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In Edgar Allen Poe's tale, the setting of Montresor's catacombs provides Montresor with a place where he can kill Fortunato with almost no evidence on who killed him, helping his attempt at making the perfect crime. The catacombs in "The Cask of Amontillado" are old with spider webs as well as "long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs" (Poe 78). The setting of the catacombs is also dark; Montresor and Fortunato need torches to proceed through it. Such a creepy setting like the burial vaults of one's family provides the perfect place for Montresor commit his crime.
Not only is the setting visually disturbing, but the atmosphere is also disturbing; there is the "intense foulness of the air [that] caused our flambeaux rather to glow in the flame" (Poe 78), as well as the dampness. Not many people would be interested in touring the catacombs because of such conditions, plus the fact that Montresor strung bones against his new wall so that people would think of it as a natural one. There would be almost no evidence to convict him; thus making what he was attempting the perfect crime. The narration in the story gives readers the impression that Montresor is insane.
Readers hear this story from the first person, from Montresor himself, and hear the way he perceives every event and every detail in its entirety, all from his point of view without anyone else's point of view interfering. He refers to Fortunato as his friend, a clue that Montresor is not acting in his right mind. If Montresor had a good motive like Fortunato killing someone close to him, he would refer to Fortunato as his enemy. The reader also feels the pain Montresor when he is erecting the wall over Fortunato; Montresor does not feel right in what he is doing. He even tries to call Fortunato's name before he lays the final stone to see if he was still alive, wondering if he could turn back and change his mind before he finally dies before it was too late.
Most importantly, he is talking to an auditor, often believed to be a religious priest. Montresor at the time is on his deathbed and is confessing a terrible sin he has done, for he states that for Fortunato's remains, "no mortal has disturbed them" (Poe 80). He would say this to a priest or someone else who was high in religion. The symbolism of this story describes what this story is about, Montresor killing Fortunato.
One of the most noticeable symbols mentioned in "The Cask of Amontillado" is the alcoholic beverage amontillado; it is red and red usually symbolizes blood. In the story, Montresor kills Fortunato and it is a murder. In a murder most of the time, one would mostly think of blood. When Montresor tries to call Fortunato for the last time after hearing Fortunato's last words, he thrusts a torch in the hole but "in return came only a jingling of the bells" (Poe 80). The jingling of the bells symbolizes the bells that toll when someone dies: to show the readers as well as the auditor that Fortunato is dead. Montresor's goal in this story is to do the perfect crime, but it turns out he does not pull off the perfect crime.
In the beginning, he feels confident. He knows that if he pulls the perfect crime, he must "not only punish, but punish with impunity" (Poe 75) and that "a wrong is undressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally undressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong" (Poe 75). In the beginning of the story, Montresor feels capable of pulling off the task in luring Fortunato with a temptation of amontillado into his catacombs where Montresor will wall him up. When Montresor is building up the wall, he refrains from his work when he hears Fortunato screaming as well as trying to break free from his chains. According to Montresor, "for a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled" (Poe 79).
He was beginning to feel guilty for what he was doing when he heard Fortunato screaming. To do the perfect crime meant that he should not be feeling any guilt for what he was doing, but he ended up doing so. He confesses to a priest on his deathbed because he feels guilty for what he had done, thus making his crime imperfect. The theme, the symbols, as well as the setting provide the reader with a good sense of how the story is told and makes it vivid and sometimes very creepy regarding what is going on in "The Cask of Amontillado. " The symbols are important if one recognizes them, as well as the setting of Montresor's catacombs to add the creepy atmosphere for the story.
Finally, the plot of Montresor killing Fortunato provides the reader that Montresor is unable to commit the perfect crime; he starts having second thoughts about what he is doing.
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Research essay sample on Cask Of Amontillado Point Of View
