Man vs. Man Conflict
• “…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (209).
• “…and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the
thought of his immolation” (209).
• I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato
by an arm above the elbow” (211).
• “A moment more and I had him fettered to the granite” (212).
• “I replied to the yells of him who clamored [Fortunato]. I reechoed—I aided—I surpassed them in volume and in
strength” (214).
“The Cask of Amontillado”-So What?
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allen
Poe uses man vs. man conflict to create a suspenseful
mood.
Montresor had only taken “A moment more and I had
[Fortunato] fettered to the granite…Throwing the links
about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to
secure it” to bind Fortunato to the wall with chains, then
board up the wall.
Later, Fortunato yells “For the love of God Montressor!” and
he replies with “Yes, for the love of God!” This, and
everything Montresor had said at the beginning shows that
Montresor has malicious feelings toward Fortunato.
Montressor drinks to “[Fortunato’s] long life”, even though
he will kill him later, a reader can feel the malice emanating
from him.
And at the beginning Montresor says “I vowed revenge…[I]
must punish with impunity”. This tells us that Montresor
holds a grudge against Fortunato, aiming to kill or hurt him
horribly, and creates suspense.
“….that my smile now was at the thought of his
immolation” (209).
“I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry
when I discovered that the intoxication of
Fortunato had in great measure worn off” (212).
“… I had fettered him to the granite” (212).
“Against the new masonry I reerected the old
rampart of bones. For the half of a century no
mortal has disturbed them.”(214)
“I must not only punish, but punish with
impunity” (209).
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar
Allan Poe uses characterization to create an ominous
mood.
Montresor
Static:
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I
had borne as I best could; but when
he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge” (209).
“Against the new masonry I
reerected the old rampart of
bones…in pace requiescat! [may he
rest in peace]” (214).
Fortunato
Static:
“He prided himself on his
connoisseurship [authority or
expertise] in wine” (209).
“’Enough’, he said, ‘the cough is
mere nothing; it will not kill me. I
shall not die of a cough’” (211).
“Putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a
roquelaure (cloak) closely about my person, I
suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo”
(210).
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado ,” Edgar Allen
Poe uses imagery to create a horrific mood.
•“We had past through walls of piled bones with casks and puncheons,
intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs.” (211)
•“Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in
the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris.” (212)
•“A succession of loud and shrill screams bursting from the throat of the
chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back.” (214)
•“From the forth the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously
upon the earth, form at one point a mound of some size.” (212)
•“We at length to the foot of the descent and stood together on the damp
ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.” (210)