The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Poe, Research Paper Example

The short story, ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe is written in first person and though brief in content, it has a gradual and skillful buildup of suspense and horror, which enamors the reader to go through the contents at one go. It is an eerie tale of revenge with a spine chilling effect on the reader. It leaves a deep impression on the reader’s psyche and one is left wondering about the actual reason for the well planned and cold blooded murder of the victim. Though the perspective in the story is from the killer’s viewpoint in which he invokes the reader’s attention towards himself, one cannot but feel pity for the unsuspecting victim. The narrative is very illustrative of the actual proceedings which are associated with the content of the story.

Setting

The content of the story reveals that is set in medieval Italy though Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer much appreciated for his short stories in the early nineteenth century. Poe had a short life of just forty years and that too was full of torment and hardships as he was orphaned at the young age of three years. He was raised by another family which later denied him his inheritance (www1.broward.edu). The struggle in his life forced Poe to live off his creative genius alone which yielded some of the greatest works in short stories like ‘The Cask of Amontillado’. This particular story is set in a carnival scenario in medieval Italy where ‘Montresor’ describes the manner in which he carries out his diabolical plan to murder ‘Fortunato’ who according to him had caused him some grievous harm despite all the good he had done for him. There is graphic description of the carnival atmosphere and the apparel worn by both the characters which enable the reader to imagine the true colors of the scenario in which the story is set. Particularly interesting are the livid description of the premises where the victim is taken and the cold and offensive architecture of the underground dungeons and catacombs of Montresor’s residence.

Characters

There are just two characters in the story, the perpetrator of the diabolical murder, ‘Montresor’ who is also the narrator of the anecdote, the victim ‘Fortunato’ and an imaginary third character, ‘Luchesi’ whom Montressor uses as a strut to invoke the sentiments of contempt and jealousy within Fortunato, who prizes his capabilities as a connoisseur of fine wines. The central theme however always remains on the ‘pipe’ or cask of the legendry wine ‘Amontillado’ which serves as a bait to lure the victim towards his imminent doom. The title of the story is therefore aptly named after the wine which serves to revolve the story into its culmination. Montressor justifies his act through the opening lines in the story where he convinces the reader that the offense that has been committed by Fortunato despite all the goodwill he had displayed towards him deserves an adequate retribution which is all the more satisfying if it is carried out by the victim. His lines, “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” in the very first paragraph set the tone for the events to follow.

Plot Development

The narrator, Montressor sets the tone of his diabolical plan in the very first paragraph when he justifies his decision to take revenge after being insulted by Fortunato. He explains his anguish at being subjected continuously to misdemeanors by Fortunato but the insult is the actual precipitating factor of his planned revenge which he has meticulously planned and later precisely executed. The execution of the plan is done in a very subtle manner as no hint, in terms of behavior or demeanor is revealed to the unsuspecting victim. Fortunato, in his already inebriated state is cajoled into falling in line with the intended plan of Montressor who exploits the quality of a connoisseur attributed to Fortunato and the pride he holds for it. This is evident from the line ‘He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine’ in the third paragraph of the story. Montressor goes to great lengths in clearing his conscience by repeatedly mentioning that he gave numerous opportunities to the victim to back out of the venture of judging the quality of the imaginary pipe of ‘Amontillado’ which he repeatedly mentions to lure Fortunato. Montressor is shown to be a very good judge of people and capable of predicting others’ behavior as he has cleverly exploited the misdemeanor of his servants too to ensure their absence from his house at the time of his entry with Fortunato. “I had told them that I should not return until the morning and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient; I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned”. Montressor then proceeds to lead Fortunato to his ultimate end, thoroughly enjoying his revenge and deriving sadistic pleasure out of repeated offerings to Fortunato to abandon the tasting due to his indisposed condition. It is not until the very end, when Fortunato is bound by means of staples with chains and a padlock in the vault, especially prepared for the occasion, that he realizes the gravity of the situation which instantly brings him to his senses. But now it is too late and despite his screams and implorations, Montressor is unmoved and lays the final brick in a tortuously deliberate and slow manner which completes his revenge.

Symbolism and Conclusion

The imaginary cask of Amontillado has been used as a symbolic representation of the culture prevalent at the time of execution of this story. Fortunato and Luchesi are projected as connoisseurs of fine wines. The element of pride in Fortunato is exploited by Montressor to satisfy his diabolical designs for revenge. Elements of apparel like the ‘motley’ worn by Fortunato and the ‘roquelaire’ worn by Montressor are suggestive of the era in which the story is set. Similarly the description and names attributable to the architecture and items of that era such as arches, catacombs, flambeaux, palazzo, etc. build up the scenario of the cultural setting of the event. The major themes emerging out of the story are that of suspense as well as horror and revenge to a certain degree.

References

Edgar Allan Poe: Master Story Teller, online article accessed Feb. 21, 2010 at: http://www1.broward.edu/~pellingh/poerespap.pdf