Montresor puts on a mask of black silk and a cloak and leads Fortunato to his home. Montresor's continued efforts to talk Fortunato out of coming with him only serve to excite the latter and encourage his coming. The coat of arms of the Montresor family is rich in symbolism. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. Download this Storyboard as an Image Pack or a Presentation Image Pack Each cell in your storyboard will be exported as a standalone image in a zip file. Earlier, he had let all of the servants off for the night, using the excuse of the carnival; in this way he would avoid arousing Fortunato's suspicions and would also prevent anyone from witnessing the atrocity he planned to commit. Thus, both the motto and the coat of arms imply that the entire Montresor family history is filled with acts of revenge.
Essay about The Setting of The Cask of Amontillado
Then he asks him to stop for the love of God, and the narrator replies that he will finish for the love of god. He maintains an appearance of good will towards Fortunato and decides to exploit Fortunato's weakness for fine wines. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. Fortunato thinks that the narrator is joking.
Once again the narrator asks Fortunato if he'd like to turn back, showing false concern for his health, but once again Fortunato demands that they continue on, so the narrator has him drink more wine. The plot is quite simple. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain. Furthermore, it conforms to and illustrates perfectly many of Poe's literary theories about the nature of the short story: that is, it is short and can be read at one sitting, it is a mood piece with every sentence contributing to the total effect, it is a completely unified work and while it is seemingly simple, it abounds in ironies of many kinds. Fortunato insists that his cough is nothing; he wants to taste the Amontillado, which the narrator knew he would. Montresor mocks Fortunato, asking him with false solicitousness about the nitre.
At this point, Fortunato was sure that Montresor didn't understand the gesture because it belonged to the secret order of the masons — an order that Fortunato was certain that Montresor couldn't belong to, thus flinging Montresor another insult and, unknowingly, bringing himself closer to his living death. He was too much astounded to resist. I perceive you have an engagement. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He leaned upon it heavily. Fortunato tries to look into the recess, but because of the foulness of the air, the light from the torch is dim and he cannot see.
Cask of Amontillado Plot Diagram Storyboard by rebeccaray
The first-person narrator, whom we later discover to be named Montresor, announces immediately that someone named Fortunato has injured him repeatedly and has recently insulted him. When Montresor met Fortunato, he smiled continually at Fortunato, who thought he saw a smile of warmth and friendliness, when in reality, the smile was a satanic smile in anticipation of Fortunato's entombment. If you haven't read the short story yet, you might want to before we start covering the symbolism and irony within the story. Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Quickly, Montresor chains him to the granite while he is too surprised to resist. Fortunato begins shaking his chain, during which time Montresor waits and listens, pleased. Montresor's heart grows sick, which he blames on the damp catacombs, and he reconstructs the pile of bones, which no one disturbs for the next fifty years.
However, Fortunato was determined to taste the wine and insisted on being taken to Montresor's home. This article is meant to be a starting point to your own research and analysis. His continuous coughing 663 Words 3 Pages The irony is detected by the use of his exaggeration. On the right side are comments intended to help you understand the story and questions that a critical reader might ask when reading this text. Foremost is the fact that Montresor has never let Fortunato know of his hatred. The remainder of the story deals with Montresor's methods of entrapping Fortunato and effecting his revenge upon the unfortunate Fortunato.
Amid the gaiety of the carnival, he was sure he would avoid any possibility of being detected. The Cask of Amontillado: The word cask, a sturdy cylindrical container for storing liquids, and the word casket have the same root. GradeSaver, 29 July 2009 Web. Besides, there is Luchresi -' 'Enough,' he said; 'the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. It causes Fortunato to have a coughing fit, but once again he assures the narrator that he is fine, so the narrator grabs a bottle of wine off the wall and offers Fortunato a drink. It's actually a wicked statement.
SparkNotes: Poe’s Short Stories: “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846), page 2
He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. The significance appears obvious: Fortunato is the snake who has bitten Montresor, and the giant foot brings justice to the snake. It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche. The very setting of the story is ironic, in that Montresor has chosen the jovial carnival season to enact his murder because no one will be at his estate to witness the crime. In fact, at the end of the story, we, the readers, are certain that his atrocity will never be discovered.
I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow. From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. The reader should, perhaps, at one point ask himself who is Montresor, and, then since Montresor seems to be apparently addressing someone, the reader should ask himself whom Montresor is talking to or writing about and why. Martha is proud and pleased to be a part of the , a continual project to dispel the myth surrounding Poe, the man and his literature. Fortunato exclaims that Montresor jests but insists that they continue to the Amontillado. Earlier, the narrator states that he, like Fortunato, is a wine expert.
