What Was The Cask Of Amontillado about ?

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For school we had to read The Cask Of Amontillado And when I was done reading it I had a very hard time understanding what it was about is there anyone who can sum up the story for me sharon

-- Anonymous, September 04, 2000

Answers

It is mainly an eerie story about revenge. He commits murder by slowly building a wall around Fortunado.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2000

Why not READ the story to find out? I've taught this tale to many high school students and not one ever inquired what it was about. The answer is obvious, so stop trying to get others to do your thinking and your work.

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2000

I am in college and I as well had a hard time,not understanding the story,I realize it was a murder but I don't understand why,I read the story 4 times and I'm still reading,Good Luck! P.S How would you write a story about yourselves commiting murder but trying not to be identified as the assilant? DPW

-- Anonymous, January 14, 2001

Not only is this tale about revenge, it gives the reader an opportunity to focus on the gory, disturbing, sinister atmosphere that Poe creates so easily in a lot of his works.

It gives you a good opportunity to analyze the relationship between two men who have important backgrounds. For example, Montressor's coat of arms symbolizes revenge without impunity... Fortunado has obviously insulted him enough to make Mont. feel his family background has been brutally attacked.

Also, focus on the feelings of lack of power that Mont. has. I don't want to reveal EVERYTHING, however. The fun is looking for the answers yourself... Look at symbolism (the word "Cask" in the title is short for casket... Ya know... Make assumptions and prove them!) I don't think there's any real way to understand literature... You can take from it whatever you want!!

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2001


hello are you reatrded you call that an answer i think a five year old could write something better then that

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001


Your Mom

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001

the story is about a man who is so consumned in hatred that it drives him mad. he mistakes his insanity and hatred as a stroke of genius. He symbolically buries his own humanity in the catacombs. Seeing that he is still talking about his crime half a century later we see that he is still obsessed with it.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

The Hounds of the Baskersvilles is a thrilling story of love and deciet. The rising action occurs when Bluebeard finally realizes that a group of children stranded on an island would create a radical form of violent government. It is truly a marvel- a priceless gem of exciting and chilling proportions. sincerely, John Smith age 9

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

The Hounds of the Baskersvilles is a thrilling story of love and deciet. The rising action occurs when Bluebeard finally realizes that a group of children stranded on an island would create a radical form of violent government. It is truly a marvel- a priceless gem of exciting and chilling proportions. sincerely, John Smith age 9

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

This is the most retarded website I have ever seen. Do these half assed answers really help you people out??? If you are going to post a website like this do it right....POST THE GODAMN SUMMARIES AND DON"T ASK ANY QUESTIONS...i have read through them and you all sound like you must be in second grade

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002


Could someone tell me how and why Mon fear at his work in this sotry. Would someone give and point out the best examples, becaue I have trouble to find out the example and the point Montressor in his fear. Thanks. Pls E-mail me. I need you help.

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2002

Could somebody tell me why the conflict in the story " The Cask of Amontillado" is man vs himself and what the theme is? please email me! my email number is lindayshi@yahoo.com

-- Anonymous, February 20, 2002

Try http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask/

You should find answers to most of your questions.

Quote the Raven ~ Nevermore ~

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2002


If anybody has written a paper on the theme and plot of this story and feels generous enough to send it to me, it would be greatly appreciated.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2002

The story is about a man who is wronged by his Fortunado who is rival in the wine buisness. Montresor vowes to live up to his family's coat of arms by getting even with him by ultimatly killing him. The story is told from the point of view of Montresor who is not completly in his right mind.

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2002


'For the love of God' is a double entendre, but I can't put into words, or don't have the different ideas correct...anyone care to help me define it?

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2002

YOU PEOPLE SUCK!

-- Anonymous, September 12, 2002

You r all a bunch of sad acts who need to stop analy raping each other

-- Anonymous, September 23, 2002

I'm in 7th grade and I found the answer to the book easy. This book is about a man angry about his friend Fortunato. Fortunato has insulted him alot. He probably planned this for years because it was very well planed. He met Fortunato in the Carnival were he knew that Fortunato was going to be there drunk. No one would see him leave because every one there is drunk. He tells his servants that he is going out and is not coming back until the morning. He knew that they would leave the house so he led Fortunato to the catacombs were he left wines, mrtar, bricks, and a chain. He used the chin to put him in a passageway. He quickly built a wall on the passage way and Fortunato died.

-- Anonymous, October 31, 2002

i'm an 8th grader and i totally don't get this story at all...... isn't this reading suppost to be for like collage????????

-- Anonymous, January 09, 2003

"The Cask" is about one man who is insulted by his friend. He spends a long amount of time planning his friend's death before committing the murder. At least on the surface. Pay attention to details. Fortunado is dressed like the Fool during a Marti Gras style party (Whether or not it is). The nitre descends upon them like a shroud. Also, Poe added the dimentions of the niche for a reason. Lay the box horizontally on the ground rather on the wall. That would make it about 7 feet long instead of high. Think a coffin.

And for all of you people without anything important to say, just your uninventive insults, try going someplace else or maybe get a life. Some of us are trying to study here.

-- Anonymous, May 05, 2003


2 words....... WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2003

For all you people who only criticize this website, why are you even here? You're the ones that suck if all you do i come to these message boards to insult us. These message boards can really help if you are having problems interpreting poe's stories!

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2003

?? How does the title "The Cask of Amontillado" symbolize the relationship between the two characters in this Edgar Allen Poe short story? If anyone can help me to answer this please email me at the address shown. Thanks! Ash Daniels

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2003

?? How does the title "The Cask of Amontillado" symbolize the relationship between the two characters in this Edgar Allen Poe short story? If anyone can help me to answer this please email me at the address shown. Thanks for any help that I can get. Ash Daniels

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2003

Summary:It was in the middle of the carnival season when Fortunato and Montressor hapenned to met.They had a short talk about the newly arrived Amontillado wine from Spain.Fortunato then went with Montressor to taste the wine if it is genuine or not.So when they reached the vault, a cellar where te wine is placed,Fortunato went in first to look for the pipe of the wine but because the place was so damped,Montressor tied him for him not to slip down.While Fortunato was getting in the vault,Montressor walked out from the vault and covered the vault with blocks of stones. Norhassan S. Curo DCFI

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2003

Hi im in 2nd grade and i found this story very intriguing. Its about some guy whos a dork and really pissed off this one guy. So this dude gets him to go to the catacombs where he totally traps him in a brick wall. Sucks for him. It sounds like you guys all suck and need to go to kindergarden again. Eat my shorts...

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2003

I feel Poe is trying to symbolize the way he felt when he was never paid much attention and embarassed as a person. I think Poe really had fanasties of murder. I think Poe wanted to kill people in his life that had mistreated him in any way. He probably thought what better way to express my anger than to make a book and put names to characters.

-- Anonymous, July 19, 2004

These are so long ago, I don't know if anyone comes here anymore, but the story, first of all, is written with a persona, so you can't assume the narrator is poe. You can write pages after pages on this story, so it's not simple as many of you think. I think the basics of this story has been told. It's about two men, Motressor and Fortunato. Montressor wanted to get revenge on Fortunato, so he lures Fortunato to the catacombs, where he buries him. Being buried alive is very prevalent in poe's stories. Now, I don't know if there is enough to back up the theory that Montressor had his revenge or not. Either way, you will need to find support from the "experts." I would like to think that Montressor didn't really have his revenge because he was sick in the end--according to montressor, of course, it was "on account of the dampness of the catacombs"--but the real reason? Readers need to find for themselves the evidences from the story. Get help from others, but don't let others do the deciding for you. Whether this helps original person, probably not.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 2004

i dont understand the story and need to read it for english could some one pleez give short synopsis :) thanks

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2004

i think poe did a good job on this one.why?..simply because the story created a chaos among its readers...for me,that's the best way to tell if a story is good or not.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2004

what is the actual conflict of this story. im doing a project on it and i dont know if the conflict is that he murdered a bunch of his family members or what.. please help me... its due in two days.. thanks

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2004

i think this is one of the most confusing stories i have ever read...

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2004

This story is difficult.. I didn't understand everything in the story. The end made me really confused.

-- Anonymous, October 29, 2004

"The Cask of Amontillado" isn't that diffucult to comprehend, if you just sit back and look at it plainly. The story is a true tale of revenge and it gives Poe an opportunity to allow readers into the mind of a killer, the killer being Montressor. Montressor seeks revenge on Fortunado, who has insulted him. Now, Fortunado is a critical judge of wine, and knows a lot about different types of wine, one being Ammontillado. Montressor lures Fortunado to his doom through the wine. Simple so far? Poe proceeds to weave a complex story of revenge and hatred,with a little irony and humorinvolved,wear it marks its conclusion of Montressor basically burying Montressor alive. The conflict of the story is not only with Montressor and Fortunado, but also between Fortunado and himself. In the end does Montressor seek forgiveness or is he not sorry for his actions? You'll have to figure that one out for yourself....

-- Anonymous, October 31, 2004

hi, im an 8th grader also and my class performed skits based on literary works by Allan Poe. this particular one is not difficult to understand actually, compared to The Purloined Letter. yes, it is true that poe is not the narrator of "The Cask of Armontillado," but he does tend to base his stories around his life. this one relates to his relationship between his stepfather and himself. if you know a general background about Poe, you might be acquainted with the fact that he and his stepfather did NOT get along. his father was not very educated, compared to Poe, and he thought his stepson to be "sulky and ill tempered to all the family." well, getting back to the topic, this story is basically about the hatred of a slightly mad man. the main character, Montresor, is having an internal conflict: battling his crazed sensation to seek revenge. though the story does not particular describe this battle, it is evident because it is already a battle if there is conflict between a normal human mind and one that is mad. yes, murdering Fortunato is a conflict, but the main one is based on the main character. and no, this story is not for college students. my classmates received this story because we are G.A.T.E. students but it is also wise to allow other students to be exposed to these types of writings. after all, Poe is one of the best writers of America. hope this answers some questions. email me if u have nemore!

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2004

The Cask on Amontillado is basaed on a true story of 2 men in the army who got in a fighth. One stabbed the other and fatally wounded him. All the other soldiers became enraged and killed the stabber by intoxicating him while pretending to be on his side. Then they took him down to a building (can't remember what kind but it was used for the base they were staying at i believe) and chained him to the wall and cemented the entrace over with bricks and left him there to die. This was presumed a myth until someone found the bones of the dead man in there about 50 years later. Poe wrote the poem based on the myth while he was stationed there and saw the gravestone of the dead man that was killed from being stabbed and heard the story.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2004

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