The human psyche is a complicated and twisted subject that most authors have had trouble detailing in their works. It is especially difficult to showcase how psychotic a human mind can be. Edgar Allan Poe does an amazing job at analyzing an evil and insane mind in his short story , “The Cask of Amontillado”. Montresor is an man who becomes overwhelmed by revenge and loses his humanity. He is a wicked human being. Poe also details another human being who is manipulated by Montresor and murdered by him. This person has the gullible mind of a fool , this is Fortunato. In “The Cask of Amontillado” , Edgar Allan Poe uses setting , symbolism , and irony to explore a psychological analysis of a chaotic mind seeking revenge and a prideful fool who falls into the chaotic mind’s trap.
One of the ways Edgar Allan Poe details the human psyche in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the setting. Many aspects of the setting are symbols for the character’s minds. One part of the setting is the
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There are so many symbols in “The Cask of Amontillado”. One of the symbols is the attire of the characters and how they use their clothing. Montresor uses his cape to cover Fortunato , which seems like a friendly gesture. It is really a symbol for Montresor capturing Fortunato , even if Fortunato doesn’t realize it at that moment. Fortunato’s outfit is a symbol because he is dressed as jester or a fool , which is what he is. He has a the mind of a fool. He is easily manipulated by Montresor. Another symbol is the Montresor family crest and motto. The crest is a heel smashing a serpent’s head while the serpent sinks its fangs into the heel. This is symbolic of the events that unfold in the story. Fortunato is the snake that is biting the heel. He wounded Montresor's pride which is like the bite in the heel. Montresor is the heel that smashes the snake’s head. Many different symbols are used by Poe to display the human