High School Selection
This week we are reading “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. It is a tale of revenge for perceived wrongs set in Italy in the 1800s. Below are links to the print version of the story and the audio version of the story. The print version is about ten pages and the audio takes about fifteen minutes. Below the story links are some questions to consider after reading the story. Click here for a brief biography of the author from the Poe Museum. If you enjoy “The Cask of Amontillado” and want to listen to more of Poe’s stories, here are links to audio versions of “The Tell-Tale Heart” and the “Masque of the Red Death” and text versions of “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Mask of the Red Death”.
Click here for the text version of “The Cask of Amontillado”
Click here for the audio version of “The Cask of Amontillado”
Edgar Allan Poe, (born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.—died October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland), American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor who is famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre. His tale “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) initiated the modern detective story, and the atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivaled in American fiction. His “The Raven” (1845) numbers among the best-known poems in the national literature. (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica)
Questions about “The Cask of Amontillado”
What do you think Montresor’s motivation is for killing Fortunato? What do you think Montresor means in the 1st paragraph of the story by “the thousand injuries” and “insult”?
What kind of clown is Fortunato? We see lots of scary clowns in the movies and in books. Is Fortunato a scary clown? Did you find anything ironic about his name?
To whom, do you suppose, is Montresor telling this story? Upon what evidence do you base your assumption?
Montresor acts as judge, jury, and executioner of Fortunato. Is there any crime/offense that Fortunato could have unwittingly committed that would make Montresor’s rage seem reasonable to you? Do you think individuals are ever justified in taking justice into their own hands?
(Questions source: Schmoop and GoogleDocs)
Selection for Pre-School, Intensive Support, and Elementary:
Click here for a video reading of Stella Luna
Click here for a video reading of How I Became a Pirate
Click here for a video reading of Doctor De Soto
Click here for a video reading of The Lion Inside
Click here for a video reading of The King’s Breakfast
Click here for a video reading of Boa Constrictor
In Spanish
Click here for a video reading of Leo the Late Bloomer in Spanish
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