DAY ONE
PRE-READING
ACTIVATOR: PERSONAL CONNECTION
• HAS ANYONE EVER DONE ANYTHING TO YOU THAT MADE YOU
WANT TO GET REVENGE ON HIM OR HER? WHAT DID S/HE DO?
• HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN REVENGE ON SOMEONE FOR
SOMETHING S/HE DID TO YOU? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM OR
HER IN RETURN? WHY DID YOU FEEL A NEED TO GET REVENGE?
• EXPLAIN HOW THE REVENGE MADE YOU FEEL. DID YOU GET
CAUGHT? IF YOU HAD GOTTEN CAUGHT, WOULD THAT HAVE
CHANGED THE FEELING THE REVENGE GAVE YOU? EXPLAIN.
BUILDING BACKGROUND
• CENTURIES AGO, CHRISTIANS IN ITALY BURIED THEIR DEAD
IN CATACOMBS—LONG, WINDING UNDERGROUND
TUNNELS.
• DARK AND COOL, THESE
CHAMBERS WERE ALSO SUITABLE
FOR THE STORAGE OF FINE
WINES, SUCH AS AMONTILLADO.
• AMONTILLADO IS A PALE, DRY
SHERRY OR A TYPE OF WINE.
BUILDING BACKGROUND, CONT.
• POE’S STORY IS SET DURING
CARNIVAL, WHICH IS
CELEBRATED BEFORE THE
START OF LENT, THE SEASON
DURING WHICH CHRISTIANS
GIVE UP VARIOUS PLEASURES.
• DURING CARNIVAL, MANY PEOPLE WEAR COSTUMES AND
DANCE IN THE STREETS.
DAY ONE
POST READING
SETTING
•THE SETTING OF THIS
STORY IS IN ITALY,
DURING THE EARLY
1800S.
•MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE STORY TAKES PLACE
DURING CARNIVAL SEASON, AT NIGHT IN THE
MONTRESOR FAMILY CATACOMBS.
CHARACTERIZATION
• THE PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY IS
MONTRESOR, AND THE ANTAGONIST IS
FORTUNATO.
• EVEN THOUGH MONTRESOR ISN’T A
“HERO,” HE IS STILL THE MAIN
CHARACTER, AND HE IS IN CONFLICT
WITH FORTUNATO (MAN VS. MAN).
• BOTH MONTRESOR AND FORTUNATO ARE
ROUND AND STATIC CHARACTERS.
POINT OF VIEW
• FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW IS USED
THROUGHOUT THE STORY.
• MONTRESOR IS THE NARRATOR; WE
KNOW HIS THOUGHTS ONLY, NOT
FORTUNATO’S.
• AS A FIRST PERSON NARRATOR,
MONTRESOR MAY BE AN UNRELIABLE
NARRATOR, ONE WHO DOES NOT ALWAYS
TELL THE TRUTH.
• HE DOESN’T EXPLAIN THE “INSULT”
• HE MIGHT HAVE PANGS OF CONSCIENCE.
MOOD, TONE, AND FORESHADOWING
• THE MOOD IS SUSPENSEFUL, WHILE THE TONE IS VERY EERIE AND HORRIFYING.
• FORESHADOWING BUILDS UP BOTH THE MOOD AND TONE.
• THE DESCENT INTO THE CATACOMBS AND REFERENCES TO THE SKELETONS.
• MONTRESOR CALLS HIMSELF A MASON AND SHOWS FORTUNATO HIS
TROWEL.
• THE MONTRESOR FAMILY MOTTO IS “NO ONE ATTACKS ME WITH
IMPUNITY.”
• THESE EXAMPLES OF FORESHADOWING MAKE READERS ANXIOUS ABOUT WHAT
MONTRESOR IS GOING TO DO. THEY ARE CLUES THAT HE IS PLANNING
SOMETHING HORRIBLE FOR FORTUNATO, FILLING THE READER WITH DREAD.
SYMBOLISM
• MONTRESOR’S COAT OF
ARMS SYMBOLIZES HIS
REVENGE AGAINST
FORTUNATO’S INSULT.
• FORTUNATO’S FOOL
COSTUME SYMBOLIZES
HIS FOOLISHNESS AND
GREED.
IRONY: FORTUNATO’S NAME
• HIS NAME IS IRONIC BECAUSE HE
IS NOT FORTUNATE IN HIS
INTERACTIONS WITH
MONTRESOR, WHICH LEAD TO HIS
DEATH.
