The Lesson Activities Will Help You Meet These Educational Goals s1

English 10 Lesson Activities Answer Sheet

Character and Motive The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals: 21st Century Skills—You will employ online tools for research and analysis, use critical- thinking and problem-solving skills, communicate effectively, and collaborate with others.

Directions Please save this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. ______

Self-Checked Activities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. Click the link to the Student Answer Sheet at the end of the lesson. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your own work.

1. Character and Motive You are about to read “The Cask of Amontillado,” a story by Edgar Allan Poe. In this story, you will read about a man who seeks revenge on another man who has wronged him. This story is set in Paris, France, and most of it takes place in the catacombs. Learn more about the Parisian catacombs.

Now that you have a context for where most of the story takes place, read “The Cask of Amontillado,” written by Poe in 1846. When you have finished the story, answer the following questions.

a. Using your own words, write a brief summary of the story.

Sample answer: The narrator has been wronged by Fortunato and decides to seek revenge. He lures him into the Parisian catacombs with the premise that he needs Fortunato to taste and authenticate some wine, supposedly Amontillado, that he is about to purchase. He playfully gets him further into the catacombs, often saying Fortunato should not come, which shows the sort of the mind game the narrator likes to play. Once in the back, the drunken Fortunato is chained to a wall by the narrator, who begins encasing him in bricks. As he sobers up, Fortunato realizes the horror of what is taking place. The narrator stays mostly calm as he completes the wall that seals Fortunato in the catacombs forever.

Copyright © 2012 PLATO Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 b. Explain the narrator’s actions toward Fortunato and his motive for these actions. Based on these events in the story, what can you conclude about the narrator? (Use details from the story to support your answer.)

Sample answer: The narrator tricks Fortunato into following him into the catacombs to see if some wine is really Amontillado. Once there, he gets Fortunato to drink some wine. When Fortunato passes out, the narrator chains him to a wall and encloses him into a cell with bricks, never to be found. The narrator does this to seek revenge on Fortunato, since he had wronged the narrator several times. Based on the events in the story, we can conclude that the narrator is calm, intelligent, convincing, persuasive, and cunning. He is also cruel and heartless and shows no remorse for his actions. Several quotes from the story support these assertions: "It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation." "I vowed revenge." "You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible." "My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so." c. What kind of person is Fortunato? (Use details from the story to support your answer.)

Sample answer: Fortunato is arrogant, selfish, foolish, and greedy. He is also somewhat sickly. Quotes that support this answer are: "He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.” “The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode.” “The nitre!” I said: “see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough—” d. Why does Poe portray Fortunato wearing a jester hat?

Sample answer: Poe portrays Fortunato with a jester’s cap that keeps jingling to show what a fool he is. Several times, the narrator says that they should turn back and suggests at the beginning that Fortunato should not go since he has a prior engagement, but Fortunato insists on continuing. e. Describe the narrator’s reaction at the end of the story. How does he feel about doing what he did? (Use specific evidence from the text to support your answer.)

Sample answer: The narrator is a bit taken aback by Fortunato’s cries. They seem to unnerve him momentarily, but then his focus returns. He does not feel remorse. Quotes from the story that support these assertions are: “A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled.” “My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labor.”

2 f. Compare and contrast the narrator and Fortunato.

Sample answer: The narrator and Fortunato share some similarities and differences. They both like wine, both like to have conversations, and both think of themselves. The differences between them are that the narrator is cruel, Fortunato is more foolish, and the narrator seems more serious than Fortunato. g. Poe chooses to use dialogue in this story when he could have had the narrator tell the entire story. In what way does this dialogue add to the story?

Sample answer: Dialogue adds to the story when the narrator plays a mental game by trying to convince Fortunato not to come taste the wine several different times, even to leave the catacombs and go back. The dialogue allows us to see both men for what they are. It also allows us to be present in the story. h. Classify the narrator and Fortunato as round or flat characters. Give reasons for your answers.

Sample answer: The narrator is a round character: we see various emotions in him and are able to know his thinking because he narrates the story. Fortunato is a flat character: we see only his foolish side. i. Briefly describe the interactions of the narrator and Fortunato.

Sample answer: The interactions of the narrator and Fortunato show how the narrator toys with Fortunato as he lures him farther and farther into the catacombs. They show how unsuspecting Fortunato is that anything bad will happen to him.