The cask of amontillado article

Boutwell 3

Stephen Boutwell

Mrs.Watts

ENG102 English Composition II

03/15/2020

The Cask of Amontillado; Setting

The Cask of Amontillado was written in 1846 by American author Edgar Allan Poe, which is often considered as one of the best short stories of all time. It also follows the literary theories of Poe in which he described short stories as the piece which can be read in a one sitting and every sentence of short stories contributes in the overall setting of the story and produce a significant impact on the whole story which contains several ironies, in case of ‘Cask of Amontillado’. In this story, each word is contributing in defining the whole meaning of the theme i.e. creepy and elegant fictitious story of revenge and at the same time setting of the story emphasizes the horror and the theme of gothic fiction by creating a gothic interior which gives the feeling of being trapped and readers can feel the tension during the whole story. In this essay, the setting of ‘Cask of Amontillado’ is analyzed on the geographical and physical basis and it represents how these settings influence the development of the story.

The story is set in the underground catacomb that is present in Italy and the story is in the carnival season. This setting represents the contrast in confinement and freedom of the characters during the whole story which forms the basis of the gothic interior. While reading, readers feel that feeling of being trapped in one second and next minute, the feeling of being trapped prevails. The creation of the gothic interior represents the emotional situation of the characters and the story and makes readers attentive to what is happening in the story with keen curiosity. The story slowly moves from the complete freedom to the confinement with regular intervals which is emphasized by the setting of the Cask. The whole setting is damp and dark in which even the walls are damped and the area is filled with litter which shows the mind of characters that how Fortunato is planning a dirty game in his mind. There is mix of casks of wine everywhere which further increase the gothic interior of the setting. Flambeaux carried by man represents that in the darkness, there is still hope of little light. The irony in the story begins by showing the festive of carnival in the gothic setting which is quite unlikely and ironic.

Italy as a country does not fit into the setting of the gothic interior because of its social history but the first-ever famous gothic story ‘The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story; by Horace Walpole was based in Italy which formed this narrative as it was a huge success. It could be the inspiration behind the choice of Italy as a country in this story. So the selection of Italy to show the contrast between confinement and freedom was not completely accidental in nature. However, the choice of the carnival season is not indirect because it shows the feeling of liberalism and freedom incomplete sense, in which both the families of Montresor and Fortunato have participated since the beginning of this story and the Montresor family catacomb shows the symbol of confinement in the story. The horror and irony of the story are further emphasized by the fact that it is not only taking place in the damp and confined places but also at the time of night which increases the mysterious character. It also shows that the period in which the story was written was contemporary to the story because of the details of the setting.

However, as the story proceeds, the journey of Montresor and Fortunato shows how they are moving from large spaces to the smaller ones. It represents their journey away from the freedom as the fresh air around them starts to fade away when they are moving into the smaller tunnels. It shows that they are leaving freedom. In the end, finally, Fortunato is trapped in a place without any freedom of his own. He is chained and trapped inside the crypt that is hard of a man-size in which he does not have any air and at the same time, does not have any way out to regain his lost freedom. However, Montresor has all the freedom in comparison to Fortunato who is trapped and they both are in opposite conditions because Montresor is alive and free. However, it is ironic that Montresor is alive and free but at the same time, he is trapped in this story as he is still telling about it. His mind cannot forget this story because he is still inside that tunnel with Fortunato inside his head.

The setting of the story is described and specified in detail to emphasize the deeper meaning. The Cask of Amontillado is the perfect example of the short gothic story in which everything is adding up to the meaning of the story as it is seen by the selection of the country and the setting. The freedom in the confinement is shown by the carnival setting and one or two flame lights in the streets. It also represents the state of mind of Montresor that how he is free but is trapped inside the whole situation as the carnival setting is just the illusion of freedom in the dark sinister setting of the area. The geographical and physical setting in the story emphasized the themes of irony, creepiness and the idea of revenge.

Work Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. The cask of amontillado. Prabhat Prakashan, 1981.

Boutwell

1

Stephen Boutwell

Mrs.Watts

E

NG102

English

Composition

II

03/15

/2020

The Cask of Amontillado; Setting

The Cask of Amontillado was written in 1846 by American author Edgar Allan Poe, which

is often considered as one of the best short stories of all time. It also follows the literary theories

of Poe in which he described short stories as the piece which can

be read in a one sitting and every

sentence of short stories contributes in the overall setting of the story and produce a significant

impact on the whole story which contains several ironies, in case of ‘Cask of Amontillado’. In this

story, each word is c

ontributing in defining the whole meaning of the theme i.e. creepy and elegant

fictitious story of revenge and at the same time setting of the story emphasizes the horror and the

theme of gothic fiction by creating a gothic interior which gives the feeling

of being trapped and

readers can feel the tension during the whole story. In this essay, the setting of ‘Cask of

Amontillado’ is analyzed on the geographical and physical basis and it represents how these

settings influence the development of the story.

The story is set in the underground catacomb that is present in Italy and the story is in the

carnival season. This setting represents the contrast in confinement and freedom of the characters

during the whole story which forms the basis of the gothic inte

rior. While reading, readers feel that

feeling of being trapped in one second and next minute, the feeling of being trapped prevails. The

Boutwell 1

Stephen Boutwell

Mrs.Watts

ENG102 English Composition II

03/15/2020

The Cask of Amontillado; Setting

The Cask of Amontillado was written in 1846 by American author Edgar Allan Poe, which

is often considered as one of the best short stories of all time. It also follows the literary theories

of Poe in which he described short stories as the piece which can be read in a one sitting and every

sentence of short stories contributes in the overall setting of the story and produce a significant

impact on the whole story which contains several ironies, in case of ‘Cask of Amontillado’. In this

story, each word is contributing in defining the whole meaning of the theme i.e. creepy and elegant

fictitious story of revenge and at the same time setting of the story emphasizes the horror and the

theme of gothic fiction by creating a gothic interior which gives the feeling of being trapped and

readers can feel the tension during the whole story. In this essay, the setting of ‘Cask of

Amontillado’ is analyzed on the geographical and physical basis and it represents how these

settings influence the development of the story.

The story is set in the underground catacomb that is present in Italy and the story is in the

carnival season. This setting represents the contrast in confinement and freedom of the characters

during the whole story which forms the basis of the gothic interior. While reading, readers feel that

feeling of being trapped in one second and next minute, the feeling of being trapped prevails. The