the cask of amontillado summary and analysis

This move by Montressor shows how desperate he is to keep Fortunado interested in coming to the tombs.

This was almost like a slap in the face for Fortunado and made him want to come to the tombs even more. Montresor obviously knew that it irritated Fortunado when he spoke of having Luchesi come to authenticate the wine. There are at least three occasions that Montresor talks of finding Lushesi instead of Fortunado to try the wine to authenticate it. Montresor antagonizes Fortunado through the whole story with the allure of the Amontillado. This alone shows that Montresor is trying to get the unknown person whom he is speaking with to sympathize with him. He shows the reader he has plans for his revenge but never tells the reader exactly what Fortunado has done to deserve to be punished with impunity. Not only does Montresor plan to punish Fortunado but with impunity, which means without exemption. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” shows that Montressor knew completely well what he was about to do to his ‘friend’ and has not the slightest though of not doing it. Throughout the story Montressor talks of what he has done to Fortunado with little to no remorse in his voice. Although after reading the whole story it is quite clear that he does not regret what he has done to Fortunado. If it is assumed that it is a priest, it could be interpreted as a sign of remorse. How he has addressed the unknown person gives the idea that it might be a priest whom he is speaking to. “You, who so well know the nature of my soul…” is how Montresor addresses this person. The next sentence is Montresor talking to an unknown person, basically telling then that he is going to diverge the story to them. Just from the one sentence Montresor shows he has a bias for how the story happened and played out. Next he states that he “vowed revenge” on Fortunato. Even though Fortunato has supposedly insulted Montresor Montresor never goes on to state what exactly Fortuanto has done to him. In the first sentence of the first paragraph Montresor claims Fortunato has bestowed “thousand injuries” against him. The very first sentence it shows that this story is going to be told by Montresor (from a first person point of view). Throughout the story it is quite noticeable that Montresor is not trustworthy as a narrator, and that he has a mental instability. From the beginning it is clear that Montresor is an unreliable narrator. Since Montresor is the narrator this concludes the fact that he is telling the story from his point of view. Poe has written this particular story to be told in a first person point of view. The Cask of Amontillado – Montresor’s untrustworthiness and mental instability The cask of amontillado is a short story that Edgar Allen Poe wrote in 1846.

The cask of amontillado summary and analysis