Narration and Point of View: “A Cask of Amontillado”
COLLAPSE
To help you understand the sort of place in which the action occurs, please read this entry on catacombs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs
The textbook does not footnote (though it should) the carnival that is mentioned early in the text. It is a festival that occurs in many forms in predominantly Catholic cultures, a time of self-indulgence and partying before the beginning of the penitential season of Lent. One example is Mardi Gras. That he is taking part in a carnival explains why Fortunato is wearing a jester’s costume. The story is set in a city in Italy.
Amontillado is a type of sherry wine, made in Spain through a complex process that can take years to complete.
Please answer at least two of the following questions:
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the story provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator?
2. How does Poe use to create and heighten the suspense in the story? At what point does it become clear what Montresor is about to do? What clues does the author give? Is the outcome ever in doubt?
3. What is in a name? Montresor (mon tresor) means “my treasure” in French. Fortunato, quite obviously, means “fortunate” in Italian. How are these names significant (or perhaps ironic) in perceiving the respective characters’ personalities and traits?
4. Montresor is apparently telling the story to someone (the literary term is auditor). We don’t really know much information about the auditor, but what might be Montresor’s motive in telling someone this story?
5. Why is Montresor’s family catacomb a significant location to carry out his plot?