Title: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
1The Cask of Amontilladoby Edgar Allan Poe
- Background for Understanding
2but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge.The Cask of Amontillado is the
narrators account or version of his ability to
carry out a creepy plot of revenge against his
offender.
3Good timing in the story allows the narrator time
to commit his revenge successfully.
4Carnival
5Carnival
- Carnival is a secular or non-religious holiday,
but it changed over time from the Christian
observance known as Lent. - Lent is a solemn (sad and serious) forty-day
period of fasting prior to Easter.
6CARNIVAL
- Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves
abstaining from or not eating meat. - Modern interpretations of fasting may involve
abstaining from or not doing anything one enjoys.
7Carn Val
- FLESH (Meat) FAREWELL
- In anticipation of the seriousness of Lent, the
celebration of Carnival changed over time. - Participants engage in excessive and extreme
behavior to bid farewell to meat-eating
(and merriment).
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9What happens during Carnival?
- Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE.
- BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.
10Partying in the streets and masquerading are
enjoyed.
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12The combination of alcohol and costumes creates
an atmosphere where people tend to let down their
inhibitions.
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14European Carnival traditions survive in the
United States in the form of Mardi Gras.
15The Cask of Amontillado is set during the
supreme madness of Carnival. In such a
riotous atmosphere, it is easy to see how a crime
could go unnoticed.
16Lifestyles of the Rich
17 The wealthy class enjoyed indulgences such as
18Painting
19Palazzos (mansions)
20Fine Wine (vintages)
21Vineyards, where the grapes for producing wine
are grown, create picturesque settings for
owners estates.
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24The narrator plans for his revenge to take place
in the catacombs beneath his estate.What are
catacombs?
25Catacombs Cities of the Dead
26At a certain point in European history,
catacombs, underground burial chambers, became a
viable alternative to cemeteries.
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28Catacombs are characterized by extensive tunnels
leading to chambers or recesses where the dead
repose for eternity.
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30The wealthy could opt for family catacombs
beneath their estates.
31The narrator of The Cask of Amontillado carries
out his revenge within the catacombs beneath his
palazzo.
32The narrator is able to lure his victim into the
catacombs with the promise of amontillado, a fine
sherry wine.(The ls are pronounced like thels
in tortilla.)
33The supreme madness of Carnival aside, why
doesnt the suggestion of a journey to the
catacombs for a taste of wine seem odd or
suspicious to the victim?
34The Storage of Wine
35For wines to maintain their best quality, they
need to be stored at fairly cool and constant
temperatures.
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37During the time period in which the story is set,
modern electric refrigeration was not available.
To protect wine collections, connoisseurs adopted
the practice of storing wines under the ground
where temperatures remain ideal year-round.
38Basements, cellars, and even catacombs serve as
excellent storage facilities for the precious
vintages.
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40Herein, where wine bottles intermingle with the
bones of the dead, the narrator carries out his
plan for revenge.
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43Edgar Allan Poe
- He's father abandoned him then died-His mom went
insane-His sister went insane-When he was
three, he was adopted -In highschool, he did
drugs, drank, and gambled-He married his 13 year
old cousin Virginia when he was 26-He died at
40, and it is unknown how he died. Many say was
was getting drunk at a bar, then went outside
when it was heavily snowing. Then a rabid dog bit
him and died later.
44The Cask of AmontilladoENJOY THIS LITERARY
JOURNEY INTO THE DARK SIDE OF REVENGE!
45 SourcesCoil, Suzanne M. Mardi
Gras (photos by Michael Osborne). New York
Macmillan, 1994. France A Culinary Journey.
San Francisco Collins, 1992.
Poe, Edgar A. The Cask of Amontillado
Literature. Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ
1998.
Underground Paris The Catacombs.
www.triggur.org.