Edgar Allan Poe is known chiefly for his command of theA Gothic genre. The writer makes an intense usage of symbolism and sarcasm throughout the Cask of Amontillado, what makes the short narrative much more creepy, but, still, interesting and catching the reader ‘s attending, one time they can foretell what is approximately to go on, but the victim can non. This paper aims at showing some sarcasm from the work of Edgar Allan Poe The Cask of Amontillado. It will show three types of sarcasm from the work of Edgar Allan Poe “ The Cask of Amontillado ” . The three types of sarcasm approached in this text are verbal sarcasm, situational sarcasm and dramatic sarcasm. The paper was elaborated by Daniel Fahed, Edson Freire and Claudia Oliveira utilizing on-line mentions and treatments among all the members of the group.
Plot
The narrative takes topographic point in an Italian metropolis in the carnival season. The two chief characters are Montresor, the supporter and storyteller who seeks retaliation for 1000s of non-specific hurts, and Fortunato, a affluent adult male, who is a wine cognoscente proud of his accomplishment. [ 5 ]
The genre of this short narrative is horror incorporating many illustrations of subtle and obvious sarcasms. The whole narrative happens on a individual twenty-four hours and it focuses on merely one activity, which is the planning for slaying Fortunato. The storyteller is in the first individual, hence, he is undependable. The subjects in this short narrative are retaliation, misrepresentation and pride.
The narrative starts with the undermentioned line: “ The 1000 hurts of Fortunato I had borne as I best could ; but when he ventured upon abuse, I vowed retaliation. ” In the English civilization there is a stating which goes: “ Sticks and rocks may interrupt my castanetss, but names will ne’er ache me ” . Poe ‘s talker states the antonym. He has suffered hurts without complain, but abuses he will non stay. The supporter Montresor has a name that means “ my hoarded wealth ” . He declares his purpose of revenging on unfortunate Fortunato, who has committed some unspecified abuse to Montresor ‘s name and repute. Besides, “ a incorrect is unredressed when requital overtakes the redresser. ” Montresor looks for non merely to penalize, “ but to penalize with impunity. ” [ 6 ]
Montresor ‘s name interlingual rendition parallels Fortunato ‘s in two ways.A First, in Gallic beginning, Montresor ‘s name “ combines the words montrer ( to demo ) and kind ( destiny ) ” .A Montresor ‘s name suggests that he shows Fortunato his destiny.
We know that Montresor hates Fortunato, but Fortunato does non cognize about it. The condemned character is incognizant that Montresor ‘s friendly attitude is a pretence of good will, that his smiling is at the idea of Fortunato ‘s decease. Even in the rubric of PoeA?s work it is possible to pull out sarcasm. The word cask, intending vino barrel, is derived from the same root word used to organize coffin, intending casket. Therefore, the cask figuratively represents Fortunato ‘s coffin.
“ My beloved Fortunato, you are fortunately met. ” is one of the dry statements of the narrative, because if he had non run into Montresor at all that fatal eventide, possibly he would hold had much better fortune and been much more fortunate.
The narrative takes topographic point during the carnival season of lunacy and joy. The bibulous Fortunato is have oning assortment and the cap and bells of a fool, but he is no wise sap. Montresor plays on Fortunato ‘s pride in his vino virtu, inquiring him to verify if Montresor ‘s recent bargain-price vino purchase is an expensive Amontillado or an ordinary Sherry. Fortunato agrees over Montresor ‘s protests that it would be an infliction and a wellness jeopardy, since the vaults where the vino is stored are cold, moistness. Montresor ‘s uttered concern for the other adult male ‘s wellbeing is in dissension with his true purposes.
When Fortunato encounters Montresor, it is at a carnival ; a gay clip of visible radiation, felicity and celebration.A It is improbable that anyone would anticipate of a carnival to be the apogee of a slaying plan.This characterizes a situational sarcasm.
The narrative is full of verbal irony.A Montresor says “ my beloved Fortunato ” and pretends surprise how “ fortunately we met ” .A Montresor ‘s pride has been hurt through some existent or imagined abuses by Fortunato, and Montresor intends evil for him, but he speaks words dripping with honey to mask his ain motivations and entreaty to Fortunato ‘s pride.
How did Montresor cognize that no retainers would be present? He had informed them that he would be gone all dark and “ given them expressed orders non to stir from the house. ” That, he knew, would be adequate “ to see their immediate disappearing ” every bit shortly as he left. That is a combination of verbal and situational sarcasm.
The two of them go down the catacombs, Montresor repeatedly showing concern about the nitre-covered walls and aggravation of Fortunato ‘s cough. The unfortunate victim-to-be says, “ the cough is a mere nil ; it will non kill me. I shall non decease of a cough. ”
Another illustration of verbal sarcasm takes topographic points when Fortunato believes in Montresor ‘s best purposes during the journey through the catacombs and he states that the moistness of the caverns will hold an sick consequence on FortunatoA?s wellness.
Fortunato was right – it would non be his cough that would kill him, but instead his adamancy that his cough would non. The concluding illustration of sarcasm takes topographic point when Montresor realizes that Fortunato is dead. After repeatedly naming Fortunato ‘s name, Montresor collects himself and says, “ In gait requiescat, ” which translates as “ remainder in peace. ” While this itself does look a spot dry since Montresor putting to deaths Fortunato and so wishes him peace, it ca n’t yet be to the full appreciated. In Italian “ in gait requiescat ” does interpret as “ remainder in peace, ” but the phrase, “ in gait ” by itself means a, “ secure, cloistered prison. ” This description really good represents Fortunato ‘s concluding resting topographic point – secure because it is deep resistance and behind a brick wall, and cloistered because it ‘s location is really privy and about has a spiritual air about it because of the human remains scattered about.
