Question

Consider the line: ""My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so."" (Paragraph 89) What insight into the narrator’s point of view does this line likely provide the reader? Cite evidence from the story to support your response.

Answer 1

Answer:

This lines from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" provides an insight into narrator's mercilessness. Fortunato's last and soft cry of fear made Montresor's heart grow sick. Narrator's ascribing this sickness to cold weather shows that he is a biased narrator.

Explanation:

The narrator of the story "The Cask of Amontillado" speaks in first person. Since he is justifying his act of murdering one of the fellow men, his viewpoint is unbalanced. The view point is also partial because we know almost nothing about Fortunato (the antagonist - about to be murdered).

Almost all the narrative of the story is full of mercilessness, here is another example,

"I continued working. I could hear him pulling at the chain, shaking  it wildly. Only a few stones remained to put in their place.  “Montresor! Ha-ha. This is a very good joke, indeed"

This partial and unbalanced view point creates suspense in reader to know what would happen next.