The Use of First Person Narration in The Cask of Amontillado

The Use of First Person Narration in The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go†¦show more content†¦The first person perspective allows the audience only to learn basic information about the antagonist, Fortunato, and results in a very skewed perspective on the conflict of man versus man. The conflict centers around the pride and honor of two men, and the lengths that one of the men will go to in order to defend his honor to the other. Fortunato is portrayed as a conceited and arrogant man whose weaknesses are enhanced by the fact that he has had too much to drink. The conflict between the two men is somewhat one-sided because it is probable that Fortunato was ignorant of the fact that a serious conflict existed between himself and Montresor until the very end of his life. What one man likely viewed as a friendly rivalry, the other took as a justification for murder. This story has an absence of the man versus self conflict which is generally found in a first person story because the narrator, Montresor, is completely certain of himself and never has an inner conflict doubting his actions. The dark and eerie tone of the murder story and its unusual setting contribute to the story’s theme of defense of one’s honor and avenging wrongdoing. The haughtiness and conceited attitudes of the two men create an extension of this theme in which Poe wants to show how far some men will go when they receive a blow to the ego. The story’s setting in theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Cask Of Amontillado 1140 Words   |  5 PagesKawanda Garner Ms. Roesch ENC 1102 29 April 2016 Main Character Narration and Its Effects The first –person narration style of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is vital in creating the quality of the story. The story allows one of the main characters in the story Montresor, to tell the story from his point of view which gives the reader intimate yet disturbing look into the mind story teller thinks and feels which the reader doesn’t normally get from other narrative styles. The narrative style of thisRead MoreGothic Literature : The Dark Side Of Romanticism1518 Words   |  7 PagesThe theme of Gothic stories is either mysterious, horror, or even death. 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