The Cask of Amontillado

A detailed Summary of The Cask of Amontillado


Revenge has been a favourite topic of authors in all genres, including short stories, poems, and movies. Many have tried, but few have ever come near the excellence at which Edgar Allen Poe attained in his short story "The Cask of Amontillado". Poe's story revolves around Montressor, a man who feels he was slighted by Fortunato and therefore vows revenge on him. Poe tells a tale of successful and remorseless revenge.

Montressor, the story's narrator and one of its main characters, begins the story by informing us of the terms for his revenge on Fortunato. In order for it to be a success it must be taken at length, he must not get caught, and Fortunato must know what is happening. It is made clear that all three of these elements must be present in order for Montressor to deem it a success.

The first condition that must be met is that the revenge must take place at length. Early on we see that Fortunato has difficulty walking through the catacombs because of the nitre which causes him to cough uncontrollably. Although Montressor advises him to go back, we know that he really wants Fortunato to continue on and


endure more pain. After a very lengthy walk Fortunato reaches a dead end and that is where Montressor chains him up. The long walk and the nitre were painful enough, but having to be buried alive behind the wall that Montressor erected would have been even more excruciating. It is obvious that this process took a long time because they first met at dusk and Montressor only finished at midnight so it appears that the first condition was met rather easily.

Montressor's second condition was that he must not get caught because then he would have to pay for his vengeance. The opening line of the story reads, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best as I could..." (An Introduction To Literature pg. 133). This line would seem to suggest that Fortunato and Montressor were bitter enemies, but we see that it is not so. When they first meet in the story, Fortunato happily greets Montressor and the two shake hands as if they were friends. Therefore it is hard to believe than anyone, much less Fortunato would suspect Montressor of being his murderer. This, combined with the fact that he had sent his servants

Some common words found in the essay are:
Amontillado Poe's, Fortunato Montressor, Introduction Literature, , Allen Poe, introduction literature, literature pg, introduction literature pg, literature pg 138, pg 138, condition met, fortunato montressor, final condition, revenge fortunato, suspect montressor, final line,

Approximate Word count = 754
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. ... 599 words
  • The Cask of Amontillado Outline Thesis: The Cask of Amontillado is about revenge. I. Introduction II. ... In this one line Poe characterizes The Cask of Amontillado. ... 2469 words
  • The Raven and The Cask of Amontillado ampquotThe Cask of Amontilladoampquot and ampquotThe Ravenampquot by Edgar Allan Poe are typically dark pieces of literature by the great American author. ... 585 words
  • The Cask of Amontillado ampquotThe Cask of Amontilladoampquot ampquotThe Cask of Amontilladoampquot by Edgar Allan Poe is a classic horror story written by one of the best authors of all time. ... 697 words
  • The Cask of Amontillado ampquotThe Cask of Amontilladoampquot: The weapon of Montresoramp39s madness One of the main characters of Edgar Allan Poeamp39s ampquotThe Cask Of Amontilladoampquot is Montresor, whose ... 1022 words
  • The Cask of Amontillado ... One such short story is ampquotThe Cask of Amontillado.ampquot The main character, Montresor, who is vengeful, intelligent, and fakes sincerity, causes the death of ... 718 words

Professional Essays

  • The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado Introduction A major part of Edgar Allan Poes aesthetic, according to Polonsky 46, is his own general invitation to the spectacle ... 502 words
  • A Cask of Amontillado Under this concept, Montresor in Edgar Allan Poeamp39s story ampquotA Cask of Amontilladoampquot would certainly be classified as mentally unbalanced but would also be deemed ... 813 words
  • The Cask of Amontillado The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. ... 2379 words
  • Three Stories by Poe ... Indeed, several of Poeamp39s stories, including ampquotThe Premature Burial,ampquot ampquotThe Cask of Amontillado,ampquot and ampquotThe Fall of the House of Usher,ampquot feature characters that ... 1127 words
  • Poeamp39s Buried Alived Theme ... Indeed, several of Poeamp39s stories, including ampquotThe Premature Burial,ampquot ampquotThe Cask of Amontillado,ampquot and ampquotThe Fall of the House of Usher,ampquot feature characters that ... 1127 words
  • Poe EDGAR ALLAN POE The Cask of Amontillado ampamp To F S S. O D If the American character can be said to contain equal portions of cynicism and idealism, then ... 1356 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.