Mystery, Irony, and Imagery in The Cask of Amontillado Essay

Missing items from Works Cited Mystery, Irony, and Imagery in The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado is one of Edgar Allan Poes greatest stories. In this story Poe introduces two central characters and unfolds a tale of horror and perversion. Montresor, the narrator, and Fortunato, one of Montresors friends, are doomed to the fate of their actions and will pay the price for their pride and jealousy. One pays the price with his life and the other pays the price with living with regret for the rest of his life. Poe uses mystery, irony, and imagery to create a horrifying, deceptive, and perverse story. Hoping to obtain revenge, Montresor, the narrator, lures Fortunato, one of his friends, into the depths of his†¦show more content†¦William Doxey believes, we are told from the beginning that Fortunatos weakness is his pride in his connoisseurship in wine. It is his pride that hooks him(266). Both Marie Bonaparte and William Doxey believe that it is Fortunatos weakness for wine that gets him in trouble. Montresor also mentions his rival at wines, As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he(150). When asked about his cough, Fortunato replies, not with courtesy, but with prideful determination: Let us go never the less(Doxey 266). Very often a mans prideful remarks or decisions can get the best of him. It seems that Fortunato could not let himself be outdone. There is the theory of perversity that Montresor tried to use to get Fortunato down into the vaults. J. Rea explains, A part of Poes theory of perversity is that we want to hurt o r kill or to bury alive someone because he has been good to us. It is an unbelievable desire(59). She also believes, Montresor inaccurately measures Fortunatos intellect and succeeds in his plan only through the accident of the similarity of perversity and courtesy(62). She believes that the courtesy of Fortunato, insisting that his cough is nothing to worry about, is what lets them continue their trip to his death. Rea states, Perversity always makes one do what he should not;Show MoreRelatedRole of Realism in Edagar Allan Poe ´s The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amortillado1014 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† written by Edgar Allan Poe are dark short stories relevant to murder, revenge, and mystery. Poe writes both stories in a Gothic style in order to deal with ideas of realism. One may ask were the murders and punishments justifiable in either short story? One may also ask did Poe accurately depict realism in each story? 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The plot of the traditional short story is often conceived of as moving through five distinct sections or stages, which can be diagrammed roughly as follows: 3. Crisis