The Cask of Amontillado ok copy

8/13/2019 The Cask of Amontillado ok copy

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The Cask of Amontilladoby Edgar Allan Poe

Cultural Literacy

andBackground for Understanding

(Presentation assembled by Brooke Allen)


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Carnival


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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.


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CARNIVAL

Traditionally, the fasting during Lent

involves abstaining from eating meat.

Modern interpretations of fasting may

involve abstaining from anything one

enjoys.


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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 bidfarewell to meat-eating

(and merriment).


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What happens during Carnival?

Carnival is a time of EXCESS and

INDULGENCE.

BINGEING upon food and alcohol is common.


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The combination of alcohol and

costumes creates an atmosphere

where people tend to let down

their inhibitions.


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European Carnival traditionssurvive in the United States in the

form of Mardi Gras.


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The Cask of Amontillado is setduring the supreme madness of

Carnival.

In such a riotous atmosphere, it is

easy to see how a crime could gounnoticed.


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Lifestyles of the Rich

Circa 1700-1800


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The wealthy class enjoyed

indulgences such as Gemmary


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Painting


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Palazzos (mansions)


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Fine Wine (vintages)


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Vineyards, where the grapes for

producing wine are grown, createpicturesque settings for owners

estates.


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The narrator plans for his revenge

to take place in the catacombs

beneath his estate.

What are catacombs?


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Catacombs: Cities of the Dead


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At a certain point in Europeanhistory, catacombs, underground

burial chambers, became a viable

alternative to cemeteries.


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Catacombs are characterized by

extensive tunnels leading to

chambers or recesses where thedead repose for eternity.


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The wealthy could opt for family

catacombs beneath their estates.


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The narrator of The Cask of

Amontillado carries out his

revenge within the catacombs

beneath his palazzo.


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The narrator is able to lure hisvictim into the catacombs with

the promise ofamontillado

, afine sherry wine.

(Thelsare pronounced like the

ls in tortilla.)


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The supreme madness of

Carnival aside, why doesnt the

suggestion of a journey to the

catacombs for a taste of wineseem odd or suspicious to the

victim?


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The Storage of Wine

For w nes to ma nta n t e r est


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For w nes to ma nta n t e r estquality, they need to be stored at

fairly cool and constanttemperatures.


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During the time period in which

the story is set, modern electric

refrigeration was not available.

To protect wine collections,

connoisseurs adopted the practiceof storing wines under the ground

where temperatures remain ideal

year-round.


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Basements, cellars, and even

catacombs serve as excellent

storage facilities for the preciousvintages.


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Edgar Allan Poe

Author, not the narrator,

of the story.

Developed characters

whose sanity is

questionable.

Universally credited

as a significant

contributor to the

development of the short

story as a literary genre.


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The Cask of Amontillado

ENJOY THIS LITERARY

JOURNEY INTO THE DARK

SIDE OF REVENGE!


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The Cask of Amontillado ok copy