Cask of Amontillado - Assignment Example

Thus, the former conceives a plan to punish the latter with “impunity” and executes it on the day of a carnival (3). The story has influenced me a lot and I like it especially because of the manner in which Poe uses the literary device of irony throughout the story to create an impact on the readers. The story’s mystery primarily derives from the fact that the reader is not provided with any actual reason for Montresor’s decision for killing Fortunato, except that his desire stems out of a yearning for vengeance.

Though the author offers no valid reasons for the protagonist’s deep obsession with punishing Fortunato, he hints at the character’s ego right at the beginning of the story when both the murderer and victim meet. When Montresor tells Fortunato that he will have Luchesi test the wine, the latter’s ego become bruised and he claims, that Luchesi does not have the ability to distinguish “Amontillado from Sherry” (4). When Fortunato again insists on going to the vaults for tasting the wine, Montresor warns him of the “insufferably damp” area of the vault that remains “encrusted with nitre” (4). . He chooses a day when the servants were away at the carnival making merry and knew that they will not “return until the morning” (5).

The irony is accentuated when the murderer warns the victim “to be cautious” when they passed the archway towards the vaults (5). Again, Poe emphasizes the element of irony when he has Montresor say that he “cannot be responsible” for any harm done to Fortunato who is a “man to be missed” (6). However, fully submerged in the vortex of his own ego and intoxicated with superb wines, Fortunato fails to recognize the real danger he was in. Thus, by portraying the irony of the situation in the story, Poe emphasizes the dangers of the vice of pride.

The overall plot revolves around a man driven with a desire to punish another man for a crime of repeated injuries and insult meted out to him. Poe portrays a protagonist who commits a “premeditated murder and escapes punishment” and goes on to live freely for 50 years (Baraban 49). He, as the perpetrator of a very heinous crime, does not feel any remorse on the premise that the murder of Fortunato comes as a punishment for a crime committed by him. Human society is rampant with injustices and their perceptions change according to the situations.

The protagonist embraces the philosophy of vengeance as the justification for the premeditated murder. He is capable of escaping punishment, because he has planned and executed the crime with meticulous precision. Thus, Poe depicts in the story an ironical situation where a man takes another human life but goes on to live unpunished because he has executed the murder with cunningness. Poe, by showing different ironical situations in the story creates an impact on the readers and shows