A Cask Of Amatillado

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A cask of Amatillado by E. A. Poe Those who place themselves upon a pedestal should take care not to get knocked off of that pedestal. This fact is evident in Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Cask of AMontillado." Poe uses protagonist, antagonist and symbolism to show that incresing the size of one's ego should not be at the expense of another's ego.

To start, Poe uses a protagonist, which is the character most of the action revolves around. THe protagonist in the stroy is Montresor. Montresor has been slighted by a longtime aquaintance and plans a horrible revenge. Unfortunately for the acquaintance, the revenge that is going to be exacted is murder. Montresor not only chains his associate to the wall in a catacomb, he walls him in and leaves him there to die of starvation.

Secondly, the author uses an antagonist, which is the force or forces which work against the protagonist.

The antagonist in the stroy is Fortunato, Montresor's long time acquaintance. Fortunato is a graggart who regularly belittles montressor. Fortunato has his ego used against him by Montresor when he is tricked into entering the catacombs under the Montresor house. Fortunato has such a large ego that he never suspects he is about to have a savage justice visited upon him by a person he considers his lesser. Even as the enclosing wall nears completionl, Fortunato's ego will not allow him to see his fate.

Lastly, Poe enhances this dark story with the use of symbolism. The wall that Montressor builds is a wall to stop the insulting manner of Fortunato. Fortunato is dressed in the garb of a clown or fool, which is indeed what he appear\s to be by the end of hte tale as the wall is finished. Also, the incident takes place at night, Night time, in most cultures, is equivelant to evil actions or the unknown.

As Poe demonstrated, large egos are sometimes interfere with common courtesy. Montresor showed that he was a no fool by making Fortunato look like a fool.