Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado Essay

Edgar Allen Poes The Cask of Amontillado - Essay ExampleMontresor avenges some unspecified vilification inflicted on him by Fortunato and thus buries him alive. Significantly, the cause for the murder is rendered insignificant and the maneuvers and the actual execution of murder gain prominence in the degree. The paradigm of sacrifice bring downs the story in the instance where Montresor warns Fortunato against staying in the damp catacombs for the latter seems to have a cough. Fortunatos reply that a cough shall not kill him compounds the irony in the story and anticipates his predicament. However, it also highlights a kind of unstated willingness on Fortunatos part in the scheme planned by Montresor. There is a proffer that Fortunato may have subconsciously accepted the fate which awaited him. It is here that the numerous parallels between Fortunatos murder and Christs crucifixion enter the story. The theme of revenge drives the plot of the story. The metaphor which encapsulate s this theme is the motto on Montresors family coat of arms which proclaims Nemo me impune lacessit(No one insults me with impunity) (Poe, 99). The symbol which shows a radical crushing a snake while the snakes fangs are set in the foot is reminiscent of Christian theology. The snake is often set with the Adversary or Satan and thus represents the figure of the avenger in Montresor. Montresor can also be said to be reminiscent of Judas, Jesus agonist who betrayed him. Fortunatos meek submission to his fate and the heinous manner in which he was killed, coupled with his last words For the love of God, Montresor (Poe, 101) yet again strain the theological underpinnings of the story. The unmistakable parallels between Christs death and Fortunatos murder are seen also in the fact that Montresor kills Fortunato in the catacombs which are devoted spaces. The very name Fortunato which means fortunate or blessed seems to be ironic. Despite the many similarities in their predicaments, F ortunato unlike Christ lies in a do in tomb, unknown to the world, without having accomplished much for the greater good of mankind. The many points of confluence and departure between Christ and Fortunato perhaps constitute a certain experiential questioning that the story brings about regarding the place of virtue and sacrifice in the modern world. This rendition of Fortunato as a modern, albeit ironic adaptation of Christ is do by keeping the original insult inflicted on Montresor deliberately ambiguous. The fact that much of our understanding of the story is mediated by Montresors subjective impression brings about a significant subversion of conventional spectral or theological narratives in which the murderer or the sinner is seldom given a chance to express himself. It may be well said that journey undertaken by Montresor and Fortunato to the wine cellars and ultimately to the catacombs assumes the character of a pilgrimage. The ironic reversal barely lies in the fact th at the journey is made for the precious Amontillado and not for any ostensible spiritual quest. The murder of Fortunato further subverts the motif of the pilgrimage and conjures the image of aborted spiritual endeavors in the modern world. The spatial and temporal settings of Poes story significantly shape its thematic concerns. It is important to note that the story is set in an open-ended year in Italy during the carnival of Mardi Gras. In