Discussion and Review Questions
“The Cask of Amontillado”
By Edgar Allen Poe
1. What did Fortunato do to make an enemy of Montresor?
2. According to Montresor, what is needed for it to be a perfect revenge?
3. Why is it that Fortunato doesn’t know that Montresor is out for revenge?
4. What is Fortunato’s “weak point”?
5. What single interest do Fortunato and Montresor have in common?
6. When they meet at the carnival, why is Fortunato so happy to see Montresor?
7. How does Montresor manipulate Fortunato into coming to his house?
8. What role does Luchesi play in the manipulation?
9. Why are there no servants at the Montresor palazzo?
10. Where does Montresor immediately take Fortunato when they arrive at his home?
11. What does niter indicate about the conditions in the catacombs?
12. What does Montresor offer Fortunato to protect him from the cold and damp in the catacombs?
13. What is the Montresor family motto?
14. What does the grotesque gesticulation tell us about Fortunato?
15. What does Montresor produce from him cloak to prove that he is a mason?
16. What keeps Fortunato from simply leaving the small chamber at the end of the catacombs?
17. What has Fortunato hidden under the pile of bones?
18. What is Montresor’s first indication that Fortunato is sobering up?
19. What does Montresor do when Fortunato begins yelling?
20. How long does Fortunato remain in the Montresor catacombs?