Thursday, October 29, 2015

How does the setting in "The Cask of Amontillado" change with specific examples?

As the story opens it is Carnival season in Italy. Montresor capitalizes on the fact that Fortunato has been out drinking to celebrate the season; it is rather easy in these circumstances to lure Fortunato to his palazzo on the pretext of sampling a rare cask of Amontillado wine.
The next setting is the interior of the palazzo, and Montresor escorts Fortunato to the catacombs beneath his home where the wine vaults are located. Along the way, Montresor points out nitre on the walls. The nitre is used as a foreshadowing device, due to the fact that it is an irritant which induces coughing, sneezing, and general breathing problems. The two men stop and share a bottle of Medoc where Montresor offers an ironic toast to Fortunato's "long life."
Because the vaults are extensive the men continue walking deep underground; this enables a conversation about the symbolism of the shield of the Montresors and foreshadows what Montresor will do to Fortunato. The two men pass piles of skeletal remains interspersed with "casks and puncheons" of wine.
The men's journey ends at a recess in a deep crypt. It is described as "in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven." It is the perfect height for a small vertical tomb, which is what it becomes for Fortunato when Montresor successfully chains him inside and seals it.
https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Amontillado.pdf

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