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Examples Of Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

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The Three kinds of Irony at Their Finest Edgar Allan Poe uses the literary device irony to further emphasize the message his stories. In his short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” he masterfully incorporates irony into his story to make it more interesting. Montresor convinces Fortunato to come into the catacombs with him for a taste of a fine wine. Fortunato knows nothing about Montresor’s plan to murder him deep within these catacombs. Poe uses all three kinds of irony in this story to create a much more riveting tale. Poe uses Fortunato’s lack of knowledge in the situation at hand to create dramatic irony. Fortunato believes that he is going into the catacombs to drink a fine wine called ‘Amontillado’. He does not know about Montresor’s plan to trap him in the catacombs. The reader knows about Montresor’s true …show more content…

One use of this is the fact that Fortunato is dressed like a fool when he meets his demise. This whole story takes place during carnival season. This means that the whole town, including Fortunato, is dressed up for this occasion. Fortunato wore a “Tight fitting parti-dress,” and as well as having “bells” and a “Conical cap” on his head (73). This is situational irony, because at Fortunato’s death he is dressed like a joker. The reader would not expect this to happen. This situation also mimics the fact that he is a fool for going deep into the catacombs for a glass of wine. This scene is very ironic, and it helps to enhance the overall effect of the story. Another instance of situational irony is at the end of the story. Montresor describes how his “Heart gr[ows] sick” right after he walls up Fortunato. One would think that this is because he just killed a man. This is not the case at all. His heart grows sick because of the niter and the dampness of the air. This is situational irony, and it helps to show Montresor’s

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In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe uses verbal irony to emphasize the evil intentions of Montresor. Poe uses several instances of irony to demonstrate that Forntunato’s death is imminent and Montresor knows all along. One example of irony being used is when Fortunato says “the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough. ”(119)

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In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “Cask of Amontillado”, Poe skillfully uses verbal irony in order to demonstrate the villainous intentions of Montresor. The first example of verbal irony is when Fortunato, the victim, toasts “to the buried that repose” and Montresor, the murderer, “And I to your long life”(page 119). By now the reader is beginning to understand. Montresor's murderous intentions by Poe’s verbally ironic statements about life and death. Another, example of verbal irony is the play of the word “masons”.

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Poe carries verbal irony throughout the rest of the story, as well; Montresor refers to Fortunato as “my friend” in many instances, however, the reader knows

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In the short story by Edgar Allen Poe, there are countless examples of irony to convey Montresor’s unlawful act, while applying an additional layer of irony to sabotage his revenge. An example of situational irony Poe uses in the story is simply the name Fortunato. Fortunato is an Italian name that means good fortune or luck. This is an example of situational irony because his name means the complete opposite of what he actually was.

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Montresor asks Fortunato to use his expert wine test tasting skills to tell if a bottle of wine is authentic or not. Since Fortunato is an arrogant person, he does not suspect or have any suspicion to his ‘friends’ request. Once Montresor and Fortunato make their way down deep into the catacombs, Montresor tricks Fortunato into a corner. Then, Montresor handcuffs Fortunato to the wall. Fortunato is fasten to the wall with no escape.

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In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe displays the theme of revenge and manipulation. The narrator Montresor pledges revenge on Fortunato for an insult that is never explained. He maintains an appearance of goodwill towards Fortunato and decides to make use of Fortunato's weakness for fine wines against him. During the carnival season, the narrator approaches Fortunato, telling him that he has come across something that could pass for Amontillado a rare and expensive wine. Fortunato being excited about the news insists on accompanying Montresor to the vaults to determine whether it is Amontillado or not.

