Name: _____________________________________________
Date: ________________________
#: ________
9.2.56: “The Cask of Amontillado” Story Diagram
As a life-long learner, I will…
(RL.5) identify short story elements and analyze their function within a narrative.
(RL.4) analyze how the use of irony achieves specific effects.
(RL.2) visualize in order to deepen comprehension of a text.
(RL.2) identify images from a written text and apply them in a visual rendering.
Elements of a Short Story
1. Setting – Time and place in which the story happens.
2. Exposition – How the stage is set for the story. Characters are introduced, the setting is described, and the
conflict begins to unfold.
3. Complications – Events that make the plot become more complex. While the characters struggle to find
solutions to the conflict, suspense builds.
4. Climax – The point of greatest interest or suspense in a story. The climax is the turning point because the action
reaches its peak and the outcome of the conflict is decided.
5. Falling Action – The events between the climax and the resolution.
6. Resolution/Denouement – The end of the story when loose ends are tied up.
7. Characters – People, animals, or imaginary creatures that take part in the action of the story. The short story
usually centers on a Main Character. Also present are usually one or more Minor Characters who are not as
complex, but whose thoughts, words, or actions move the story along.
8. Theme – The writer’s main message about life. Theme is usually not stated directly, and is left to the reader to
figure out.
9. Conflict(s) – The struggle(s) or problem(s) in a story.
10. Literary Elements Present
a. Point of View – The perspective from which a narrative is told.
b. Irony – When a speaker or narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite.
c. Foreshadowing – The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest further action.
d. Motif – A unifying element in an artistic work, especially any recurrent image, symbol, theme, character
type, subject, or narrative detail.
You reviewed the definition of irony in the previous activity. One type of irony, verbal irony, occurs when a speaker or
narrator says one thing while meaning the opposite.
For example, when Fortunato proposes a toast to the dead buried in the crypts around them, Montresor adds, “And I to
your long life.” Montresor is using verbal irony here, as he intends to end Fortunato’s life very soon.
Provide some examples of from your own life:
Your Example:
Your Example:
Irony in “The Cask of Amontillado”
What is stated…
What it means…
How do authors and directors use specific techniques to achieve a desired effect?
With your group, you will create a drawing to represent the ending of “The Cask of Amontillado.” Reread the text and
make notes on the elements that appeal to the senses in the passage, specifically the visual images.
Consider the following:
What characters are present in the scene?
What does this place look like?
What type of clothing is mentioned in the text?
What visual elements in the text should be in your drawing (e.g., a trowel, flambeaux, and so on)?
With your group, fill out the following organizer. As your Reader reads the text aloud, the Writer will take notes on
things to consider including in your drawing. Your group’s Artist will decide how to set up the drawing in the most
effective way.
After you complete your drawing, discuss the choices you made for the content of your drawing. Your Reader should
record your answers to the reflection questions before you present your drawing to the class (or teacher, depending on
time.)
Writer – What We Could Include from the Text
Artist – How We Could Represent These Items in Our
Picture
Reflection
1. Which details from the text did you choose to include in your drawing?
2. Which details from the text did you choose not to include? Why did you make this decision?
3. Why did you choose to set up your drawing the way you did?