• HIS DEATH IS THE OPPOSITE OF
WHAT WE MIGHT EXPECT FOR
SOMEONE WHOSE NAME IMPLIES
GOOD LUCK OR FORTUNE.
MORE IRONY
• DRAMATIC IRONY: FORTUNATO
DOESN’T KNOW HE WILL BE
KILLED, BUT THE READER
DOES.
• VERBAL IRONY: MONTRESOR
COMPLIMENTS FORTUNATO
AND IMPLORES HIM TO TURN
BACK.
SUMMARIZER: GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
• FIND AN EXAMPLE OF DRAMATIC IRONY AND VERBAL
IRONY FROM “THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO.”
• USE THE PROVIDED GRAPHIC ORGANIZER TO FILL IN
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
• QUOTE
• PARAPHRASE
• EXPLANATION OF HOW QUOTE SHOWS IRONY
DAY TWO
ACTIVATOR: MAKING CONNECTIONS
• RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING:
• YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD THE TERM “GOTH” OR
“GOTHIC” BEFORE. “GOTHIC FASHION” IS SOMETHING
YOU MAY SEE ON A REGULAR BASIS IN HIGH SCHOOL,
“GOTHAM CITY” IS THE SETTING OF BATMAN’S
ADVENTURES, AND “GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE” WAS
VERY POPULAR DURING THE MEDIEVAL ERA,
ESPECIALLY IN CATHEDRALS AND CHURCHES. WHAT DO
YOU THINK “GOTHIC” MEANS? WHAT DO YOU THINK
ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE “GOTHIC”?
GOTHIC LITERATURE
• GOTHIC LITERATURE IS DESIGNED TO
THRILL READERS BY PROVIDING MYSTERY
AND BLOOD-CURDLING ACCOUNTS OF
VILLAINY, MURDER, AND THE
SUPERNATURAL.
• THE CONVENTIONS OF GOTHIC
LITERATURE INCLUDE ANCIENT
BUILDINGS, A GLOOMY ATMOSPHERE,
DARKNESS, DEATH, DECAY, AND MADNESS.
GOTHIC IMAGES IN “THE CASK OF
AMONTILLADO”
• WHAT DO THINK ARE SOME GOTHIC IMAGES IN “THE CASK OF
AMONTILLADO”?
• CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS TO COMPLETE (WITH A PARTNER) IN ORDER
TO EXAMINE, ANALYZE, AND DEPICT THE GOTHIC ELEMENTS OF “THE CASK OF
AMONTILLADO.”
1. CREATE A PLOT DIAGRAM FOR THE STORY INCLUDING ALL FIVE PLOT POINTS. IN
ADDITION TO EXPLAINING EACH POINT, DRAW AND COLOR A GOTHIC IMAGE FOR THAT
SECTION OF THE TEXT.
2. CREATE A MOVIE POSTER FOR THE STORY. ON YOUR POSTER, YOU SHOULD DRAW AND
COLOR A LARGE GOTHIC IMAGE FROM THE TEXT, A QUOTE FROM THE STORY THAT
CAPTURES THE GOTHIC ATMOSPHERE, AND THE STORY’S TITLE.
3. CREATE A 10 PANEL COMIC STRIP OF THE STORY. YOU SHOULD INCLUDE THE MAJOR
EVENTS OF THE STORY AND CAPTURE THE GOTHIC SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE. MAKE
SURE IT’S COLORFUL AND CREATIVE.
4. CREATE A NEW COAT OF ARMS FOR THE MONTRESOR FAMILY. IN EACH OF THE FOUR
SECTIONS, DRAW AND COLOR A DIFFERENT GOTHIC IMAGE FROM THE STORY. BE
SURE TO STILL INCLUDE THE MOTTO: “NO ONE ATTACKS ME WITH IMPUNITY.”
SUMMARIZER: TICKET OUT THE DOOR
•ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN ORDER
TO SUMMARIZE OUR LEARNING FOR TODAY’S
LESSON:
• WHAT IS THE THEME OF “THE CASK OF
AMONTILLADO”?
• HOW DO THE GOTHIC ELEMENTS OF “THE CASK OF
AMONTILLADO” HELP TO DEVELOP THE THEME OF
THE STORY?