The Cask Of Amontillado By Edgar Allan Poe

The Cask Of Amontillado is a short story that tells of a man named Montresor, who harbors a deep-seated hatred for a man named Fortunato. Montresor thinks of Fortunato as an enemy for a perceived slight towards him. Throughout the story, the characters and symbolism create a deep and dark atmosphere that emphasizes the story's greater themes of pride, deception, and ultimately, revenge. The story opens with Montresor luring Fortunato into the catacombs beneath his family's palazzo with the promise of allowing Fortunato to sample a rare wine named Amontillado. When they reach the catacomb's depths, Montresor chains
Fortunato to a wall and seals him with Fortunato still alive.
The story's first central character is of course that of Montresor,

His only motivation for his later actions are driven by the presumed insult that Fortunato has caused him, and while the true reason is not explicitly stated, Montresor has obviously had his pride damaged in some way. Because of this, he decides that he must reestablish his honor by enacting retribution upon Fortunato. Montresor also shows extreme patience when carrying out his actions. He bides his time, and awaited the perfect moment to enact his vengeance. He is strikingly calm, despite orchestrating the death of another. In addition, he voices his anger at
Fortunado's apparent flippancy and lack of remorse towards his previous actions. This is a great irony, as it is revealed that Montresor was reciting this story 50 years after the event itself, and feels absolutelv no remorse.
Conversely, Fortunato is shown to be almost the exact opposite of Montresor. He is depicted to be gullible and quite vain; a wine connoisseur who is very prideful of his knowledge of fine wine. Montresor exploits this vanity as a means to manipulate him, luring Fortunato to

The story being set in the catacombs emphasizes the atmosphere of foreboding and despair. The catacombs themselves are already a place of death and decay;
Montresor's revenge is already finalized the moment that Fortunato was naive enough to step inside. The catacombs show the finality of the revenge, and perhaps even some of Montresor's own foresight. The labyrinthine nature of the catacombs, with winding passages and hidden recesses creates anxiety and a sense of claustrophobia. It can also symbolize Montresor's descent into madness and vengeance, as he becomes consumed by his perceived redress.
The cask itself is one of the most important symbols. It shows the difference between the characters and their motivations: Montresor, using the promise of the cask to manipulate
Fortunato into following him to his death, and Fortunato himself, who is obsessed with his own desire to taste the rare wine that he doesn't see the danger coiling around him until it is much too late. The Cask of Amontillado is a story of pride, revenge and madness. Montresor and
Forunato are two characters who represent different aspects of human nature, and both end