“Revenge is a dish best served cold”. This is a quote I am sure Edgar Allen Poe has herd after reading his short story “The Cask of Amontillado”. “The Cask of Amontillado” is the story of man, Montresor, and his brutal revenge against his former friend, Fortunato, who had insulted him. Poe’s story is riddled with examples of dramatic, verbal and situational irony which highlight the brutal revenge and brings humor into the story. Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows something that one of the characters does not.
Now, write a theme statement for "The Cask of Amontillado.” Behind all this revenge and death, the story is about trust. Without trust there can be no betrayal. The story has much to do with the lengths we will go to feel better when they feel betrayed and the tragedy that comes when those lengths hit
It is a tale of remorse, a study of character in which the human heart is anatomized, carefully, elaborately, and with striking poetic and dramatic power” (Duyckinck 181). Revenge played a major role in The Scarlet Letter because it was due to Roger Chillingworth’s vengeance that Arthur Dimmesdale was driven to his death. Chillingworth’s character was an evil man. He was controlling, manipulative, self-absorbed, and both physically and psychologically monstrous. His need for revenge was so great that he would do and did the unthinkable; Arthur Dimmesdale was trapped inside a prison of guilt, and Roger Chillingworth mentally tortured him.
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge “(1). It’s important to notice that Montresor wants revenge, not for his injuries, but for the insult. The word “ventured” is also interesting. It literally means “to undertake an action with knowledge that there is risk involved.” This quote suggests that Montresor thinks that Fortunato knew what he was risking, but chose to insult or betray him anyway. So it is obvious than that Montresor does have the character trait of revenge or vengeful.
One of the main messages he is trying to deliver to us is to always weigh what you achieve to what the consequences will be. This especially holds true for Macbeth, as when first contemplating if he should kill Duncan, not once did he think of how he could be punished. Also, when Macbeth first hears the witch’s prophecy of him being a king, he jumps directly to the idea of murder. This kind of thinking is exhibited in Macbeth’s monologue in scene 5 act 5, where he discus’s the uselessness of living, and this attitude towards life made him go mad. This also points to how unintelligent Macbeth really was.
Montresor vows revenge from one man who ill-treated him, while the Misfit takes his revenge out on anyone whom he crosses paths with, like the Bailey family, whose double standards and indifference towards others he feels are liable for the problems in the world. Fortunato is Montresor’s one and only victim. Montresor is determined to get back at Fortunato after all the agony he had to undergo from him without feeling regretful or having legal consequences: “I must not only punish but punish with impunity” (375). After Montresor leads Fortunato into his family’s vaults, he executes his plan and that was to kill Fortunato. In contrast, the Bailey family is probably one of many people that the Misfit crosses paths with after escaping from jail in Florida.
Revenge Revenge is a harmful action against a person or a group. It is characterized as a form of justice, seeking or taking vengeance for oneself or another person by retaliating in response to a grievance. Within the short declaration "Of Revenge" by Francis Bacon he describes the self-destructive nature and the injustices that revenge brings about while detailing the benefits of forgiveness. While "He Becomes Deeply and Famously Drunk" by Brady Udall's story explores the concept of revenge as Archie contemplates killing his father's murderer until realizing the elderly man Calf red Pulsipher is not worth the effort and lets go of his anger. From the short story "Spanish Roulette" by Ed Vega the poet Sixto vows revenge against a local gang member who raped his sister and battles with himself to make the right choice.
In “The Cast of Amontillado" the narrator Montresor is our main narrator. He is dedicated to his own point of view, which is cold, brutal, and conniving. He doesn’t mind telling us about his torture and murder of Fortunato he thinks what he did was the just right way to handle the situation. The story is about two friends who have a little bit of bad history. The reader is presented with the first situation where Montresor who is the narrator of the story complains about Fortunato’s insults.
Guilt made him seem more like the common man and likable because of the sheer fact that he was relatable to his old self. Readers can juxtapose his crippling guilt with their own in this sense, while almost feeling sorrowful for the cold-blooded murderer. “And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle / life’s but a walking shadow” (Shakespeare V.v.22-24). Having realized the loss of his Queen, Macbeth fantasizes his own demise; his conscience wants justice for the sins he has committed, showing his guilt and remorse for what he’s done.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories that have to do with revenge and a secret murder. The story begins with a man named Montresor who is tired of being ridiculed by Fortunato so he seeks revenge by tricking Fortunato using reverse psychology. In “The Cask of Amontillado” every narrative detail contributes to a single intense effect which defines Poe's theory of short fiction, which is why I enjoy Poe’s style of writing so much. Poe stuck with his horrifying style of writing but instead of making it about being love and heartbreak with a woman; he told a tale of