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Respond to [email protected]
The Cask of Amontillado
Duny W, Mr. Dad
Writing
11 January 2017
Montresor had been wounded many times by Fortunato’s insults, but when Fortunato
insulted the Montresor family name, Montresor vowed to get retribution. Although Montresor
was planning on killing Fortunato, he seemed to have second thoughts a few times. Montresor
seemed to know what he was doing was wrong from the start. He showed genuine care for
Fortunato and his severe cold. Although Montresor was dead wrong to kill Fortunato, in the
end, it was Fortunato’s greedy love of wine that led to his unfortunate end.
Montresor was having second thoughts about his decision to kill Fortunato. A few
times, he gave Fortunato chances to leave. He kept reminding Fortunato that he would be
missed, and there was also Luchesi who could test the wine for him. Each time, Fortunato
refused to leave. Deep down, Montresor didn’t want to kill Fortunato, but Fortunato was either
too stupid, or too drunk to see the trap he was walking into. Probably a little bit of both. He
kept insisting he try the Amontillado.
A few times, Montresor referred to Fortunato as “my friend”. He tone and behavior was
very blithe, giving away nothing about his plan for Fortunato. It was hard to tell whether
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Montresor meant it, or whether it was just one of his many convincing acts. When he finished
building the wall around Fortunato, Montresor felt sick in his heart from “the dampness”.
Judging by what Montresor did to Fortunato at the end, I don’t think Fortunato was actually his
friend. The last thing someone would do to a friend is leave them for dead in a cellar.
Fortunato’s greedy love of wine was literally the death of him. He kept insisting that
they go deeper and deeper into the cellar to get to the Amontillado. He couldn’t resist the
allure of the Amontillado. Montresor kept giving him different wines to taste along the way.
This, Fortunato accepted without acquiesce. This caused Fortunato to get even drunker. His
drunkenness impaired his ability to reason and think clearly.
Fortunato walked into a trap that he easily could’ve gotten out of, if he hadn’t been
drunk. Fortunato also failed to notice the many human bones lying around. If he hadn’t been
drunk, the bones probably would’ve raised a warning flag in his head. He was in fact so drunk,
that he made a toast to the bones! Fortunato, “I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose
around us.”
Montresor showed genuine care about Fortunato’s overall health. Fortunato had a
severe cough but refused to leave when Montresor prompted him. He kept insisting that
Fortunato go home because he was a “wealthy man that would be missed”. Montresor’s
behavior to Fortunato suggests that if Fortunato had actually wanted to leave, Montresor
would’ve let him go. Montresor’s plan revolved around the fact that Fortunato was too eager
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to try the Amontillado, to actually leave his cellar.
Montresor’s whole plan was to “make a fool” of Fortunato, and in the end, to kill him.
Both of his plans succeeded. He made a fool of Fortunato on many occasions. First making a
toast to the bones, then getting tricked and shackled to the wall without a struggle. Fortunato
was too drunk to realize his fate, until it was too late.
Fortunato’s extreme drunkenness hurt him majorly. It impaired his thinking, his
awareness and his reasoning skills. Had he been sober, he would have been more inquiring,
instead of going along with whatever Montresor said or did. Most people know it’s not normal
for someone to have bones lying around their cellar or basement. If Fortunato had been sober,
he probably would’ve asked about the bones, and most likely wouldn’t have made a toast to
them.
Montresor gave Fortunato subtle hints about what he was going to do to him, but of
course Fortunato’s drunkenness resulted in him not noticing these hints. When Fortunato made
a toast the bones in the cellar, Montresor made an ironic toast of his own. Montresor, “And I
(drink) to your long life.” This is in fact very ironic for what Montresor is about to do to
Fortunato.
When Fortunato went deeper into the cellar, he found his path blocked by a wall (the
end of the cellar). He stared at the wall, “stupidly bewildered”. It was at this point that
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Montresor used Fortunato’s confusion to shackle him to the wall. Fortunato thought that
Montresor was playing a joke on him and suddenly became very garrulous, blabbering about
the Amontillado. Fortunato says, (To Montresor) “Ha! Ha! Ha… We will have many a rich laugh
about it at the palazzo…with our wine!” When Montresor started building the wall around him,
Fortunato kept insisting that it was getting late and that they should get on their way.
Fortunato says, “Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest?
Let us be gone.”
Montresor made quick work of building the wall around Fortunato. As he was starting
the second tier of the wall, Montresor heard a low moan from “the shackled figure”
(Fortunato). Montresor realized that Fortunato was sobering. Montresor thought, “I discovered
that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off.” When he finished with the
wall, Montresor heard the desperate cries from Fortunato. He called out to Fortunato. When he
heard no reply, Montresor’s heart “grew sick-from the cold”, of the damp cellar. He was
probably feeling compunction for what he had done to Fortunato.
Although Montresor had been wounded many times by Fortunato’s sharp insults and
comments, he shouldn’t have killed Fortunato. A few times it seemed like Montresor didn’t
want to kill Fortunato, and even gave him opportunities to leave. But Fortunato was too drunk
to realize his fate and overlooked the danger he was in. his greedy love of wine worked against
him, causing his sad end. He was so desperate to try the Amontillado that he ignored every sign
of danger. Montresor could’ve found a different way to get revenge without killing him.
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That being said, it was mostly Fortunato’s fault for being so drunk that he walked into a stupid
trap and managed to get himself killed. Fortunato is a misnomer, because he was not fortunate
at all. It is an ironic name for him, considering his unfortunate fate.
Works Cited
I.
“Literary and Research Reference, My Virtual Desk Reference-Books and Literature on
the net, http://www.school.discovery
education.com/homeworkhelp/english/webrecources.html”
“Edgar Allen Poe The Cask of Amontillado”
II.
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“www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask”