The Cask of Amontillado

When I was in middle school we read The Cask of Amontillado. Since then I have came to understand this story a bit more clearly. Short stories to me are some of the most shocking, and eventful stories there are. They tend to have a lot of hidden messages and they have tons of things happen very quickly unlike books or novels. They create very overwhelming and attention grabbing scenarios to where you just can’t look away.

In Poe’s short story, The Cask of Amontillado, he creates an environment that the reader has to continue and explore until the surprising ending. Poe’s single effect seems to be the suspenseful, eerie tone that truly paints a picture of what is happening throughout Fortunato and Montresor’s journey. He allows the reader to become frightened, paranoid, and yet left the reader with closure and reassurance.

Poe manages to scare the reader by giving great detail on the setting and creating a very well executed plot. This lets the readers mind flow so they can create very good, strong imagery of the situation. Poe gives the reader closure and reassurance by using a very particular vocabulary. For example, he states “Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough..” This gives not only Fortunato false hope that he is concerned for his health but also the reader.

This is overall a very amazing short story if you want to create strong imagery and enjoy a mysterious tale. I highly suggest anyone to read this narrative multiple times to catch things you may have missed. This is a great tale for readers and writers to understand deeper meanings of stories and get the most out of their short story experience.