Cask of Amontillado"
1 - 10 of 10
AprilIcsman Jul 16, 2009 8:26
pm
1. What does the narrator’s
smiling at the thought of
Fortunato’s death tell you about
his character?
2. How does the narrator lure
Fortunato to his palace? What
does the narrator’s strategy tell
you about him?
3. Why might Montresor be
carrying a trowel? What can you
conclude about his plans?
4. What can you conclude about
Montresor’s state of mind when he
stops his work to enjoy
Fortunato’s cries?
5. Do you think Montresor’s “heart
grew sick” because of the
dampness or for some other
reason? Support your conclusion.
6. Dialogue (this question was not
in the online text)
Note the use of dialogue in this
story. Do you feel it is effective?
Why or why not?
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
CWalec Feb 17, 2010 9:46 am
1.He is most likely a sadist, and
harbors a dislike for Fortunado.
2.He makes as if to show him a
rare wine from his collection, by
appealing to his ego. It shows him
to be manipulative as well as
conniving.
3.Clearly he plans to bury
something, perhaps Fortunado.
4.He must be emotionally unstable
and somewhat psychotic, because
his cold calculated murder is
accompanied by sheer pleasure at
Fortunado’s pain.
5.I think his guilt began to get to
him, because that is a common
theme in Poe’s works- such as the
Telltale Heart, or the Black Cat.
6.I feel that the dialogue is quite
effective, because it contrasts with
the narrators obviously dark,
though unknown intentions. That
creates a sense of dread, as well
as one of premonition.
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
CWKrista Feb 17, 2010 10:03
am
The Cask of Amontillado
1. The narrator’s smile at the
thought of Fortunato’s death
shows that the narrator may be a
cruel man. It at least shows that
the narrator has ill intentions
towards Fortunato.
2. The narrator lures Fortunato to
his palace by telling him that he
will get amontillado if he comes.
This shows that the narrator
knows what kind of man Fortunato
is.
3. Montresor may be carrying a
trowel to bury Fortunato in the
recesses of the catacombs. This
shows that he has planned this
murder out well.
4. It seems that Montresor is a bit
of a loon. Not only is he murdering
a man, he’s actually enjoying it
immensely.
5. Montresor’s heart grew sick not
only because of the dampness of
the catacombs, but also with
realization that he had really just
murdered Fortunato. This is
shown in the text when Montresor
calls out for a reply from
Fortunato, but receives none. The
sick feeling in Montresor’s heart
came with the faint light of
understanding that the deed was
done and Montresor was now truly
a murderer.
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
CWMatt Feb 17, 2010 10:11 am
1. The narrator’s smiling could
indicate that he has a strong
personal vendetta against
Fortunato. Either Fortunato has
done a great wrong to the
narrator, or the narrator is insane
and targeting Fortunato for
something minor. Considering that
Poe writes constantly about
madness, it seems likely that the
narrator is insane and desiring to
kill Fortunato over something that
is very minor or that never really
happened.
2. The narrator lures Fortunato
with the promise of more drink.
The narrator’s strategy indicates
that he has been planning this
murder for quite a long time, and
has planned everything to the last
minute detail.
3. Montresor might be carrying a
trowel in order to bury Fortunato’s
body once the drunken man is
dead. It seems that Montresor is
going to kill Fortunato in the cellar
when the man is too drunk to
defend himself.
4. Montresor is taking in the idea
that his revenge has finally been
achieved. He is enjoying
Fortunato’s pain, and is
sadistically prolonging Fortunato’s
suffering by stopping his work.
Montresor not only wants
Fortunato to suffer, but he also
wants to be able to actually
witness some of it.
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
CWMatt Feb 18, 2010 9:50 am
5. Perhaps Montresor’s “heart
grew sick” because he realized
that he actually murdered
someone. Though he is content
that he had his revenge on
Fortunato, he still feels the shock
of being a murderer.
6. The dialogue of the short story
helped to communicate
Montresor’s desire for revenge on
Fortunato. He is constantly
scheming, and even his telling of
the story has the feeling that
Montresor is scheming. Perhaps
this is to communicate that
vengeance completely devours
any person and eventually
destroys him once revenge has
been achieved. Because he has
committed murder, Montresor’s
sanity has departed with
Fortunato’s life.
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
CWJillian Feb 18, 2010 9:53
am
1.) The narrator smiling at the
thought of Fortunato’s death
shows that he is a man with no
feelings almost. He doesn’t care
that Fortunato will die or how he
will die, he just wants him gone.
2.) The narrator gets Fortunato to
come to his palace by trying to
convince him that it is too cold
outside for them to be out and for
them to go back to his place.
3.) Montresor might be carrying a
trowel because he plans to bury
Fortunato’s body in it. You can
conclude that he has planned to
get him drunk and then kill him.
4.) Montresor is obviously a crazy,
freak. This is because he finds
pleasure and peace when he puts
Fortunato through pain and finally
death.
5.) I think that yes Montresor’s
heart did grow sick at the end of
the story. Once he finally killed
him and realized he had done it is
when it really hit him.
6.) Yeah I think that the dialogue
was very effective. He does a
good job of letting the readers
know exactly how he is feeling
and shows that with the details
throughout the story.
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re: "Cask of Amontillado"
morgancooldawggiedawg
Feb 18, 2010 9:57 am
1. The fact that the narrator is
smiling means that he probably
does not care for Fortunato very
much, that is the only thing we can
be sure of. But it could also mean
one of two things, either the
narrator doesn’t like Fortunato
because of a horrible thing that he
did, or the narrator himself did
something very horrible to
Forunato.
2. The narrator tells Forunato that
he could have more to drink if he
comes with him. This means that
the murder was not done in the
heat of the moment but most
certainly very planned out and
detailed. This is a good indication
of how insane the narrator is.
3. Montresor is carrying a trowel to
wrap up Fortunato’s body once he
is good and dead. This is another
indication of how planned the
murder is.
4. Montresor’s state of mind is
sickening. He not only wants
Forunato to suffer he wants to
witness it and hear it for himself.
Montresor takes great pleasure in
Forunato’s suffering.
5. Montresor’s heart grew sick
partly because of the dampness of
the catacombs, but also due to
realizing that he had really
murdered Fortunato. The book
shows this happening by telling us
that when Montresor calls out to
Fortunato and hears nothing back.
The sick feeling Montresor’s had
came upon him because he has
not truly realized that he is indeed
a murder and there is nothing he
can do to change that now.
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