Notes on “The Cask of Amontillado” Open Response Essays

I. Prewriting – More of it makes for a better essay

     A. more writing, less “thinking”

     B. writing is thinking (visual evidence) – show me your mind thinking on the page

     C. how do you know what you think, until you can see what you write

     D. writing is a journey, destination unknown – if you are not writing you are going nowhere

     E. make lists, make notes, use graphs or charts, even write sentences that you may use later

     F. write fast – your mind will always catch up to your hand

     G. get as many ideas on the page as possible – then start to make sense of them and develop

II. Developing a thesis

     A. Thesis

          1. Topic – “The Cask of Amontillado” | Poe’s development of mood

          2. Elements – mood, sensual imagery, setting(s), foreshadowing, possibly theme(s)

          3. Point – How do I think Poe uses imagery to make the mood (description)?

          4. Preview – How do I pull the topic elements and point together? | (1. What is the mood? 2. How does Poe create it?)

     B. Examples

          1. Through careful use of sight and smell imagery, Edgar Allen Poe creates an eerie and terrifying mood in “The Cask of Amontillado” where Fortunato’s demise is foreshadowed while he descends deeper into the dark, damp catacombs.

          2. Edgar Allen Poe uses sight and smell in “The Cask of Amontillado” to create a creepy and horrifying mood that includes a live burial in the niche of dark, wet catacombs.

     C. Comments on Examples

          1. reference to mood serves as both part of the Topic and one of the Elements

          2. notice how neither begin with “In ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ by Edgar Alan Poe…” – you don’t need to follow a formula, you just need to ingredients

          3. both clearly state a point – point comes from you, not from the prompt

          4. by clearly establishing the Topic, Elements, and Point the thesis Previews the content of the essay

III. Structuring a body paragraph

     A. identify and establish the idea to be examined – topic sentence

     B. explain the idea in a general or abstract way

     C. provide evidence from the text that supports the idea of the paragraph

     D. explain the evidence – What does it mean? Why is it important? How does it help you make your point?

     E. identify the connection between the evidence and the main idea of the paragraph

     F. explain the connection

     G. repeat the last four items, if needed

     H. explain the main idea of the paragraph more concretely or specifically

     I. relate the main idea of the paragraph to the overall idea of the piece (thesis/focus)

IV. Use of quotes

     A. examples that support your thoughts and ideas

     B. clear textual evidence that serves your purpose

     C. concrete specifics that you need to strengthen credibility

     D. must be integrated into making the overall point

     E. must be explained and connected to the main idea

     F. must be set-up within your paper – no “dropped quotes”

     G. try to use them early in a paragraph, then explain and connect

Pre-Break Recap

Since the beginning of the new semester we have essentially accomplished the following:

• Read “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe & Written an Open Response
• Read “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell & Written an Open Response
• Read “Phineas” by John Knowles as an introduction to novel A Separate Peace
• Read chapters 1-8 A Separate Peace by John Knowles & Reading Log

Guiding Questions for reading the novel:

• How does environment influence power struggles and personal conflict?
• How does the short story influence the novel?
• How does World War II influence the novel?