The Raven of Nevermore
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Week of October 18th--Gothic Literature!
Directions: You will create 1 level 2 question and 1 level 3 question that you will then respond to throughout the week in regards to your last Gothic Literature short story, "Cask of Amontillado." Please remember to provide details, specific examples and concrete details to the questions that you develop.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Here are possible questions:
ReplyDeleteLevel 2: Why is the narrator so calm as he plans Fortunato's demise?
Level 3: Why was Fortunato feared?
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
Official Questions:
ReplyDeleteLevel 2: What is the irony of the narrator buring Fortunato alive?
Level 3: Can friendship transend revenge?
Questions Posted By: Leah Eisenberg
1. The irony is that Fortunato is supposidly an expert on wine and other vintages, which were during that time period kept in catacombs deep within the earth. Fortunato is being buried alive with forever kept with the vintages that define his role in life.
ReplyDelete2. Friendship can transcend revenge because right after Fortunato sufficated after he was buried alive, his "friend" told him to rest in piece.
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
We are not told how Fortunato insulted montresor. Would the story be more effective if we knew?
ReplyDeleteDo any of Fortunato's words and actions support the narrator's belief that Fortunato should be hated?
How does Montresor demonstrate his knowledge of human psychology?
Level 3:
Does revenge always bring happiness or does it lead to more unhappiness?
Jon Walter
the irony is that Fortunato is said to be an expert in wine but he is a fraud. "Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry." Meaning he does not know the difference between the two. His pride and ego lead him to chase the Amontillado to be the first to taste it. Him being a 'wine expert' was a cover up for him to be able to be as drunk as he wanted. "He emptied it at breath" De Grave is a rare wine and he throws it back like it was regular wine. He is so drunk that he doesnt get suspicious when walking down the pipe.
ReplyDelete-Desiray Williams
Level 2:How does Montresor feel about his friendship with Fortunato ?
ReplyDeleteLevel 3:What could be the insult tha was given to Montrseor and how did it lead him to kill Fortunato ?
-Desiray Williams
1. The irony of Montresor buring Fortunato is one of the more elaborate ones in the story. During that time period which the story takes place, wines and other liquors are stored deep in the earth in catacombs with walls that, “are encrusted with nitre,” (Poe 192). Fortunato pretends to be a wine connoisseur, but he is just covering up that he is alcoholic, and just uses this as an excuse to drink to a lot. This can be seen when Montresor tells up what happened when he gave Fortunado a flagon of De Grave, a very expensive white wine, “he emptied it at a breath,” (Poe 194). The irony is that Montresor buries Fortunato with the vintages stored in the catacombs where he will stay, “aging” with them forevermore.
ReplyDelete2. Due to more in-depth research into the meaning behind the question, I am decided to change my original answer on the question that was posed. My new answer is that friendship cannot transcend revenge. Even though Montresor tells the audience that his, “heart grew sick,” (Poe 196) he just shrugged it off and told himself that these feeling was just because, “of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 196). Yet, even before he feels that guilt, which he promptly denies, his “friendship” with Fortunado did not stop him from burying him alive. This means that it is impossible, at least in the case of this story, for friendship to transcend revenge.
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
1. The irony of Montresor buring Fortunato is one of the more elaborate ones in the story. During that time period which the story takes place, wines and other liquors are stored deep in the earth in catacombs with walls that, “are encrusted with nitre,” (Poe 192). Fortunato pretends to be a wine connoisseur, but he is just covering up that he is alcoholic, and just uses this as an excuse to drink to a lot. This can be seen when Montresor tells up what happened when he gave Fortunado a flagon of De Grave, a very expensive white wine, “he emptied it at a breath,” (Poe 194). The irony is that Montresor buries Fortunato with the vintages stored in the catacombs where he will stay, “aging” with them forevermore. Moreover, he is buried with the wines and vintages that he pretended to know so much about.
ReplyDelete2. Due to more in-depth research into the meaning behind the question, I have decided to change my original answer on the question that was posed. My new answer is that friendship cannot transcend revenge. Even though Montresor tells the audience that his, “heart grew sick,” (Poe 196) he just shrugged it off and told himself that these feeling was just because, “of the dampness of the catacombs”(Poe 196). Yet, even before he feels that guilt, which he promptly denies, his supposed “friendship” with Fortunado did not stop him from burying him alive. This means that it is impossible, at least in the case of this story, for friendship to transcend revenge.
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
Level 2 - Why does the narrator keep giving Fortunato chances to turn back?
ReplyDeleteLevel 3 - Was there a point to killing Fortunato if no one knows who killed him?
- Kirsten W.
1) The irony of being buried alive has more to do with where he was buried. Fortunato was buried in catacombs where win was kept. He was supposed to be an expert of wines. So being buried there shows irony.
ReplyDelete2) Sometimes friendship can transcend over the feeling or need to seek revenge. It depends.
- K.W
1. The irony of Montresor burying Fortunato is harder to decode in the story. During the story, lots of alchohol is held inside the earth inside walls. Fortunato pretends to be a wine expert, but in reality he is trying to cover up his alcoholism, and uses wine to stay drunk the entire time. The irony in the story is that Montresor toasts to Fortunato " long live"- (Poe, 195) and he slowly leads him to his immanent death.
ReplyDelete2.I think revenge brings happiness depending on the situation and what the person getting revenge plans to do about it. I don't think in any case people should hurt someone because they hurt them. Most people would say Karma bites back, and some think they should take action into their own hand. I would say do unto others as you would have done to you. In any case revenge probably is never the best way. I think that for a person to get revenge, they have to take in a situation completely personally and take it to another level. For this story, taking revenge probably wasn't the best action, because it seems like either Fortunado indirectly insulted Montresor because he seemed to have no recollection of Montresor or insulting him. In the end, the narrator says "No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick -- on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I reerected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them." Which shows that he felt guilty about what he did. This shows that friendship does transcend revenge, in this particular story.
Jon Walter