Abstract Edgar Allan Poe, as one of the greatest American poets, a master of horror tale as well as the patron saint of the detective story, has won a great and high reputation in literary filed. He has written so many famous and excellent works which all win a great deal of readers’ attention. And “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of his famous horror tales. “The Cask of Amontillado” tells a story about revenge. Because of its ingenious plot arrangement as well as the vivid character depiction and environmental description, it is always seen as a successful and classic example of horror novel writing. This paper probes into the theme of the story, that is, the “dark side” of human nature and horror of human beings through the analysis of the leading characters, the structure of the story and the writing technique. The introduction of Edgar Allan Poe in the first part is to make readers know more about this famous writer. The following is to demonstrate the main story and line of “The Cask of Amontillado” to help understand the whole tale. Through analyzing the scrupulous design of names as well as the psychological description and linguistic description of the leading character, the main characters have been presented in front of readers clearly. Finally, the symbolism and contrast in this novel have been presented to help understand the whole story fully.42279

Key Words:  The Cask of Amontillado      the “dark side” of human nature   plots    characters     writing techniques

摘要埃德加·爱伦·坡是一位伟大而著名的美国诗人，同时他也是一位恐怖小说的塑造大师。在他的一生中，坡创造了诸多恐怖小故事以及侦探小说，而这些作品均在文学论坛中获得极高的声誉。而他的那些恐怖小说更是备受读者们的青睐。《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》就是埃德加·爱伦·坡诸多恐怖小说中较为突出和受欢迎的一部作品。《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》讲述了一个复仇的故事。在这部作品中，坡巧妙设计的故事情节，细节性的人物形象及环境刻画，均成为创作恐怖小说的必要条件。本文旨在深入探究《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》的主题含义——人性的黑暗之处及可怕之处。文章的引言部分，对埃德加·爱伦·坡的生平及作品进行了介绍，让更多的读者认识这位作者。第一章通过回顾《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》的故事起因、经过及结局等情节布局让读者初步了解这部小说的内容。第二章通过分析《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》中人物名称的巧妙设计及对其的心理和语言描写，探讨了作者如何淋漓尽致地展现小说的思想及主角们的性格。第三章通过小说中的象征及对比等写作手法将《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》进一步展现了小说的主题。

毕业论文关键词：《阿芒提拉多的酒桶》    人性阴暗     情节     人物    写作手法

Contents

Abstract i

摘 要 ii

Contents iii

Introduction 1

Chapter One  Analysis of the Plots 4

1.1 The cause of the novel 4

1.2 The process of the whole story 5

1.3 The denouement of the novel 6

Chapter Two  Analysis of the Main Characters 8

2.1 The scrupulous design of the names appearing in this novel 8

2.2 The psychological description of the leading characters