Fortunato is Fortune's Fool in The Cask of Amontillado

1181 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character analysis of the story the cask of amontillado

Fortunato, Fortune's Fool Who was Fortune's Fool? The answer to that question would be Fortunato. Fortunato is a character in Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado." Fortunato has wronged Montresor, the narrator of "Cask." The reader can't trust Montresor because he is an unreliable narrator, so the reader can't say for a fact that Fortunato had wronged Montresor. Montresor then seeks revenge on Fortunato. During carnivale season, Fortunato is drinking all types of wine. Montresor knows Fortunato is drunk so he goes to Fortunato and tells him he has Amontillado. Fortunato wants the Amontillado so much, that he is willing to do anything for it, that leads him to his death. Montresor brought Fortunato into the catacombs, chained Fortunato to the wall, walled Fortunato up, and Fortunato was dead. Actually he wasn't dead right then and there. Montresor walled Fortunato up alive, so Fortunato can suffer much pain, then die, die a helpless man. Fortunato was a fun loving/outgoing, alcoholic, boastful/prideful man. Dressed as a jester at the carnivale, Fortunato was getting drunk. He drank and chatted with many people. Fortunato was a very fun-loving and outgoing man, ?He had a weak point- this Fortunato- although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared.? Montresor calls him respected, this shows that Fortunato was a man who many liked, making them respect him. The fear, as the reader might suspect, is that he prides himself too much in his knowledge of wine. Another fear, as the reader can assume, may be that he can get too outgoing. His drinking problems probably make him very distraught and obnoxious. Montresor knows that Fortunato is very outgoing, and that he aims and shoots fo... ... middle of paper ... ...haracteristics bring about Fortunato?s fortune. He was fortune?s fool. His fortunes catch up with him and lead to a bad consequence, Fortunato?s death. If Fortunato wasn?t so enthusiastic when it came to wines, he may have realized Montresor was going to do something bad. If Fortunato wasn?t an alcoholic, he wouldn?t have been drunk. If he wasn?t drunk, he may have known that Montresor was going to hurt him. Finally, if Fortunato wasn?t boastful and prideful, he wouldn?t have wronged Montresor at all. And if he never had done some sort of wrong to Montresor, he wouldn?t be dead. In summary, if Fortunato didn?t have those 3 characteristics, he wouldn?t be dead, and Montresor would have never said he had been ?wronged.? Unfortunately Fortunato was Fortune?s Fool. For his fortune favored him. Fortune was God?s gift to the fools, which is why fortune favors the fools.

Show More
Related

  • Is Montresor A Connoisseur

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    He gives very little information about Fortunato, past that he is a wine connoisseur. There is no mention of what Fortunato does for leisure, his family, or even his job. In fact, the only details the reader receives on Fortunato paint him as a fool, with his costume, his drunken attitude, and obliviousness Montresor is focuses on the facts that make Fortunato look bad; he not only wants Fortunato dead but he also wants Fortunato’s name discredited. Montresor tells the reader even less about himself because there is no background to who Montresor is, what he does, or even what kind of contact he has with Fortunato. The only true details of Montresor that are given must be implied and give a sense of intelligence. In addition, he gives little to no details about the carnival, such as where it was, why the carnival was happening, or even why he chose this particular day to enact his plan. From these details, or lack of details, it seems Montresor doesn’t want his audience to know this information. The audience is supposed to simply look at Fortunato a fool and Montresor a genius, the harbinger of death. The facts such as who these people were, the time, or the setting are not important to Montresor’s focus in the

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado and Joy C. Oates' Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montresor, fifty years after it happened, is confessing to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thous...

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Hamlet And The Cask Of Amontillado

    965 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his

    Read More

  • The Cask Of Amontillado Quote Analysis

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    One catches a glimpse of Montresor’s lost happiness from his obscure past, moreover his distressed self-esteem, in this statement. His façade begins to slip. The strain starts to show. At last Montresor leads Fortunato to the remote niche and secures him to the wall. Surprised Fortunato does not immediately respond.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fortunato prided himself in being a connoisseur of fine wines. They were at a carnival and Fortunato approached Montressor at dusk, the madness of the carnival season. Fortunato was very drunk. Fortunato was dressed motley like a jester.

    Read More

  • Narcissism In 'Cask Of Amontillado'

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fortunato exhibits extreme narcissism upon himself and fails to see the bigger picture going on around him. Montresor expended a great amount of time in thinking of a way to defeat his prey in his own world. His target had a weakness of lust for wine, in fact he, prided himself in his connoisseurship. Consequently, too much pride can be harmful according to Jessica Tracy, “hubristic pride is related to narcissistic traits like entitlement, arrogance, and egotism” all which Fortunato exemplified (Oprah). Montresor baited Fortunato into his pleasure “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi” though we never meet Luchesi his character is of lesser rank when it comes to wine connoisseurship (Poe). Montresor was very clever in this quiet deed; he even took the time to provide many outs for Fortunato whether it was concern for his prey’s health or warnings of harsh conditions ahead. Drunk and prideful he could care less about his health during the cold trot through the vaults “The cold is merely nothing… and as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” thus his narcissistic ways are even selfish to his own temple (Poe). Fortunato ignores his plethora of coughs and implies to move forward while Montresor ensures him that his health is too precious but again triggers him saying Luchesi is in a

    Read More

  • The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her article, Renee utters that when the thought of vengeance build up in an individual’s brain, it coerces him insane and does not tolerate him to present it a second thought. The first sentence of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge,” clearly describes the whole theme of the story as a deeply enrooted revenge in Montresor’s mind” which is an absolute portrayal of retribution that occurs due to arrogance and jealousy. Author sees himself as a superior individual and was victimized by a superiority complex which is quite visible through the phrases which he wrote in the story that Montressor expresses superiority as showed his victim as a foolish person by attributing weird physical appearance and dress appearance in which he described his dress code of “tight fitting parti striped dress and head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.”

