The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is a chilling story about two men named Fortunato and Montresor. The story begins with a narrator voicing his anger and resentment towards a man named Fortunato for “a thousand injuries” and insults. Our narrator sees Fortunato and lures him down into his vaults, or “catacombs,” on the premise of verifying that some wine is a certain type. Fortunato was already drunk, and had a cold. Eventually, the men reach a crypt, and the narrator chains Fortunato to the wall. Not stopping there, the narrator begins to trap him in the hole by filling it with bricks. Fortunato is quiet, until the hole is nearly filled, when he screams and then tells the narrator that it was a good joke. The narrator’s name is revealed to be Montresor. Montresor calmly takes the last brick and prepares to slide it into place, but stops and listens. All he hears are the jingling of bells. Then Montresor puts in the last brick, hence sealing Fotunato’s fate. There is chilling irony woven all throughout The Cask of Amontillado. It isn’t until the end of the story that we discover the tale took place fifty years before. Montresor’s vile deed’s motivation can be largely attributed to social class, fulfilling what he considered to be “just retribution” for the unnamed insult that was given him by Fortunato.
According to Montresor, Fortunato committed “a thousand injuries” against him, but it was Fortunado’s insult against Montresor that fueled Montresor’s hatred enough to commit what is the ultimate crime against another person; the crime of death. The opening paragraph of The Cask of Amontillado says,
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed reveng...
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...ll 2004): 47-62. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Vol. 111. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 May 2014. .
Benton, Richard P. "The Cask of Amontillado: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed.
Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 May 2014. .
“Fortune.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC., N.d. Web. 4 May 2014. reference.com/browse/fortune?s=ts>. “Nemo me impune lacessit.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Inc., N.d. Web. 4 May 2014.
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Continually drawing Fortunato’s attention to the nitre on the walls, seems a symbolic manifestation of the web of lies Montresor must weave throughout the journey. He uses Fortunato’s vanity as a weapon against him, "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. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter” (Poe).
Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol.
(Sept. 1976): 35-39. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke. Vol. 26. Detroit:
By focusing on Fortunato, one can see how ignorance and greed can lead to physical death. He is a man who is “rich, respected, admired, [and] beloved.” With this social status, he prides himself on being the best wine connoisseur. So, when Montresor came to him to identify this wine of Amontillado, he boasted that only he could correctly distinguish if it is or not. This was his first sign of greed, because Montresor stated that another wine connoisseur, Luchesi, could identify the wine if he did not want to. Fortunato responded by saying, “Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.” This statement shows how he believes that he is the best and that no other wine connoisseur can compare to his skills. His ignorance starts to show through his false exterior, and with Fortunato saying that he is the best, they venture down into the catacombs to see this precious wine. Now, even though the catacombs are where wine is usually kept, they go extraordinarily deep into them. Fortunato does not even notice the protr...
...rfeited” (33). Montresor has inquired about Fortunato’s health throughout their walk to the catacombs. It is too late for him to change his mind so all that is left to do is seal him in.
In the beginning of the story, Montressor exclaims “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (236). Even after stating this, Fortunato continues to insult Montressor, only worsening his situation. As the two continue talking, notice that Montressor does not let him know that he is ever ill-willed towar him for the insult previously set. He even goes so far as to act like Fortunatos friend. In a way, this shows the theme of betrayal, on Montressors part at least. Fortunato believes him to be a friend, but, as Montressor states, “He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (236). As he speaks more with Fortunato at the carnival, he also learns his weakness,
thousands of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I
In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “A Cask of Amontillado” it is filled with symbolism, irony and the suggestion of good versus evil. The narrator of the story, Montresor, hides behind a mask, who is of a different world than others. Some might say that he is slick, diabolical, calculative man who is out for revenge with impunity. Being a descendant from a very powerful aristocratic family, Montresor could not possibly let Fortunato insult him with impunity. As his family motto states, “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which means, no one attacks me with impunity. He never states what Fortunato did to deserve the ultimate punishment. He only states, “ the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”
The arrogance that Fortunato demonstrates throughout his time with Montresor, evidence shows that he continues to pursue to gain a sense of superiority above his peers and boost his pride. Montresor is very aware of Fortunato’s character, as he “uses his friend Fortunato’s egotistical tendencies” to convince him to walk to his own death. As the story shows that Fortunato’s death was premeditated, clearly Fortunato flaunts his prideful nature in all areas of his life(Whatley). The combination of his pride and his drunken state that overpowers his ability to see that he is being manipulated by his supposed friend. It is his overall combination of unawareness, envy, and pride that results in Fortunato’s diabolical death planned by
Fortunato insults Montresor which leads Montresor to over analyze what is said. As time goes by he becomes increasingly offended by it. He states, “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled- but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk” (Poe
Matuz, Cathy Falk, and Mary K. Gillis. Vol. 59. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. 89-99. Free Library of Philadelphia. Gale. Literature Criticism Online. 5 May 2014
Poe avoids telling us what specific “injuries” that Montresor has experienced and how it has affected him. Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato because of an "insult," not "injuries." Poe 's does not give any information about the insults that was made to cause Montresor to murder Fortunato. In an annotation to "The Cask of Amontillado," Stephen Peithman writes, "If there is any doubt that Montresor is mad, consider how he echoes Fortunato scream for scream, shrieking even louder than his victim" (174).Also, Edward Hutchins Davidson writes, We never know what has made him hate Fortunato nor are we aware that he has ever laid out any plan to effect his revenge.... There
The story is narrated by Montresor and is told from his point of view. Such an occurrence is not new, but considering it is a tale of vengeance one must question the reliability of the narrator. From the tales beginning to end the audience discovers that the motivation behind the cold murder that takes place in the crypt is rather ambiguous. Montresor in the beginning claims, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, 108). Yet for such a bold statement Montresor does very little to illustrate the thousand injuries in question, nor the insult that serves as a tipping point. Everything the audience knows about Fortunato and his alleged actions comes from the mouth of Montresor, and there is no one else to verify these statements as true. “The Cask of Amontillado” is told by a biased narrator, and thus there should be skepticism revolving around the nobility of the crime committed. The story contains shocking elements of horror in Fortunato being buried in alive, but the true horror stems from the fact that it is unclear why he was punished at all. Justice is the ally of the righteous but the line between justice and raw vengeance is thin, this is made evident by the bias presented by
211-25. Rpt in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jenny Cromie. Vol 39 Farmington Hills: Gale, 2000. 181-185
To start, a very intense part in The Cask of Amontillado is when Montresor leads Fortunato deeper and deeper into the underground. We might ask ourselves, why would Fortunato follow him down there anyway? In the back of Fortunato’s mind, the best wine is kept below ground, so it almost makes sense to him. Yet, the readers see that something else might be going on. As they continue their journey, we recognize skulls and dead remains lying all around. Yet, it still does not affect Fortunato. We feel for him because as they go farther and farther, we are questioning what is actually going on, while Fortunato on the other hand has no clue and is completely oblivious to what he is getting himself into. In the Cask of Amontillado it reads, “I drink, to the buried that repose around us.” “And I to your long life.” The irony in those two lines that were shared was incredible. Montresor...