their right mind(sane), but with ill intentions, as in the case of Montresor, would be able to plan such a brutal crime. One must take into consideration, what is sanity? As defined by Merriam-Webster “sanity is the quality or state of being sane; especially: soundness or health of mind,” (“sanity”). With that definition in mind, it is important to consider what determines the soundness or health of mind? In today’s society those determinations are made through the use of ethics and morals. In general, a person’s sanity is questioned when others believe someone has done something ridiculous/extreme and out of the ordinary, or during trials for crimes. During trials for crimes, it would be efficient to say that a person has done something extremely ridiculous and out of the ordinary for most people, like robbing or murdering someone. For all intents and purposes, it could...
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...powers of analysis and judgment ever alert;…” (178). Poe is not your average type of literary figure. He often uses personification, metaphors, and symbols in order to give hints at details that would otherwise be unknown. These type of tactics help to keep the readers on their toes, otherwise they would be subject to misinterpreting what they read. In particular, Poe was a profound user of irony in his short stories. Poe used irony to depict the errors in his characters’ ways of thinking and their actions. Stories such as “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “The Masque of the Red Death” are all short stories that convey this notion. It is my intention to, based on the evidence found and presented, to prove this point. Let us first look at how Poe’s use of irony proves this point in “The Cask of Amontillado.” . The setting of the events is an “evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season” (Poe, “Cask” 426). This setting alone is symbolic for in this time during a carnival, people dressed themselves in costumes, becoming for a short time something other than their normal selves. Both Fortunato and Montresor are outfitted. Fortunato is wearing “a tight-fitted parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (426). In short, his attire was much like that of a jester, a fool if you will. Montresor’s costume is that of “a mask of black silk and…a roquelaire…” (427). Montresor and Fortunato. What do these...
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...In Aesop’s fable, “The Wolf and the Lamb,” the moral of the story asks the reader to examine the desire for an object—and how we justify our behavior if we cannot obtain that object. This moral is graphically presented through the repeated use of key words to describe the fox’s repeated failure to get what he wants. The fox’s first attempt is foiled as he “just missed” the grapes (35). He attempts “again and again”, running and jumping repeatedly, but has “no greater success” (35). He then becomes disgusted and walks away. These successive descriptions of his failure build to his disdainful comment that the grapes are probably sour (35). The repeated demonstration of fox’s failures and his self-rationalization of why is he walking away—not that he has failed but because he has decided that the grapes are sour and he does not want them anyway—cleverly portrays the moral of the fable: if you can’t get it, blame something else, not yourself. It therefore asks the readers to Aesop’s Fables 3 of 93 The Wolf and the Lamb Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. ‘There’s my supper,’ thought he, ‘if only I can find some excuse to seize it.’ Then he called out to the Lamb, ‘How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?’ ‘Nay, master, nay,’ said Lambikin; ‘if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me.’ ‘Well...
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...Literature Creation Methods of Poe’s Gothic Tales ——Review of The Fall of the House of Usher 英81 高云君 2008012742 As one of the most famous works by Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher is the a masterpiece in American gothic literature. The prose is full with of elements and details which are unsettling and macabre. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque. Poe’s gothic novels have always been my readings before bed since I was younga child. In my childhood, following the unnamed narrator and walking towards that old and creepy house, I was immersed in the horrible storyline and experience the fantastic feeling of nightmare. Today when I look back on this literature work, I get some deeper understanding and . Ⅰ. Hellish environment setting ：Use of double space The whole environment and different scenes in the story are so hellish that the reader feels a kind of inexplicable asphyxia. I summarize some typical elements Poe uses to build a gothic atmosphere. Day: a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn. Location: a singularly dreary tract of country. House and surrounding: upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain - upon the bleak walls - upon the vacant eye-like windows - upon a few rank sedges - and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees. The precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn. If that can be called the exterior space, then the internal...
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...Elizabeth Cady Stanton Biography: Where did Elizabeth Cady Stanton grow up? Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815. She had 10 brothers and sisters, however, many of them died during childhood. Only Elizabeth and four of her sisters lived well into adulthood. Her last brother, Eleazar, died when he was 20 years old leaving her mother depressed and her father wishing that Elizabeth was a boy. Elizabeth (sitting) with Susan B. Anthony Not Fair for Women Growing up Elizabeth was exposed to the law through her father Daniel. He was a lawyer who also served as a judge and a U.S. Congressman. She learned that the law was not the same for men and women. She learned that only men could vote and that women had few rights under the law. She didn't think this was fair. She thought she was as good as any boy and should be given the same opportunities. Going to School When Elizabeth reached school age she wanted to go to school to learn. Not many women went to school in those days, but her father agreed to send her to school. At school Elizabeth was an excellent student. She won awards and proved that she could do as well or better than most of the boys. After high school, Elizabeth wanted to go to college. She quickly learned that girls were not allowed into the major universities. She ended up going to a college for girls where she was able to continue her studies. Abolitionist and Human Rights Elizabeth began to believe...
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