Comments on The Cask of Amontillado

ENG 113

Instructor Risch

Donna Stevens

Comments on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe

February 8, 2011

My first impression of the reading is that this man just committed premeditated murder and he is rather satisfied with himself. The protagonist in the story is Montressor. He is bent on revenge. His family motto is that basically no one crosses him without dire consequences. In the exposition, the reason for Montressor’s revenge is not stated. The action rises as Montressor lures Fortunato deeper into his ultimate grave. The theme of the story is that of revenge although the reader is not informed of what Fortunato did to Montressor only that Montressor believed that Fortunato deserved to die. The setting is a dark moldy wine cellar/tomb in the late night at the time of carnival. The irony is that Fortunato is not fortunate at all and the joke is on him, as he is dressed as a joker.

The first person point of view is particularly effective for this story because it is a premeditated murder. First person point of view allows the reader inside the mind of the murderer only. The story has more impact if told from the mind of the murderer because the reader does not get to know Fortunato at all and cannot form an opinion as to whether Fortunato deserved to die or not. In reality, it really does not matter if Fortunato deserved to die or not because Montressor believed that he did and intended on killing him. Montressor’s point of view led the reader to visualize him asking Fortunato if he wanted to turn back several times before he finally sealed his fate and Fortunato refused due to his pride as a wine connoisseur. Because of the first person point of view, it seems that Fortunato deserved to die just a little because he was so arrogant. The first person point of view also isolated the motive from any sympathy toward the victim.

Poe does not tell us the nature of the insult or describe any of the “thousand injuries” that the narrator suffered for two reasons. The first reason is that what one reader may imagine as a motive for murder may be very different from what another may imagine. If he started off explaining the motive, then the reader may form an instant opinion against Montressor. The second reason is that it really does not matter what the motive is. The only thing that mattered in the end was that Montressor believed that Fortunato deserved to die. It was his family’s motto that no one crosses me without dire consequences and he just simply lived that out.

An example of reverse psychology that is seen in the story is when Montressor talks with Fortunato on the street initially and says that he wishes he had asked Fortunato his opinion of this wine before he bought it, but then remarks that he just as well could have asked Luchesi. He builds Luchesi up as according to popular opinion, better than Fortunato at wine tasting. This is an affront to Fortunato’s pride and he then takes the bait. Montressor further manipulates Fortunato as he leads him into the cellar. He asks Fortunato if he wants to turn back because of the mold and Fortunato’s cough. Fortunato proudly marches on because he wants to prove himself to be the best wine taster. It is Fortunato’s arrogance that Montressor uses to lure Fortunato into this tomb.

Montressor is the kind of person who holds grudges and kills people because he thinks they have wronged him. He says it is his family’s motto to do away with anyone who would cross him. He is the kind of person who would have no problem committing cold blooded murder and sleeping very well, feeling a sense of accomplishment the night after the murder. His values are that the can bring down a person who has a higher stature in life such as Fortunato. He values his sense of power over another human being rather than life and forgiveness.

There are many examples of verbal irony in this story. First, the irony of Fortunato’s name. He is not fortunate after all. Secondly, Fortunato’s weakness that Montressor exploits is also his strength as seen by the others in his town. Fortunato was a strong wine connoisseur and this pride was the reigns that Montressor pulled on to lead Fortunato to his death. It is also ironic that Fortunato was so friendly to Montressor on the street when he first met up with him because that just made Montressor mad. Also, it was terribly ironic that Fortunato was dressed in a jester’s costume when the joke would ultimately be on him. Also, as he led Fortunato deeper into the cellar, Fortunato’s bells continued to jingle. Jingling is usually happy, but in this case his bells seemed to mock him since the joke was on him. Fortunato said that he would not die of his cough. This is also ironic and true. He would not die of a cough. When Fortunato seemed put off that Montressor was not a mason, he was taken aback by the trowel that Montressor showed. This trowel had a purpose that Fortunato did not see coming. He wanted to see a sign that Montressor was a mason, and he indeed saw the trowel.

The significance of the names of the two major characters are that Fortunato was not fortunate and Montressor’s family motto is that basically no one attacks me without getting punished. The significance of the costumes they wear is that Fortunato is the fool and he wears a joker’s costume. Montressor is the murder and he wears a black silk cloak. The significance of Montressor’s family motto is that he will punish anyone who crosses him and this is a family tradition. The coat of arms of his family is a gold foot that crushes a snake whose fangs are stuck in the gold heel. This means that Montressor felt that Fortunato was a snake that deserved to die. The significance of the carnival is that Fortunato thought Montressor was happy to see him because of the festive atmosphere of the carnival when actually Montressor was happy to see him because he had planned to kill him.

The cask of amontillado is a keg of wine like a dry sherry. It is very significant to the plot because Poe uses that lure of the amontillado to cause the action to rise in the beginning of the story. The complications in the plot are that Fortunado is conflicted because the chamber is moldy and he has a cough so he is questioned by Montressor if he really wants to pursue this cask. Fortunato because of his great pride as a wine taster presses on toward the cask. The climax of the plot is when Fortunato finally makes it to the wine he loves so much but is left to die with it. The falling action is when Montressor looks in and sees Fortunato nearly sealed up with this cask that he begged to taste.

I think that Montressor’s crime will not be discovered because too many years have passed between the murder and the writing of the story. Montressor is telling us this story because he is trying to justify the murder that he committed nearly fifty years ago. He just cannot seem to come up with enough reasons to justify murder in that moment except for-well it was my family’s tradition that no one can cross us without dying and this guy was arrogant enough to ask for it.