His descriptions allow the reader to put themselves in the story and get the same feeling as the characters. ‘We came at length to the foot of the descent and stood together on the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresor’s’ (117). Poe’s descriptive setting is an asset to the appeal of the story, particularly when the story proceeds to the catacombs. The ‘excessive warmth,’ that Fortunato greets Montresor with even further proves his intoxication and relaxed state. The second and most important detail, is that the carnival is a scene of ‘supreme madness.’ Fortunato, along with most others at the carnival, has likely been drinking most of the day, is relaxed, and more likely to disappear with Montresor on a quest into the dark catacombs than he would be on a normal day. The first is that it is dusk, which makes it harder for people at the carnival to notice what is happening and adds some gloom to the story. This sentence contains two important details as to why the carnival is a perfect setting for Montresor’s revenge. ‘It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend’ (116). There are several reasons that make the carnival the ideal setting for Poe to lure Fortunato away. There are two primary settings in ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ the carnival and the catacombs.
Poe tells the story from Montresor’s point of view to increase the astonishment and perverseness that the reader feels when reading the story.Įdgar Allan Poe uses the setting in many ways in his various works. In ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ Montresor tries to convince the reader that walling up Fortunato is his way making himself ‘felt as such to him who has done the wrong’ (231). FortunatoĪs in most Poe stories, the narrator tries to steer the reader away from seeing the wrongness of his actions. This being the case, it is difficult for us to develop any liking for another character unless Montresor describes him or her in a favorable way. In other words, we only know what Montresor tells us, or what we can infer from the story. The point of view of the story can also affect the emotional attachment that the reader gets. ‘The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge’ (115). In the first line of the story the narrator attempts to bring the reader to his side right from the start.
The point of view plays a very important role in influencing the reader’s perception of the story. Poe is successful in maintaining a ‘spirit of perverseness’ that is prevalent in most of his works. He manipulates the story to be the way he wants it by using the point of view of the narrator, the setting, and a common monotonous sentiment throughout.
In ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ Edgar Allan Poe uses several different artistic choices in the construction of the story.
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