Classic American Short Stories

by Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin, Stephen Crane, Sherwood Anderson, Herman Melville, Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, Bret Harte

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Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

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Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

As you read “The Cask of Amontillado” be aware of the following:

Setting:

The winding catacombs with their damp, musty walls, the smell of death, and generally unhealthy conditions contribute to the mood and theme of the story.

Point of View:

  • Because the story is written in first person, Poe intensifies the revenge-driven personality of Montresor.

  • Montresor may not be a reliable or accurate narrator.

  • Much of Poe's talent and popularity come from his singular focus on one main idea or effect. Every detail leads to the climax of the story.

Symbols:

  • Clown costume – This is appropriate attire for someone who is going to be a fool because of pride.

  • Coat of Arms – Montresor's Coat of Arms symbolizes what happens to those who deal unfairly with his family.

  • Fortunato – The name symbolizes how his friends and family view him, but it is ironic in relation to the story.

Unique Elements in Poe's Story:

  • Fear and suspense begin to build as soon as Montresor and Fortunato meet. Be aware of the various techniques that Poe uses to heighten these emotions.

  • Although the name Fortunato means fortunate and lucky, his fate is anything but that.

  • When Fortunato says that he will not die of a cough, Montresor agrees with him.

  • • The pun on the word mason revolves around both the Brotherhood of Masons and bricklayer masons.

