1. The Cask of Amontillado
Point of View, Narrator, Tone, Voice and Irony

2. Warm Up: Unit 1 Vocab Review
Imagery (sensory imagery)
a. Attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a character, or the audience
Setting
b. Time and place of a story or play
Style
c. Language that appeals to the 5 senses: sight, sound smell, touch, and taste
Symbol (symbolism)
d. The use of clues to hint at events that will occur later in a plot.
Theme
e. Person, place, thing or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well.
Tone
f. Central or main idea of a work of literature
Foreshadowing
g. The particular way in which a writer uses language such as diction and figurative language

3. Warm Up: Vocab Review/Practice
Character
The voice telling the story
Characterization
b. The process of revealing the personality of a character
c. Contrast between expectation and reality and/or what is said and what is really meant
Figurative language
Point of view (POV)
d. Series of related events that make up a story or drama
Irony
e. Person in poem, story or play
f. Figures of speech that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be taken literally
Narrator
Plot
g. Vantage point from which a writer tells a story

4. Narrator and Voice The Narrator Omniscient Point of View
Feature Menu
The Narrator
Omniscient Point of View
First-Person Point of View
Third-Person-Limited Point of View
Tone
Voice
Practice

5. The Narrator
When you read a story, the narrator—the person telling the story—controls everything you know about the characters and events.

6. The Narrator
A writer’s choice of a narrator determines the point of view of the story—the vantage point from which the story is told.
The three main points of view are
omniscient
first person
third person limited
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7. Omniscient Point of View
When the omniscient point of view is used, the narrator
is not a character in the story
knows all
can tell us everything about every character

8. Omniscient Point of View
Quick Check
How can you tell this is an omniscient narrator?
One day a young woman looked out her apartment window and saw a man playing a saxophone. “Cool,” she thought as she swayed to his tune. A big brown dog joined the man and howled along with the music.
Then a man in pajamas yelled from another window, complaining that the noise woke him up and he was going to call the police. This man, who worked the night shift and had to sleep all day, liked cats better than dogs anyway. The young saxophonist left.
[End of Section]

9. First-Person Point of View
A first-person narrator
is a character in the story
uses first-person pronouns such as I and me
tells us only what he or she thinks and experiences
A first-person narrator is sometimes called a persona.

10. First-Person Point of View
Always question whether a first-person narrator is credible, or can be trusted.
An unreliable narrator is biased and does not (or cannot) tell the truth.

11. First-Person Point of View
Quick Check
How can you tell this is a first-person narrator?
Oh, man! Just as I was finally dozing off, he starts playing that stupid saxophone. I’ve already been fired from one job because I fell asleep on the night shift. Now it’s going to happen again. I don’t know which sounds worse, that tone-deaf saxophonist or that yowling dog. I’m going to call the police.
Do you think this narrator’s opinion of the music is reliable? Why or why not?
[End of Section]

12. Third-Person-Limited Point of View
When the third-person-limited point of view is used, the narrator
gives one character’s thoughts and reactions
uses third-person pronouns (he, she, they)
tells little about other characters

13. Third-Person-Limited Point of View
Quick Check
How can you tell this is a third-person-limited narrator?
He found a good spot in front of Park View Apartments and started playing soulfully on his sax. He wanted an audience and needed money. After one song, he spotted a cute girl at a window, applauding madly. A dog howled with the music, but the sax player let him stay, hoping the dog might attract some donations. Then he heard a man yelling about calling the police—clearly not a music lover.
What is this narrator’s reaction to the dog? to the yelling man?
[End of Section]

14. Tone
Tone is the attitude a speaker or writer takes toward a subject, character, or audience. A story’s tone can be
humorous
gloomy
suspenseful
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15. Voice
Voice is the writer’s distinctive use of language and his or her overall style.
The writer’s tone and choice of words (diction) help create the voice.
In fiction, narrators can also be said to have a voice.
A narrator’s voice can affect our view of characters and events.

