Alcoholism In The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poe: The Influence of Alcoholism and Death on “The Cask of Amontillado”

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author and poet who lived from 1809 to 1849. His most widely-read works include “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Raven”. One of his short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado”, is about a man called Montresor, who is consumed with getting revenge on an Italian wine-taster, Fortunato, for an insult that is never fully explained. Under the pretence that he needs a taster for Amontillado, a rare Spanish sherry, Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs under his palazzo. When the two men reach an indent in the wall, Montresor seals his enemy inside and bricks up the opening, leaving Fortunato to …show more content…
Writing provided very little income, and consequently contributed to his poverty and further drinking. He first attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, where he turned to gambling in order to pay for tuition. When John Allan refused to pay his debts, Poe dropped out after less than a year. He later attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. Allan would not pay for him to continue at the Academy, but he also would not sign his permission for Poe to leave. Poe did not attend drills for a full week and was honorably discharged. At the age of 27, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm, who was a great source of support and encouragement for him (“Edgar Allan Poe”, Encyclopedia). While still at the military academy, Poe published his first poem. After he was discharged, he worked a series of editing jobs for journals and magazines, but he was never able to hold down a job for more than a few years, and was fired for drunkenness more than once. Poe also published more short stories and poems, sometimes at his own expense. This extra cost, as well as his difficulty finding and keeping jobs, meant that he and his wife were very poor, and it was at this point that Poe began to develop a drinking
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