Cask of Amontillado Summary

The Cask of Amontillado is a short horror story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It is about the main character, Montresor, re-telling how he murdered Fortunato, a nobleman, because of an insult. The story starts off Montresor describing Fortunato. Then it transitions to the start of the actual plot. Montresor meets Fortunato in a carnival and finds him drunk and dizzy. He tells Fortunato that he has attained a cask of amontillado, which is a very rare wine. Montresor claims that he wants his professional opinion on the wine, since Fortunato is a wine connoisseur.  He then leads Fortunato to his catacombs, in which he claims the wine is placed. As they travel down the catacombs, Montresor gives Fortunato more wine, in order to drunken him more. When they drink the wine, Fortunato does a strange gesture, which is described as a Mason sign. Montresor points out that there is nitre in the walls, which is harmful to breathe over long periods of time. When they reach a certain point, Montresor randomly chains up Fortunato to the wall. He then starts to build a wall to lock up Fortunato. Fortunato screams very loudly, in which Montresor micks him, exclaiming that no one can hear them. As Montresor places the final brick on the wall, he places a torch through to have a final look at his victim. After, Montresor claims to the person he is telling the story that in the 50 years since it occurred, he has never been caught.

Personally, this is a very interesting story mainly because it is told from the murderer’s perspective. The murderer, Montresor, describes the event in detail, detailing how he carefully plotted the plan. The author’s intent on writing this story is to provide an authentic perspective made by a murderer, on the contrary to the usual perspective being one from a detective or victim. The main pattern of organization is chronological order, in which the story’s events are told in order of occurrence.

To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter 28 Summary

In Chapter 28 of To Kill A Mockingbird, both Jem and Scout attend the Halloween pageant in their school. On their way to the school, they get surprised by Cecil Jacobs when he jumps from a bush and scares them.  Jem dresses up as a ham and performs a mild mistake during the pageant due to her falling asleep. After the pageant, Jem and Scout walk back to their home. On their way to their house, Jem feels as if someone is following them. He listens intently as hears footsteps moving at the same pace as theirs. Scout thereafter, smells the essence of alcohol. Suddenly, a man comes violently charging at them and as both Jem and Scout run away, Scout falls to the floor.  Since she still has her ham costume on, he does not have a clear view on what is happening. She then hears Jem scream, which followed a dull crunching sound. Out of nowhere, someone comes and picks Jem up from the floor. Hearing this, Scout tries and pulls off her costume and starts running home. Upon reaching home, Scout notices that Jem is lying on his bed. She is worried that he is dead but Atticus, her father, reassures her that he is not. Dr. Reynolds then enters the house and check Jem. He also reassures them that all he has is a broken arm and a concussion. After that, the Sheriff of the town, Heck Tate, enters the home. He talks to Atticus and explains to him that Bob Ewell was found on the ground near where the children were attacked, with a knife stuck up his ribs.

The author’s intent was to reveal what Bob Ewell’s threat was two chapters beforehand and to show Bob Ewell’s real character. The author of the book used chronological order, stating what happened in the story in order. In my opinion, I really enjoyed this chapter. I t was filled with much mystery and danger. Out of all the chapters I have read, this has been by far the best one. My favorite and possibly the most suspenseful  part of the chapter was when the Sheriff came back and told Atticus that Bob Ewell was where the attack happened with a knife stuck up his ribs.