16. Voice
Notice how a distinctive voice can influence our views of certain characters.
What impression do you get of the saxophone player? Which words contribute to this effect?
Oh, man! Just as I was finally dozing off, he starts playing that stupid saxophone. I’ve already been fired from one job because I fell asleep on the night shift. Now it’s going to happen again. I don’t know which sounds worse, that tone-deaf saxophonist or that yowling dog. I’m going to call the police.
[End of Section]

17. Practice
Write a paragraph telling the saxophone story from the point of view of the young woman or the big brown dog. Use either the first-person or the third-person-limited point of view, and try to create a distinctive voice. Remember to show what the character is thinking and feeling.
[End of Section]

18. Irony
Irony is the difference between what we expect or what seems suitable and what actually happens.
Writers include irony in stories to reflect the real world—a world where expectations aren’t always fulfilled and unexpected events often surprise us.
Katie’s grandfather taught her to play chess a few weeks ago. Now, she consistently wins matches against her grandfather and the other members of his chess club.

19. Irony In stories, we find three kinds of irony.
Verbal irony occurs when someone says one thing but means the opposite.
Situational irony occurs when an event is not just surprising but actually contrary to what we expected.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that the character does not know.

20. Irony
Quick Check
Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of verbal irony?
Mr. Hapner wants to sell his old van. A prospective buyer, Mrs. Duran, shows up to look at the van. She notices that it is rusty and dented, the front bumper is missing, and the engine will barely start.
A. “Oh, sir,” she says, “are you sure you want to part with this gem?”
B. “Oh, sir,” she says, “do you really expect to sell this piece of junk?”

21. Irony
Quick Check
Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of situational irony?
Dr. Kwan is a pet psychologist. A leader in her field, she has received several awards for her research and clinical successes. Dr. Kwan publishes a book called The Workings of a Dog’s Mind: How to Get Unruly Dogs to Behave, and it soars up the bestseller list.
A. Dr. Kwan gets an offer to host a television show about pets.
B. Dr. Kwan comes home to find that her two dogs have gnawed on several pairs of her shoes and ruined them.

22. Irony
Quick Check
Based on the passage, which statement would be an example of dramatic irony?
Detective Boone, the main character of a play, is trying to solve a rash of burglaries in his precinct. The audience knows that one of the other characters, a server at a coffee shop frequented by the detective, is the burglar.
A. We watch as Detective Boone talks to the server about his investigation and shares sensitive information.
B. Another detective eventually solves the case, and the server is arrested.
[End of Section]

23. In-Class Reading Questions
How do the narrator’s opening statements suggest that he is over-reacting? (pg. 212)
Notice how the narrator secretly schemes for revenge. Is this how most people respond to an insult? How do most people respond to an insult? (pg. 212)
Answer yellow box questions 1 (pg. 212)
Why is the narrator glad to see Fortunato? (pg. 212)
Most people do not act friendly towards someone they hate. What conclusion might you draw about the narrator based on his behavior? (pg. 212)

24. In-Class Reading Questions
6. Answer yellow box question #2. (pg. 213) 7. What does the narrator’s attitude toward his servants reveal about his view of humanity? (pg. 214) 8. What is bizarre about the narrator’s reference to Fortunato as his “poor friend”? (pg. 214) 9. Do you predict that Fortunato will have a long life? What do you predict will happen to Fortunato? (pg. 214) 10. What is suggested by the image and motto of the Montresor coat of arms? (pg. 214) 11. Why does Montresor confess concern for Fortunato’s health? (pg. 214) 12. Answer yellow box questions #3 (pg. 214)

25. In-Class Reading Questions
13. Based on his response to Luchesi’s name, what kind of person has Fortunato shown himself to be? (pg. 216) 14. Why do you think Montresor “implores” Fortunato to return to the surface rather than continue into the catacombs? (pg. 216) 15. Answer yellow box question #4 (pg. 217) 16. What is ironic about Montresor’s reference to Fortunato as “noble”? What kind of irony is this? (pg. 217) 17. What does the dialogue (starting with “Ha! Ha! Ha! – he! he! he!) reveal about both characters’ states of mind at the end of the story? (pg. 217) 18. Answer yellow box question #5. (pg. 217)

26. In-Class Reading Questions
19. What are the conflicts in "The Cask of Amontillado"? What types of conflict (PNUTS) do you see in this story? 20. How does Edgar Allan Poe reveal character in "The Cask of Amontillado"? 21. What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters? 22. How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else? 23. From what point of view is the story told?

27. The End