The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe Literary Analysis Essay Example

Edgar Allan Poe is often known for his famous short-stories, including “The Cask of Amontillado.” The short-story has gained popularity mainly from its mysterious theme. The story was written in a way that it is still difficult to discover the actual motifs for Montresor’s perfect murder. It is narrated by Montresor through a letter that he wrote fifty years after the murder of Fortunato. Edgar Allan Poe used plot, theme, and narration to depict Montresor’s flawless and vengeful murder of Fortunato in “The Cask of Amontillado.” Interpreters of the story often come to different conclusions on what objects and scenes in the story symbolize for the overall plot. Poe’s tragic life may have contributed to his somber writing in the short-story. The ominous and twisted theme of the passage may have been influenced by Poe’s personal life. He was born in 1809 and was put up for adoption two years later. Young Poe was never officially adopted but was taken in by John Allan, in which he hated. His life was like a series of unfortunate events, such as his wife dying shortly after marriage, similar to the plot of “The Cask of Amontillado.” The story is narrated by the murderer himself, Montresor. After reading through the story once, it seems as if Montresor is either mentally insane or that Fortunato did something horrendous to deserve his murder. However, the characters in the story may resemble actual people from Poe’s life. As mentioned earlier, Poe had a lot of hatred for his “stepfather-who, like Fortunato, was rich, respected, admired, and beloved” (Mustafa 5). This use of characterization reiterates how mysterious Edgar Allan Poe’s storytelling abilities were. He also input many clues that are stated by Montresor to add an eerie feel to the theme. 

Throughout the story, Montresor says subtle clues and “signals of his [Fortunato] impending doom, but Fortunato does not perceive” (Stepp 447). An example of this is when Montresor uses reverse phycology by questioning Fortunato about his health. Fortunato responds “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough,” and Montresor answers “True-true” (Poe 250). The irony of this example allows readers to “notice how Montresor does not hide anything from his confessor” (Whatley 57). This is a tactic used specifically by Poe to keep the mystery of the story escalating and the audience suspended after reading through the short-story. Upon closer analysis, one can begin to see clues and symbols throughout the story to piece together the motifs for Montresor’s murder.

Most people who reads the “Cask of Amontillado” come to different conclusions about Montresor’s motif to murder Fortunato. Poe wrote subtle clues in the short-story to help the reader better understand the plot. Fortunato and the narrator must have known each other for a while since in the story Montresor states “He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself upon his connoisseurship in wine” (Poe 248). This allows the readers to gain the knowledge that Montresor and Fortunato were once friends because Montresor knows that Fortunato’s weakness is wine, which allows him to use it as part of his plan for the murder. Additionally, in the confession letter Montresor wrote “there were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time” (Poe 249). This illustrates that Montresor must be part of a royal or noble family since he has servants. One of the theories for the motif of murder is that “it is definitely a conflict that reflects social tensions between a proud but relatively impoverished aristocrat and the newly rich Fortunato” (Whatley 56). This theory is supported by other articles as well. After analyzing the story, one can begin to see that “the conflict between the two  characters arises from the sensation of incongruity between their current social standing and their right to prominence by virtue of their origin” (Baraban 170). The idea that social tension could be the motif for murder can be concluded after reviewing details in the letter that acknowledge it.

The beginning of the story explains that Montresor is going to murder Fortunato because he said an insult towards Montresor’s family name and their will. Once Montresor intrigues Fortunato by offering him a rare wine, they venture down into the Montresor family catacombs where the wine is stored. Throughout the long walk, Montresor implies his plans and reasons for murder, in which Fortunato never understands. He even goes as far as stating his motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which means “No one provokes me with impunity” (Poe 250). The time period of this story was most likely written in the eighteenth century which “reflects social tensions of the capitalist period” (Baraban 172). These statements prove that the motif for murder was most likely social tension between the two royal families. However, on the opposing side, people argue that the motif for murder was religion.

Religion has been the cause of many wars and mass murders of people in the past so it is not unlikely that Montresor’s reason for murder had to do with religion. The setting of the story was taken place in Italy. This can be used as support because Italians are usually Catholic. Montresor is a mason, in which he stated in the story, who is most likely Christian. Fortunato is most likely Catholic since he was taking a part in the Italian carnival dressed in a motley. The way that Montresor narrates the story shows that he has some religious background. When Fortunato is barricaded at the end of the story he shouts “For the love of God, Montresor,” and Montresor replies “Yes, for the love of God” (Poe 253). This depicts that Montresor’s motif to murder is God himself, and that he thinks he is doing right for his family’s religion after being verbally insulted by Fortunato. The letter of confession is also an explanation if the murder was  due to religious conflicts. The narrator states “You, who so well know the nature of my soul,” which implies he is writing the letter to someone of significance (Poe 248). After reading through the letter and “symbolic invocation made by the narrator, we could presume that the listener is God himself. Not necessarily God, but maybe his spiritual substitute, the priest” (CUŢITARU 206). Regardless of whether Montresor’s motif for murder was social tension or religion, Edgar Allan Poe wrote the story in a way that left the audience in confusion, mystery, and debate. The overall theme of the story was dark, mysterious, and eerie. Poe portrayed this by making the main setting of the story in the Catacombs, which is a series of dark underground tunnels entombed with skeletal remains of humans. Poe also used different symbols to complete the mystery of the story. The vaults could resemble death itself since it is lined with human remains and is the location of Montresor’s murder. The setting of the “madness of the carnival season rages, while beneath it Montresor’s private madness reigns” (Mustafa 3). The role of events in the story demonstrate how Poe used various literary devices to convey meaning.

To conclude, Edgar Allan Poe used plot, theme, and narration to depict Montresor’s flawless and vengeful murder of Fortunato in “The Cask of Amontillado.” The plot of the story left readers in suspense and led to debates about what Montresor’s motif for murder was. Interpreters argue that his reasons for murder were either social tension or religion. The theme of the story was dark, eerie, mysterious, and vengeful. Poe used the setting of the catacombs to portray it. The narration of the story added more mystery since Montresor was confessing to his murder fifty years later. The murder of Fortunato was successful due to Montresor’s extensive planning and flawless execution. Overall, Poe accomplished the mystery of the story since people are still trying to solve it today.