The Cask of Amontillado
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The Cask of Amontillado was written by the famous writer, Edgar Allen Poe. Poe heard a story
like this when he was in the Army Cadets, but wasn't allowed to speak about it. He changed the details
and this the story that we have now. Revenge is the theme of the story. If it wasn't for revenge, the
story would have been totally different. For a few insults here and there, a man was killed. The man
suffered a terrible death, being walled up in a catacomb, only to realize his imminent death once his
doom was sealed.
The Cask of Amontillado starts out with the narrator, Montressor, talking about how Fortunato
has hurt him,“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could;”. When Forunato has
insulted him, he vows revenge to uphold his family motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit.” (No one assails
me with impunity.) He comes to Fortunato at a carnival. Montressor ask Fortunato if he would like
some Amontillado wine. Fortunato was a great lover of wine, so he readily agreed. He came with
Montressor to his house, which was empty, due to carnival time. Montressor lead Fortunato to the
catacombs where the wine was. Fortunato is getting a cough, and Montressor gives him a drink to ward
off the cough. They keep going deeper and deeper, and Fortunato's cough keeps getting worse and
worse. Montressor suggests many times to go back, but Fortunato keeps on going. Fortunato makes fun
of Montressor on the way, saying that he isn't a mason. Montressor tells him that the Amontillado is in
a space about four feet deep and four feet tall. Fortunato walks in and Montressor chains him
immediately to the wall inside there. Fortunato is half-drunk-half-sick so he doesn't resist. Montressor
grabs a trowel and some mortar and bricks and begins walling him in. At the fourth level, Fortunato
realizes what is happening and starts screaming. Montressor realizes that no one can hear him, so he
screams back. Fortunato stops and Montressor keeps on putting more layers of bricks. At the last layer,
Fortunato ask for mercy, and Montressor just mocks him. He finishes and walks away a murderer.
The Cask of Amontillado has a lot of irony in it. Forunato is wearing the costume of a carnival
fool, and he is going to be made a fool. Fortunato also loved wine, and wine, more like the love of wine,
brought him to his grave. Montressor smiles when he sees Fortunato when he is thinking about killing
Fortunato. Montressor walks with Fortunato to his house with a cloak on, to keep out the cold and more
importantly, to let no one see him with Fortunato. The servants are out of the house, not just because of
the carnival, but to make sure that no one sees what he is doing. Fortunato is getting sicker and sicker
and Montressor keeps asking to go back, when he really wants him to keep going. Fortunato says that
Montressor isn't a mason when Fortunato is going to be walled up. Fortunato makes fun of
Montressor’s family's motto. That motto is the reason Fortunato is being killed.
Revenge is the theme of the whole story. Montressor is having revenge on Fortunato for an
insult. Montressor exaggerates all that Fortunato has done to him saying, “ The thousand injuries of
Fortunato I had borne as I best could.” When Fortunato insults him, Montressor takes it too far. He
doesn't want to just get even with him, he wants to punish him. He wants to make Fortunato sorry that
he ever hurt Montressor's feelings. Montressor thinks that the only way is for Fortunato to die a painful,
agonizing death. If Montressor thought about what he was going to do and realized how evil and sinful
it was, he might not have killed him. All Montressor thought about was how to uphold his motto and
more importantly, get revenge. He planned it perfect, making sure that no one knew that he murdered
Fortunato. He let his servants go the carnival, making sure that no one was home. He wore a cloak,
hiding his face. He buried Fortunato alive so deep that no one would hear his screaming. He had
planned such a dreadful and awful thing so perfectly – which means he was smart and very talented.
But could a smart and talented person do such a thing in their right mind?
The Cask of Amontillado is a well written story of such a terrible thing. Poe wrote it to make
you judge Montressor for such a terrible thing. Montressor killed a innocent man for an insult. He got
away with it, too. He is to be judged for such a terrible act. Driven by his madness and revenge, he
killed Fortunato with a very agonizing death. Poe wanted people to realize how bad murder is. The
Cask of Amontillado is well written for showing how bad murder is.