Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado
Fate is full of irony, what you dish out will come back to you. This slogan has never rung truer than in the ironic tale of the Cask Of Amontillado. Presumably taking place in the Italian countryside this story follows the protagonist, Montresor, in his quest to reap revenge on the antagonist, Fortunato, for an insult in the past. Ultimately culminating in Fortunato being buried alive this story is a textbook example of revenge. Edgar Allen Poe’s dark tale revolves around themes of betrayal, pride, and revenge that allow the reader to assume Fortunato's death before he does. The Cask of Amontillado uses irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech to obscure Fortunato’s fate.
The plot of this horror story revolves …show more content…
I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs.(Poe 86-89)
This shows that for a moment Montresor wanted to go back on his deed but he quickly changed back and ironically said: “My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 89). This is ironic because you think that he would be sick after murdering somebody but he is sick because of the catacombs. Poe made Montresor indecisive at the end of the story to emphasize that it wasn’t clear to Montresor that he was doing the right thing ending Fortunato’s life.
After examining Irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech in the Cask of Amontillado one can see that Poe's diagnosis of Fortunato’s fate was inconsistent throughout the story. Through irony and symbolism Poe creates two unstable characters that both a bit crazy. Montresor yearns to be protected from the harm of Fortunato’s insults so he decides to kill him but in doing so he kills a portion of himself, the good noble Montresor. Montressor may have walled up Fortunato in darkness but in doing so he walled himself in darkness
The plot of this horror story revolves …show more content…
I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs.(Poe 86-89)
This shows that for a moment Montresor wanted to go back on his deed but he quickly changed back and ironically said: “My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 89). This is ironic because you think that he would be sick after murdering somebody but he is sick because of the catacombs. Poe made Montresor indecisive at the end of the story to emphasize that it wasn’t clear to Montresor that he was doing the right thing ending Fortunato’s life.
After examining Irony and symbolism in the setting, characters, and speech in the Cask of Amontillado one can see that Poe's diagnosis of Fortunato’s fate was inconsistent throughout the story. Through irony and symbolism Poe creates two unstable characters that both a bit crazy. Montresor yearns to be protected from the harm of Fortunato’s insults so he decides to kill him but in doing so he kills a portion of himself, the good noble Montresor. Montressor may have walled up Fortunato in darkness but in doing so he walled himself in darkness