Fiction in Edgar Allan Poe\'s the Cask

¶ … Fiction in Edgar Allan Poe's the Cask of Amontillado

This paper presents a detailed examination of one of Edgar Allan Poe's works. The writer of this paper uses The Cask of Amontillado to illustrate how the elements of fiction can be used in works of literature. There was one source used to complete this paper.

THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION

Throughout our history, authors of literary works have strived to provide their readers with stories that are concise as well as structured. Works of fiction, often times have to be more structured and believable than non-fiction so that it can be taken to heart as a story that may actually happen.

In Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado he uses all the elements of fiction to bring his story alive. If the story were missing some of the elements it would fall short of being a believable and viable work of fiction. Each element holds an importance in the story and creates a dimension that creates a life of its own.

In all fiction, including the one being analyzed here there must be several elements to qualify as a successful work of fiction. There must be plot, characters, and settings. There are many sub-elements to the three main elements and they are used as needed to create the work of fiction, but the basic three must always be clearly used. In this particular work the elements are cleverly interwoven to create another of Poe's classic masterpieces of fiction. The plot is clearly illustrated to exact revenge upon the antagonist of the story. While the plot takes many twists and turns it is the very unpredictability of it that makes it a classic piece of work. While the reader is led into the tomb like halls the narrator never makes clear, his plan of action. It is the most gripping type of plot because it takes the reader by surprise even when the reader felt that they were following the story with a clear-cut understanding from the beginning.

The plot was to get the enemy to go back far enough into the tombs that he could be sealed in forever without any chance of escape or anyone hearing his cries for help. It was a plot that worked its way around the ego of the antagonist because of his love for wine and it used many different angles and aspects of fiction to make the characters perform. The plot is extremely believable because of the ego stroking that is done. May people have met someone who is so sure of himself that he believes the rest of the world to be inferior to him. This was the case in the story. The narrator used the antagonist's cocky attitude to lure him into his death, by pretending to need his infinite wisdom in the purchase appraisal of the pipe.

The next element of fiction that is needed for a successful work is character. The protagonists in this story were the narrator. Many times there are several characters supporting both the protagonist and the antagonist, however, in this story very few characters are needed to make a point. The story contains the two necessary character works, which include the protagonist and the antagonist. The narrator is the protagonist who is the hero or star of the story and Fortunato acts as the antagonist, or the person who provides the conflict for the story to continue.

The third and final necessary element for fiction is the setting. The setting is important because it serves as the foundational backdrop for all action and reaction. In the case of this story the settings are the carnival and the tomb like caves that the men travel through to get to the wine cellar of Fortunato.