He is besides proven to be a sap for believing Montresor has his best purposes in head when, during their journey through the catacombs, his comrade protests the moistness of the caverns will hold an sick affect on Fortunato ‘s wellness and asks him to turn back.A As it turns out, the sham concern is all portion of the ruse used to entice Fortunato deeper into the trap, for the more Montresor suggests turning back the more determined Fortunato becomes to go on forth.
Fortunato accepts a bottle of Medoc that Montresor has chosen from the many vinos lying in the mold, Fortunato toasts “ to the buried that repose around us, ” unaware that he himself would shortly be one of them. “ And I to your long life, ” responds Montresor cognizing that Fortunato ‘s life is about to stop.
Readers know Montresor is non being sincere as he toasts to Fortunato ‘s good wellness and long life. Actually, he is lead oning and mocking his victim. It is dramatic sarcasm when the reader knows something the characters in a narrative are non cognizant of.A Fortunato believes he is being praised in high regard with grasp for his good cognition of vino, when the reader knows Fortunato will endure the retaliation of his familiarity.
Fortunato asks about the Montresor coat of weaponries, which is “ A immense human pes d’or, in a field of cerulean ; the pes crushes a serpent rampant whose Fangs are imbedded in the heel. ” with the slogan Nemo me impune lacessit “ written in it – which in English means “ no 1 can harm me unpunished ” . The reader can acknowledge the relationship of weaponries and lettering to what is go oning. The unfortunate 1 does non.
Fortunato drinks more vino. This 2nd bottle is a flagon of De Grave ( De Grave in English is a burial ) – another word that has equivocal significance. Montresor makes certain Fortunato will go on by proposing that they alternatively turn back to get away the bad air. A scene of low comedy follows as Fortunato asks whether Montresor is a member of the Masons. Montresor produces a Mason ‘s trowel from under his cloak. Fortunato thinks it a gag. The trowel was showed to bespeak a Mason icon, but, at the same clip, as a tool used to slay Fortunato. They continue through the charnel house, go throughing the remains of coevalss of Montresors, to an interior deferral. Coming to a little chamber Montresor has his bibulous victim in ironss seconds subsequently.
Building rock and howitzer readily at manus, Montresor uses his trowel and begins palisading up the niche. Even chained to the wall, Fortunato thinks it ‘s all a large gag and asks about the nonexistent Amontillado. Now, he is the ignoramus-term used to diss Luchesi, whom Montresor has several times suggested as a cognoscente who he would inquire to look into the cask of wine alternatively of Fortunato. Such name-calling may be the leaning for abuse that has prompted Montresor ‘s deathly retaliation after the 1000 injuries he has absorbed.A
Still rummy, Fortunato starts shouting and fighting when he starts to recognize what the state of affairs is as the gap begins to shut with each row of masonry. As the concluding rock is about to be placed, Fortunato laughs once more stating it ‘s all been a gag they can portion with the revellers at the palazzo. But it ‘s after midnight ; should n’t we name it quits? My married woman will be inquiring where I am. “ Let us be gone. ”
When Montresor repeats that line, “ be gone ” has a different significance. Fortunato has uttered his last words. Montresor hears merely the jingling of the bells on his victim ‘s cap. “ My bosom grew ill, ” he says.
Is this a suggestion of contrite humanity in Montresor? Decidedly non. This is a sort of sarcasm that seems to be lost to many readers ; Montresor says in the following sentence that his despondency had nil in it of commiseration. It was merely the moistness that was acquiring to him. Shaking off his unease, he inserts the last rock, plasters it, and gets back to the displaced castanetss.
“ For the half of a century no person has disturbed them. ” Montresor is joyful. He has been associating a ghastly event of long ago. He has so punished with impunity, giving new significance to the slogan on his coat of weaponries. The concluding sentence echoes the Latin of the requiem mass. In gait requiescat: May he rest in peace. One can merely conceive of the distressingly slow decease by thirst and famishment, and the potassium nitrate which made him cough, Fortunato did non decease in peace, and the sorrowful emotions of the dirge mass are absent. Montresor has punished with impunity.
The readers might believe that this narrative is go oning at the present clip, but it happened 50 old ages in the yesteryear. It shows situational sarcasm, which is used when the antonym will go on than is expected.
Decision
Edgar Allan Poe uses many dramas on words and ambiguity to craftily make his work. Some of them are obvious to the reader and some are elusive. The usage of this figure of address, which is a contradiction of outlook between what is said and what is meant or an incongruousness between what might be expected-by Fortunato, in this instance, but non by the readers-and what really occurs. As we could see Montresor is committed to the thought of killing Fortunato. The verbal sarcasm is present in every word when Montresor, seemingly worried about Fortunato ‘s cough and the consequence of the nitre-covered walls of this vino basement, says, “ You will be sick and I can non be responsible. ” We besides noticed the situational sarcasm, which occurs when events turn out the antonym of what would normally be expected. The fact that the narrative of a adult male of bad luck should be named Fortunato and the fact of the name of the narrative be “ The Cask of Amontillado ” , which leads the reader to believe that this barrel of vino likely exists are illustrations of situational sarcasm ; every bit good as the fact that the slaying takes topographic point during carnival season and the costumes the two work forces are have oning suits really good to their axial rotations in the narrative. At last, the usage of dramatic sarcasm allows the readers to experience the at hand danger and Montresor ‘s existent purposes as they know more than Fortunato or are able to construe more accurately what the characters have to state. Just like when Montresor repeats Fortunato ‘s “ Let us be gone, ” we understand a different significance than does Fortunato.
