The Cask of Amontillado - Essay Example

The Cask of Amontillado: A blend of gothic fiction and a tale of revenge The cask of Amontillado contains some basic ingredients of a typical gothic fiction. The atmosphere of horror and suspense, the depiction of murder and death, ominous symbols, uncanny details and abnormal characters all abound in the story to make it a gothic tale of horror and revenge. The narrator thinks that he has been wronged by Fortunato and vows to take revenge to settle his score with Fortunato. Though the injuries are innumerable, yet the narrator is motivated to retaliate due to the insult hurled upon him by Fortunato.

The narrator, Montresor devises a wicked plan to satisfy his vindictive passion. The protagonist’s claims of revenge smack of illegitimacy as he is overstating the wrongs done to him. He relates,“THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. The insults he presumes to have suffered seem to be imaginary as we do not find any evidence of such behavior on the part of Fortunato., In introductory paragraph the narrator builds up his case for revenge and he resolves to take revenge not in a chivalric manner but in a secretive manner with sufficient arrangement for his personal security.

He quite cleverly shows his mastery of human psychology and arouses the sense of jealousy in Fortunato and eggs him on going with him to test his skills for wine. The very name Fortunato is ironical as we see that the same man would meet and unfortunate end. Horror and suspense The suspense is the soul of all horror and detective stories. Through suspense the writer not only develops the reader’s interest into the story but also hints towards the possible end through certain foreshadowing symbols.

The setting has also been given a touch of mystery and suspense. Monstresor takes Fortunato to a place with crooked ways and full of arches and vaults. The arches and vaults are also characteristic elements of gothic architecture. The Gothic architecture is also a permanence presence in a gothic story. The writer gives the details thus: Fortunato bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase requesting him to be cautious as he followed.

We came at length to the foot of the descent and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors ( Poe 5). The ironic foreshadowing of death through cough is typical technique of Poe to hint towards impending killing of Fortunato. "”Enough,"”he said, "”the cough is a mere nothing, it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough"(Poe 5). The claim of victim will expose its irony in the ending scene where he is chocked to death. The atmosphere of the crypt is full of horror.

It is presented as a graveyard where bones and corpses are lying and at some places you come across human remains. Gothic novels and stories abound in such details and this type of description lends the story a touch of a horror movie thriller. The narrator describes the scene thus: ”We had passed through walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs” (Poe 6). Murder and death Death rules the crypt and everywhere there are signs of death and horror.

That is a suitable place to execute and act of murder. The bones and the parts of the corpses are undeniably symbols of death and horror. The very details of the scene create a chill of horror in reader’s body. The hair raising depiction is quite typical of gothic fiction. The pile of bones also stand for an ominous sign for the hateful act that will be committed in the end of story. The narrator describes the scene in the following lines: Its walls had been lined with human remains piled to the vault overhead in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris”(Poe 8).

This situation is further enhanced with voices and shrieks which further aggravate the feeling fear. While in the act of doing away with Fortunato the voices shake the narrator from inside. He describes,A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back ( Poe 9). Monstresor overcame this fear by re-echoing the voices utill the noise stopped. Conclusion The cask of amontillado qualifies as an appropriate instance of gothic fiction.

The setting, style and character all allude to the stock elements of gothic tradition. An act of revenge is planned and executed among the horrible setting which coupled with melodramatic scenes and situations creates an atmosphere of terror. The story is built upon suspense and ironic reversals which deeply engage the reader into the story. The reader feels that the act committed is seemingly unjustified but the protagonist’s conviction shows it as a justified act. The story is based on personal vengeance which develops no feeling of remorse in the mind and heart of the main character.

The ethical values of the avenger blind him to any supreme law which stops the people to commit such horrible act of murder.