Thursday, September 29, 2011

What is ironic about Poe's choice of the name "Fortunato" for the antagonist of the story "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Edgar Allan Poe no doubt chose to use the name "Fortunato"
in a deliberately ironic manner. The name is derived from the word "fortunate," and
means "fortunate one." Fortunato was anything but fortunate in his dealings with
Montressor. He was misled into thinking a rare and valuable bottle of Amontillado
awaited him in the catacombs, but instead he became the victim of Montressor's murderous
madness. In the end, the only fortunate person was Montressor, who succeeded in his
perfect crime, hiding Fortunato's body where it would never be
found.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What accomplishments did Bill Clinton have as president?

Of course, Bill Clinton's presidency will be most clearly remembered for the fact that he was only the second president ever...