The Cask Of Amontillado: Possible After Story Scenarios

July 11, 2022 by Essay Writer

Amontillado is considered to be a very unique kind of Spanish cherry. Where cherry is understood to be the source of wine and cask is referred to a barrel, which gives the definition of a wine barrel to Cask of Amontillado. The Cask of Amontillado is a tale of spiteful vengeance which results in a torturous murder consisting of Montresor and his foe Fortunato. This story is written in the form of a narration in which the narrator named Montresor commits the murder of a wine tasting expert Fortunato.

The story starts with Montresor narrating his memoir of revenge as he explains he was wronged by a man called Fortunato a thousand times over, but his insult was the point when he decided to finally take the initiative with his revenge. Montresor plans on killing Fortunato by using his knowledge of wine to bait him into coming to Montresor’s house. Montresor continues narrating his meeting with Fortunato which was at a carnival. He clarifies that Fortunato was dressed as a jokester in a striped outfit and an entertainer cap that resembled that of a jester. Fortunato was clearly very intoxicated as he greeted Montresor in a very friendly manner. Montresor lures Fortunato to accompany him to his house to see the pipe of Monte Otto that belonged to Montresor.

When they reached Montresor’s house, they delve deep into the catacombs that are underground passages. Catacombs are places where the dead are buried which in this instance are the catacombs of the Montresor family. As they both moved deeper and deeper into the tomb Fortunato got even more drunk which led to him struggling to walk normally and also acting a bit clownish. In this drunk state, he accused Montresor of not being a Mason. Montresor showed a shovel to Fortunato to prove he is a legitimate Mason. When they reached the most secluded area of the catacombs, they found a smaller crypt. Montresor urges Fortunato to enter the cramped space knowing he’s drunk and is not able to comprehend what’s going on. Fortunato gets confused when Montresor chains him to the wall.

Fortunato still heavily drunk asks the whereabouts of Amontillado even when Montresor carries stone and mortar inside. Fortunato regains his senses immediately when Montresor begins to build a wall at the entrance of the crypt. Fortunato gets mocked by Montresor as he screams. Fortunato relaxes and pretends to acknowledge this act as a joke as a last ditch effort to get out, Montresor humors him for a moment but soon Fortunato realizes this is not a game he screams “for the love of God Montresor” and Montresor repeats his words then there is silence. Montresor expects Fortunato to continue to beg gets irritated and shouts to Fortunato in an attempt to get a response but gets no reply. Then he completes building the wall and reveals that these events happened fifty years ago. As he concludes his reminiscence with rest in peace. When Montresor finally places the final stone in the wall he comes back to his house out of the catacombs and hides the traces of mortar. He goes back to the carnival so that no one questions his whereabouts.

Actually this story has three timelines one is prior to the murder (the story) when Fortunato used to make fun of Montresor, second is when actually commits the murder and third is when he narrates the story (after story). The story of Cask of Amontillado is placed between the timeline of this “after story” in which he narrates the story of a crime he committed and repents over his action. The author never disclosed what happened to Montresor after he told the story but one can use his imagination to conclude this story on the basis of the fact that he is narrating this story during his last days.

At the end of the story, Montresor who is the narrator discloses that these events occurred 50 years before and that now he an old man. This reveals the fact that Montresor got away with his crime of revenge and he hasn’t been caught either. That’s why during his last days he decides to voice his crime and narrates this story of vengeance.

Some believe that Montresor, however, got away with this murder but still, he narrates this story because he feels ashamed of his actions and the fact that he is not punished or caught so he must confess his crime to someone, in this case, the readers. And Some people say that he was proud of his planning as he never got caught that’s why he was narrating his story to show off his skills of getting away with murder. When he says its been 50 years since the crime happened then according to the two different narratives, there can be two different scenarios.

One is if Montresor was ashamed of his act, and he was narrating the story with the sole purpose of confessing to his crime because he can not die with the burden of the crime he committed, in this case, the mentioning of time refers to the fact that it been so long ago and he has suffered in guilt for a long time. He hopes for forgiveness in this scenario as he has suffered enough in guilt.

Now in the second scenario where he is proud of his crime and narrates the story to compliments himself as a master planner and when he mentions that it been 50 years he clearly points out that for 50 years no one has been able to discover his crime and he finally discloses the master crime he committed 50 years ago.

Poe is the epitome of the dark romantic writer the Cask of Amontillado is a story of revenge and secret murder there is no logic for this punishment it is a tale of terror here post shows us the horrors of pure evil a common theme or a statement that the text seems to be making about the subject in dark romantic writing. Montresor depicts that he is evil in calculating and intentional in his planning from Fortunato.

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