A Critical Analysis of Poes Use of Humor in the Cask of Amontillado - Book Report/Review Example

A Critical Analysis of Poe’s Use of Humor in the “Cask of Amontillado” Poe writes predominantly in the gothic genre, and “the Cask of Amontillado" is certainly a serious chilling tale of murder. However, Poe uses small doses of humor and word-play throughout the story. Indeed, the use of humor in the story has some ironic effects on the theme of the story as well as on the readers also. Instead of evoking drooling laughter, Montressor’s humors rather warn the readers about his cold-blooded and murderous nature. The humorous dimension of the story rather heightens the theme of revenge and unavoidably allows the readers to take a glance into the vengeful heart of the narrator of the story. Indeed, the humors lie in the verbal ironies in the story. At the very beginning of the story, the readers learn about the revenge motif of Montressor (Silverman 312). So, when, in the story, they come across the verbal ironies in Montressor’s narration, they rather become aware of the follies, simplicity and hubris, of Fortunato, which inevitably push him towards the horrible death. Also the humors in the story are endowed with a two-fold meaning. On one hand, they provide brutal pleasure to Montressor; on the other hand, they reveal Fortunato’s follies and hubris. Montressor exhibits a black sense of humor. In the very beginning of the story, Montressor describes Fortunato in a jester’s outfit. He describes Fortunato as following: “[In] one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend….The man wore motley” (Poe pars.2). In that carnival evening, Fortunato wear a “tight-fitting parti-striped dress” (Poe pars.2). He also wears a “canonical cap and bells” (Poe pars.3). Montressor describes this jester-like outfit of Fortunato in order to prove him as an unfit opponent, as such malicious intention of Montressor is evident in his words, “His head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand” (Poe pars.2) But ironically, his description reveals Fortunato merely as a simpleton who is going to be a helpless victim of Montressor. Indeed, if the readers did not learn about Montressor’s revengeful intention, Fortunato’s jester-like clothing could mean something else. But when Montressor vows that “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe pars.3), Fortunato’s jester-like clothing and hubris make him more vulnerable and pathetic. Another humor occurs around the middle of the story. When Montressor and Fortunato enter into the cavern, he (Fortunato) begins to cough. In order to hide his intention, Montressor tries to persuade Fortunato to go back: “We will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back” (Poe pars.6). In reply, Fortunato says, “Enough…the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” (Poe pars.8) Here though his reply evokes laughter, it, at the same time, warns the readers about his helplessness in the face of Montressor conspiracy. Fortunato, a helpless drunkard who does not know the least of Montressor’s revenge, expresses habitual hubris that he will not die of coughing. This scene makes Montressor more pernicious and venomous, whereas this same reply exposes Fortunato more as a helpless man who simply believes Montressor and who is going to face his death soon (Silverman 312). At the second reading of the story, the perception that Fortunato is going to be buried alive behind the vault wall reveals the darkness and blackness of Montressor’s sense of humor. The blackest humorous scene occurs around the end of the story. Here, Fortunato starts to laugh after discovering the truth about the amontillado: “Ha! ha! ha! --he! he! he! --a very good joke, indeed --an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo --he! he! he! --over our wine --he! he! he!” (Poe pars.18) This laughter reveals that the man is not the least aware of Montressor’s intension. Montressor pushes him towards the jaws of death with a smile on his face. On the other hand, his victim is facing death without knowing that his friend has pushed him into the jaws of death. Here, Montressor’s revengeful, dark and murderous nature gets revealed to the highest. Instead of feeling remorse, in cold blood, Montressor murders Fortunato and tries to revel in his pain and horror (Quinn 29). Though he attempts to justify the murder arguing that Fortunato has inflicted “thousands of injuries” on him, he does not tell what, actually, the injuries are. At this point in the story, the readers learn that Montresor is suffering from inferiority complex. He finds Fortunato guilty of his boastful behavior and nature. But the way in which Fortunato does not reveal that he is boastful objectionably. On one hand, the humors in the story reveal the darkest and murderous nature of Montressor. On the other hand, these humors characterize Fortunato as a simpleton who cannot discover the ill-intention of his friend. Sometimes, they heighten the chilling effects of the story. The narration of the story from a first person point of view unveils the mind of a notorious avenger and allows them to learn the facts and figures that can lead to a cold blooded murder (Baraban 34). This story, “The Cask of Amontillado” is typical with Poe’s other horror stories in which he explore dark and sinful nature of human. Yet Poe does not uphold this sinister characters and their dark side from a religious point of view. Rather he upholds human nature for a neutral point of view (Baraban 34). In the story, “The Cask of Amontillado” also he tries to interpret the revengeful nature of the sinister character of Montressor as revengeful human appears to be. Works Cited Baraban, Elena V. "The Motive for Murder in 'The Cask of Amontillado' by Edgar Allan Poe", Rocky Mountain E-Review of Language and Literature. Volume 58, Number 2. Fall 2004 Poe, Edgar Allan, “The Cask of Amontillado”, 20 April, 2010. Available at Quinn, Arthur Hobson. Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1941. Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991: 312–313. Read More