    Read More

  • Haunting Confession of Revenge and Murder in The Cask of Amontillado

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the acts, thoughts, and words of the protagonists Montresor, the reader is able to feel the psychological torment that Fortunato is about to endure. The first line in the story Montresor said “The thousand of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (553). Revenge remains a constant theme through the entire story. Montresor went to great lengths planning the revenge and murder of Fortunato. He knows that during the carnival everyone will be dressed in costume, mask, and drinking. No-one will be able to recognize them. Montresor himself put on a “mask of black silk” (554) and a “roquelaire” (554). He has also made certain that his attendants’ would not be at home, to be sure that there are no witnesses to his horrendous act.

    Read More

  • Montresor Character Analysis

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...

    Read More

  • Themes of Freedom and Confinement in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the story begins, Fortunato believes he and Montresor are friends or at the very least friendly. However, Montresor is secretly plotting Fortunato’s murder. Montresor believes that Fortunato has given a “thousand injuries” and it is not until he “insults” Montresor that Montresor springs into action. Unfortunately, it is never explained if these injuries and insults really happened or if they are a delusion. Montresor makes an unreliable narrator and one gets the feeling he suffers from a psychological disorder, such as delusional paranoid personality disorder. This disorder causes the victim to become obsessed with a delusion “involving a phenomenon that the person’s culture could conceivably regard as plausible.” They often believe “they have been injured by friends or strangers, and they tend to see other persons as enemies.” Montresor gives the impression he and Fortunato have known each other for an extended amount of time. Montresor knows more about Fortunato than Fortunato knows about Montresor; possibly because Fortunato is constantly drunk.

    Read More

  • Revenge In The Cask Of Amontillado

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain (Poe 332)”. This revels Montresor notices that Fortunato is not able to tell Amontillado from Sherry as he is a great wine-lover. When Montresor is coughing, Fortunato is trying to convince him to leave: “Come,” I said with decision, “ we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was”. This shows jealousy and kindness of Montresor against Fortunato at the same time that is quite sarcastic. From this perspective, Montresor envious all of the things that Fortunato has and who is not reconciled to someone surpass him in the status. He mistakenly feels that this is the injury created by Fortunato resulting in his revenge. Therefore, he blame on Fortunato for all fault that he should eradicate him as soon as possible before he become a threatening when it is too late to take any action. Additionally, he does not even regret his choice and believes everything he does is right. This is because he tries so hard to makes an effort to draw Fortunato to his trap and put down his vigilance simultaneously by

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the opening lines Montresor explains what Fortunato has done to him: ?he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge?(75. The next line Montresor explains that he did not threaten him back and he did not reply to the threats. It was not in Montresor?s nature to do return the threat, ?You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat?(75).

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Irony is defined as words or actions that convey a reality different from appearance or expectation. The use of such device in the story gives it humor and wit. The continuous use of irony is detected through style, tone and the use of exaggeration from Montresor, the narrator. From the start we can blatantly see the irony in the story. The name Fortunato implies that this man is of good luck, when in actuality he was about to face the end of his life. The setting itself in which the story takes place also contains an ironic element. It is during Venice’s Carnival that the characters meet. Carnival is supposed to be a time of celebration and happiness for everybody. However, in the tale it is a time for revenge and death. The mood changes drastically when the two characters leave the carnival for the d...

    Read More

  • “The Cask of Amontillado” --- Full of Irony

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s a person who has a sagacious mind and his meticulousness leads to a successful murder. For example, the “vaults” where he chose to kill Fortanato, and that those ironic conversations that caused Fortanato fall into Montresor’s clutches. He also satirized Fortanato so much in this story, such as his favorite “Amontillado” and his dignity is his undoing. In contrast, Fortanato has a besotted mind, and his cockiness leads him to die. For example, he was not suspicious in the “vaults”, his envious of “Luchesi”, and his exorbitance in appreciating his connoisseurship, these all leads him to die at the end.

    Read More

  • The Cask of Amontillado: Character Analysis

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times by saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could…he ventured upon insult…” (Poe). In addition, Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato goes so far that he believes he must kill Fortunato. He mentions this in the story as, “[y]ou, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe). He seems to say that his soul is made of hatred and goes on to say he must give Fortunato the utmost punishment: death. Montresor even shows traits of revenge when he says, “…but when [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” and “...I would be avenged…” (Poe). He is saying that he will get revenge on Fortunato, whom he is angry with and hates for being insulted by.

    Read More

More about Fortunato is Fortune's Fool in The Cask of Amontillado

Open Document