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The irony in both the short stories The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe and The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry is used to create contrast between the route the reader thinks the story will go down, or the route that seems more obvious to the reader, and the reality presented, while adding touches of humor and foreshadowing. The irony in The Cask of Amontillado adds a dark layer of humor that tells the reader about how ego can get in the way of common sense, and foreshadows to the gruesome end. Montresor is practically a master at using reverse psychology, an example of verbal irony, to manipulate others into doing what he wants. The only time Montresor ever has to use physical force on Fortunato is at the very end, when he is chaining him up. Fortunato begs to stay in

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Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” is the narrative of a man named Montresor who seeks vengeance against a man named Fortunato. Fortunato insults Montresor. Next, Montresor meet Fortunato at a carnival, eventually luring him into the catacombs of his home to bury Fortunato alive. Moreover, different types of irony are portrayed in this short story. Dramatic irony consists of the character in the story knowing less about his or her situation than the reader.

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So although Fortunato believes he will ultimately reach a cask of wine, he actually meets his casket. In conclusion, in the story of ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe, Poe uses irony and foreshadowing throughout the story to allow the reader inside knowledge on what is about to happen. Throughout the story examples of verbal, dramatic, and situational irony can be found easily and help with foreshadowing for what is going to happen. Works Cited Poe, Edgar Allen.

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The quote shows the author's details create a shocking mood in the readers because he describes a detailed image the helps the reader envision what is going on. This action takes the audience by surprise because they know Montresor is getting revenge, but they aren’t told what it will be so they are as clueless as Fortunato. Montresor threw a torch in the niche where he tied Fortunato up and he finished closing up the wall, killing a man who considered him a friend. “I thrust a torch to the remaining aperture and let it fall within… I force the last stone into position; I plastered it up.” (pg7)

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Having all of the Montresor family down there with their spirts still wondering makes a lonely area. Looking across the catacombs Fortunato spots “the niter hangs like moss,”. The catacombs are appeared to be uncomfortable and spooky. It is almost like feeling, seeing, and smelling the niter which is frightful. By enhancing the functions of touch, taste, sight, and smell through the use of descriptive writing, Poe obtains a dreadful effect to his short

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Edgar Allan Poe, in his story, (The Cask of Amontillado), uses many examples of ironic symbolism to express the complicated relationship of the two main characters, Fortunato and Montresor. The story starts off at a carnival in Italy when Montresor lays eyes upon his victim, Fortunato,and his dreadful plan begins. Fortunato, a talented wine specialist and Montresor have had many conflicts in the recent past, and Montresor seeks revenge. He lures Fortunato into the catacombs because he has lied saying that he has purchased a cask of amontillado and he has his doubts. The protagonist, Fortunato is a very rich man who is full of himself and is used to getting what he wants; he also knows that amontillados are very precious wines and would not

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1405 Words | 6 Pages

Fortunato is a fun loving character who is able to live life almost carefreely. However, Fortunato is also full of ignorance in regards to his current position with Montresor, especially when he is drunk. Due to his persistent ignorance and pride, Fortunato fails to see any danger or harm that he faces; instead, he only sees the hope of tasting a rare wine despite the obvious signs to the contrary. He misses his chances to turn back and his chances to escape, instead, Fortunato invests himself fully in the venture. By the time he realizes his ignorance, Fortunato finds himself chained to a wall while another one is being built in front of him.

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“The Use of Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe is a phenomenal writer and makes many points in his writings. There are three different ways in Poe 's writing of "The Cask of Amontillado" that irony is used: verbal, situational and dramatic. Verbal irony can be seen when Montresor first sees Fortunato at the carnival. Situational irony is also used and can be seen between the meaning of Fortunato 's name and his destiny, as well as Montresor 's response to his own. The last way irony is used is dramatic irony, this can be seen by any reader, this occurs when Montresor tells Fortunato he is also a mason.

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In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” irony is applied throughout to help foreshadow future and give more of an insight to the readers, all while adding some humor. Irony is divided into three main types: dramatic, situational, and verbal. Poe uses dramatic irony when he has Fortunato dress as a jester, “a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (Poe). The get-up makes Fortunato looks foolish and foreshadows his actions of following Montresor into the catacombs to taste some wine. Montresor even compliments the outfit and says “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met” (Poe), but it was not Fortunato who was in luck, but Montresor who would gain profit of their meeting.

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