The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan PoeIn "The Cask of Amontillado", Edgar Allan Poe uses several artistic choices in constructing the story. He manipulates the story to be how he wants it to be by using the narrator's point of view, the setting, and a monotonous feeling common throughout. Poe manages to maintain a "spirit of perversity" that is prevalent in most of his works. Point of view plays a very important role in influencing the reader's perception of the story. The first line of the story is a good example of how the narrator tries to get the reader on his side right from the start. “Fortunato's thousand injuries I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured to insult I swore vengeance” (O'Neill 666). Montresor, the narrator of the story, immediately tries to win the reader over to his side by telling him that Fortunato has "dared to insult" and has apparently crossed the line. This attempt is clever, but the reader never gets a sense of what Fortunato actually did to the narrator. This fact alone raises the question in my mind whether Fortunato actually insulted Montresor, or whether Montresor is creating it in his mind. The point of view of the story can also influence the emotional attachment the reader feels, or fails to make. obtain in this case, for a given character. When a reader is involved in a story, the point of view from which the story is told is crucial to the feelings the reader experiences. In this story, Montresor dominates the progression of the story in every aspect. In other words, the reader only knows what Montresor tells him, or what he can deduce from the story. This being the case, it is difficult for the reader to develop a ... middle of paper ... saying for the narrator, it is a phrase of triumph. The triumph of the narrator, and ultimately perversity, over justice makes "The Cask of Amontillado" one of Poe's most unique works and is an example of Poe's perversity at its best. Work cited"Plot summary: 'The Cask of Amontillado'. " Discovering the authors. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - Gold. Storm. Brevard County Main School District. May 22, 2008http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS."What a Trick Weele Serve Him: A Possible Source for Poe's The Cask of Amontillado (Notes)." Student Resource Center. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. Student Resource Center - Gold. Storm. Brevard County Main School District. May 22, 2008http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS.O'Neill, Edward The Complete Tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1992