The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Anticipation Guide Read each statement and write YES in the blank if you believe the statement and could support it or put NO if you do not believe the statement and could not support it. If someone wrongs you, you deserve to get revenge. It’s okay to take the law into your own hands. Every decision has a consequence that you must face.

Journal "The Cask of Amontillado" is a story of revenge. This revenge had to be well plotted out and executed at the right time, or all time would be wasted. Have you ever experienced a time when someone did something that made you feel like you needed to take revenge? Explain.

“…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge “…but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” “The Cask of Amontillado” is the narrator’s account of his ability to carry out a chilling plot of revenge against his offender.

Precision in time, place, and setting preclude the idea of risk and allow the narrator both the retribution he seeks and the impunity he demands.

Carnival

Carnival Carnival is a secular holiday, but it evolved from the Christian observance known as Lent. Lent is a solemn forty-day period of fasting prior to Easter.

CARNIVAL Traditionally, the fasting during Lent involves abstaining from eating meat. Modern interpretations of fasting may involve abstaining from anything one enjoys.

Carn + Val FLESH (Meat) + FAREWELL In anticipation of the solemnity of Lent, the celebration of Carnival evolved. Participants engage in excessive and extreme behavior to bid farewell to meat- eating (and merriment).

What happens during Carnival? Carnival is a time of EXCESS and INDULGENCE. BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.

Partying in the streets and masquerading are enjoyed.

The combination of alcohol and costumes creates an atmosphere where people tend to let down their inhibitions.

European Carnival traditions survive in the United States in the form of Mardi Gras.

“The 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.

Exit Ticket Do you believe that Montresor resolves his conflict with Fortunato? What else could Montresor have done to solve his problem?