“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe presents unique symbolism of the repression of homosexual desire and the harmful effects of a society that promotes repressive behavior. This short story details the process of imprisoning that which the narrator despises, both literally and metaphorically. Yet a queer analytical lens highlights the homoerotic figurative nuances of the tale; focusing primarily on sexuality highlights the metaphorical imprisonment and repression of the narrator's homosexual desires. Ultimately, the narrator suppresses his sexuality and displaces his hatred onto Fortunato due to societal pressures, thus acting to stifle something that is considered taboo and hateful. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Queer theory analyzes the role of sexuality in literary works and its influence on the identities of characters. Whether a character's sexuality is overtly stated, subtly hinted at, or completely ignored in a text, their presence or absence presents an intriguing analytical lens through which to dissect a piece of literature. Johanna Smith's article "What Are Gender Criticism and Queer Theory" describes queer theory as "an emphasis on sexuality and its broader insistence that the multifaceted and fluid nature of identity negates efforts to to categorize people on the basis of a single characteristic” (388). . A character's sexuality can exist on a spectrum, as that character can have queer characteristics without being labeled gay, and can experience same-sex desire while existing outside of the binary categories created by society. A character does not need to form their entire personality around this aspect of their identity, or even accept this aspect. A character's identity is made up of many qualities; however, repression and denial of any aspect can be detrimental to well-being and mental state. If the character lives in a society where going against the norm of heterosexuality is considered hateful, then "homosexual panic, the revelation of unspeakable homosexual desire" (Smith 391) can cause distress and anxious desire for repression. Once a character recognizes innate same-sex desire, they enter a state of dread, afraid of being discovered and ostracized by society, leading to the unsuccessful suppression of sexuality. Such anxiety, combined with repression, can have a huge impact on a character's mental state. This character comes to despise his sexuality simply because of its peculiarity and society's taboos, and his inability to get rid of them, thus creating an internal conflict. Poe's story contains many elements that suggest homosexual desire and symbolism for sexuality itself: "It was about dusk one evening, in the supreme madness of the carnival, that I met my friend. He m He approached with excessive heat, because he had drunk a lot. The man was wearing a tight-fitting striped dress, and his head was topped with a conical cap and bells. I would never have finished wringing his hand” (Poe) This part of Poe’s story relies heavily on the juxtaposition of kind and aggressive words and images Poe uses words usually associated with violence. , such as "approached" and "wringing" to describe the cordial actions of hugging and shaking hands, customs generally expressing friendship. This harsh contrast conveys not only the narrator's literal hostility toward Fortunato. , but alsothe opposing forces of love and hate that reside within him. The narrator is torn between the love and desire that comes with sexuality and his hatred of homosexual desire and the confusion and problems it brings into his life. His constant alternation between hostile and friendly words shows the internal conflict within the narrator due to his homosexual desire, which he considers madness. Since the narrator finds his sexuality disorienting, it is only fitting that he carries out his plan to completely rid himself of it at a carnival – the epitome of madness and madness. He then finds someone to personify his sexuality – his friend Fortunato – a man known for his inappropriate antics and who literally wears clothes worn by fools. The narrator's focus on clothing highlights how Fortunato represents something ridiculous and strange, an image of how Montresor perceives his homosexual desire. Although he wishes to completely rid himself of his sexuality, and therefore of the man who represents it, Montresor cannot help but feel a slight joy in allowing himself for a moment to stop repressing his desire. The pleasure that the narrator seems to glean from seeing Fortunato also translates into the joy of letting his desire express itself. Montresor lets his homoerotic desire escape, because he knows that to get rid of it completely, he must confront and capture it. . He cannot act against this desire by denying its existence. Once he fully recognizes his sexuality, his hatred for such scandalous desire surfaces and he projects his harsh emotions onto Fortunato. Having a person as the personification of his sexuality gives Montresor a physical entity on which to focus his rage and confusion. The contradictory phrases the narrator uses to describe Fortunato support the idea that Montresor does not hate him as a man, but simply hates what he represents. He repeatedly describes Fortunato as a friend, and as he finishes locking him in the catacombs, his "heart [becomes] sick" (Poe), a feeling he weakly attributes to the humidity of the tunnel. Montresor feels such pain after completely shutting down Fortunato because he hurt his friend and also lost part of his identity. Despite projecting hatred onto Fortunato and wanting to get rid of something that causes suffering, Montresor does not want to completely distance himself from his sexuality. He recognizes that his homosexual desire is part of his self-perception and that removing it completely would cause him to lose a part of himself. Although he wishes to destroy his source of shame, Montresor does not violently murder Fortunato – and therefore his sexuality – but hatches an elaborate plan to literally wall off his feelings and the man. He chooses his own family catacomb to become the resting place of his sexuality, a place close to and reserved only for loved ones in Montresor. Montresor also has doubts about finishing the wall as his goals begin to become reality; he even calls Fortunato, as he realizes that his metaphorical sexuality is leaving him. These small details reveal that the narrator does not inherently hate his homoeroticism and does not really want to get rid of it. Although he does not inherently despise his sexuality, Montresor cannot explore his feelings and therefore feels ostracized, leading him to project his hatred onto society. and himself on Fortunato. By sealing Fortunato, Montresor, literally and figuratively, walls off his desire and removes the source of his frustration and his feeling of being different. Montresor forces himself to completely isolate his sexuality in order to no longer be separated from the norm and to be able to reintegrate into society. His intense distress over something.. 381-400