The Cask Of Amontillado Diction Analysis

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Many wars have been fought for the sake of revenge. Many lives have been lost to vengeance without proof. The raw emotions of revenge over shadow common sense. The heart takes over the decisions being made by the mind. False assumptions and lack of proof have led to horrific death of the innocent. The craving for revenge has always been a strong motive. In the short story “Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe exposes the reader to the dark emotions of revenge through his use of diction, imagery, and plot in the story. Edgar Allan Poe used diction to present the reader with a broader view of revenge and clues on why Montresor wanted his revenge against Fortunato. Poe uses a grand choice of diction throughout the entire story, but there are some main points that need to be observed with a closer perspective to perhaps reveal and understand a deeper meaning. In the very first paragraph Poe used diction to show why Montresor hungers revenge so deeply. “The Thousand injuries of Fortunato I had Bourne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe, 1). In other words, Montresor had been physically harmed by Fortunato and has tolerated it as best as he could many times, but when Fortunato used an offensive expression towards him he sought to get revenge. Later on in the…show more content…
Many wars have been fought for the sake of revenge. The guilty have suffered severe vengeance that went beyond the punishment being fit for the crime. Rarely is revenge seen as “sweet revenge”. All of society has experienced acts of vengeance in their lives in some form. It is a dark emotion felt by all. The reader finds no feeling of satisfaction from the character’s actions. Poe opens the reader’s mind to the haunting of vengeance. Today’s media exploits revenge leading one to believe there is satisfaction in harming one who has harmed you. Poe exposes the reader to a truer likeness of the void and darkness left behind by
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