Essay Sample on Literary Analysis of Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"

Nearly all of Allan Poe's stories, an American-born poet and writer in the 19th century contain much-hidden symbolism. This was always Poe's way of captivating readers to want to discover more about his writing even more than a century later. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe is often viewed as one of the greatest masterpieces of his career. The story that conveys a message that the feeling of revenge is perhaps never really quenched is full of symbolism. However, the author does not explain what happened between the two characters that bring about the zeal for such revenge. It is, therefore, important to discuss what the Amontillado symbol represents and its significance to the story.

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What Amontillado Symbol Represents

The use of symbolism begins from the very title of the tale. The author does a good job of masking several meanings using simple terminologies that may only be revealed upon scrutiny of his work. A cask is a container that was used to store wine. It meant casket explaining a fate that awaited Fortunato later on in the tale. Amontillado is an alcoholic beverage which had a lot of symbolic meaning (Poe 20). Fortunato viewed Amontillado as extreme enjoyment and pleasure and is willing to go through various nasty and chilly places to get what he wants. However, this leads him to a trap created by his savage desires. This shows just how Fortunato's much-uncontrolled desires cost him his life, as depicted later in the text where he is left in the deep cellars to die.

This is despite the many hints that Montresor drops for Fortunato and even asking him to go back at one point on their journey in the cellars. However, since he was already drunk to the point of wearing funny attires, Fortunato is unable to make clear decisions and ends up following Montresor to his very own death Montresor viewed Amontillado as a means of plotting and actualizing his revenge against Fortunato. He seeks freedom from his quest for revenge and utilizes Fortunato's burning desires against himself.

Significance of Amontillado Symbol to the Text

Amontillado has been used in the text to symbolize just how much Montresor was drunk with revenge. A cask of anger was already filled in him for the wrong that Fortunato had done against him (Saxton 17). The level of anger that seems to have engulfed him seems to be too much, making him plan a deadly fate for Fortunato. Montresor seems to have planned it for a while evident from the family crest that he wore, which had the inscriptions of "No one injures me and gets away with it." It shows just how much his family took the issue of revenge seriously. They never let a person who did them wrong to walk scot-free.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Cask of Amontillado is a short story that has been carefully crafted to pass meaning to the audience through the use of symbolism like Amontillado. It is, therefore, important to discuss what the Amontillado symbol represents and its significance to the story. The symbol engulfs most of the activities in the story, with the characters behaving unexpectedly while being controlled by vengeance and desire. Poe, who is famous for creating mind-bending suspense, remains creative and original in is delivery of his message hence always captivating his reader. 

Works Cited

Poe, Edgar Allan. The cask of Amontillado. The Creative Company, 2008.

Saxton, Audrey. "The Devil's in the Details: A Characterization of Montresor in Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism 10.1 (2017): 16. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/criterion/vol10/iss1/16/