  • avocations – hobbies, leisure activities
  • divers – various, diverse
  • waive – to put aside
  • Imprimis – [Latin] “in the first place”
  • proverbially – consistently
  • John Jacob Astor – one of the wealthiest men of the United States at the time
  • prudence – wisdom
  • orbicular – like a sphere
  • bullion – gold bars
  • Master in Chancery – an officer of the court who assists the judge
  • remunerative – profitable
  • indignation – anger
  • abrogation – elimination; cancellation
  • advent – an arrival
  • pursy – short of breath due to obesity
  • florid – colorfully decorated
  • meridian – high noon
  • wane – to lessen
  • indecorous – improper behavior
  • remonstrate – to protest
  • admonitions – criticisms
  • abridge – to shorten
  • fervid – intense, compassionate
  • gesticulating – using gestures to express ideas
  • marshal – to organize
  • sallow – having a yellow, unhealthy color
  • evinced – displayed, exhibited
  • usurpation – the seizing of power
  • betokened – indicated, shown
  • maledictions – speaking ill of a person
  • Tombs – a jail in New York, known for its horrid conditions
  • deportment – a person's behavior
  • reproach – a disgrace
  • execrable – detestable
  • doff – to remove
  • abate – to lessen
  • obstreperousness – boisterousness, noisiness; uncontrollable behavior
  • pernicious – causing destruction
  • restive horse is said to feel his oats – a horse gets energetic once it eats; a cliché meaning that Turkey is enthusiastic about his new coat.
  • restive – unruly, restless
  • vintner – a wine maker
  • potations – alcoholic beverages
  • thwarting – attempting to stop
  • vexing – annoying
  • superfluous – more than needed
  • paroxysms – outbursts
  • “His father was a carman. . .” – a person who sells wares from a cart
  • alacrity – a quick action
  • purveyor – a supplier
  • fain – willing
  • nigh – close
  • Custom House – the place where ships come in and pay the duty on their cargo; traditionally, this would have been the first place the captain of a boat went to after landing.
  • mollified – calmed, relaxed
  • recondite – difficult to understand
  • pitiably – full of pity
  • forlorn – sad; alone
  • trifling – of little importance
  • sanguine – cheerful and optimistic
  • Byron – a reference to Lord George Gordon Byron (1788 – 1824), the English Romantic poet; essentially Melville is saying that someone with too fiery a personality could not be a scrivener. It would take a more quiet and reserved person to put up with the monotony required to do this job.
  • consternation – great fright and terror
  • moon-struck – the moon is frequently associated with making one's mind unbalanced or crazy
  • bust of Cicero – (106 – 43 BC), a Roman philosopher, writer, and orator
  • High Court of Chancery – an English court, in which the judge determines the outcome based on fairness or “equity,” rather than law; this type of court is not in existence in England anymore.
  • hermitage – an isolated and secluded home
  • pillar of salt – an allusion to the Old Testament, Genesis 19:26, in which Lot's wife looks back at the city of Sodom as it burns and God turns her into a pillar of salt; in this case, the lawyer is frozen in place, startled and barely able to move.
  • ignominiously – with disrespect
  • gainsay – to disagree
  • browbeaten – intimidated into action
  • suffrage – the right to vote
  • deferentially – respectfully
  • dyspeptic – pessimistic
  • scrivener – a writer; person who writes and proofreads for others as a profession
  • perpetual sentry – one who is constantly standing on watch
  • thither – toward a place
  • reveries – dream-like thoughts
  • insolence – insulting behavior, rudeness
  • pugilistic – like a boxer
  • inveteracy – a deeply settled condition
  • folio – a folded document
  • dissipation – the act of breaking apart; dissolving
  • incipient – a beginning
  • visage – a face
  • dishabille – disheveled; informally attired
  • effrontery – boldness without shame
  • ere – before
  • violate the proprieties of the day – People did not work on Sundays—it was a day of rest.
  • proprieties – proper behaviors
  • deserted as Petra – a deserted, ancient city in Jordan; it is famous for its Temple and notable for its large rock formations.
  • “Marius brooding among the ruins of Carthage!” – Marius (157 – 86 BC) was a famous Roman general and consul and was a popular image in paintings and statues of the day; he was a strong foe of the aristocracy. The painting referred to in Bartleby is by John Vanderlyn, but the correct title is “Marius Contemplating the Ruins of Carthage.” Carthage is a city in Northern Africa.
  • pallid – pale
  • presentiments – bad feelings about a future occurrence
  • refectory – a room designated for eating
  • haughtiness – upper class mannerisms
  • austere – strict in appearance and manners
  • err – to be mistaken, incorrect
  • defray – to pay expenses
  • attenuated – thin; weakened
  • nettled – annoyed
  • aberration – an abnormality; something that is atypical
  • steadfastly – without wavering
  • vouchsafed – gave permission
  • become a millstone – a heavy stone used to grind grain; the quote is a Biblical allusion to Matthew 18:6. Jesus said it is better that a millstone be hung about a person's neck rather than offend a child.
  • plume – self congratulate
  • sagacious – intelligent, wise
  • “there was the rub” – an allusion to a line in Shakespeare's Hamlet—“aye, there's the rub”; the rub is the thing that makes something difficult, dangerous, or hard to understand.
  • veering – changing directions
  • “. . .like the man who. . .by a summer lightning. . .” – probably a reference to President Benjamin Harrison (1726 – 1791), who was struck by lightning and died at his home
  • “A new commandment. . .ye love one another.” – a Biblical reference from John 13:34
  • despondency – loss of courage; extreme sadness
  • “Edwards on the Will” – Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758), an American preacher, who wrote on free will versus God's will and other religious topics
  • “Priestley on Necessity” – Joseph Priestley (1733 – 1804), an English scientist and religious writer, who wrote The Doctrine of Philosophical Necessity Illustrated
  • predestinated – the Biblical concept that all of life is planned by God; every detail is determined before a person is born, and nothing can alter the plan.
  • billeted – assigned to live in a citizen's home
  • intolerable incubus – a burden that can be oppressive and nightmarish; an incubus is a demon that drains people of their strength.
  • mason – to construct with brick or stone
  • upbraided – criticized
  • forebodings – omens; feelings of future doom
  • unwonted – out of the ordinary
  • precipitately – suddenly
  • quiescent – without motion
  • acquiesced – gave permission, gave in
  • turnkey – a prison guard
  • Monroe Edwards – (1808 – 1847), a famous counterfeiter and slave smuggler, who died in Sing Sing Prison in New York
  • clefts – openings
  • “With kings and counselors” – a quotation from Job 3:14; Job expresses his desire die. Here, the lawyer is saying that Bartleby is at last resting with all those who have died before.

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