The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado:

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Montresor (owner of a vinery and nobleman) tells the story of the night that he took his revenge on Fortunato, a fellow nobleman (and another owner of a vinery). Angry over some unspecified insult, he plots to murder his friend during Carnival when the man is drunk, dizzy, and wearing a jester's motley.

He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained, out of season, what he believes to be a pipe of Amontillado (about 130 gallons), and a particularly rare and valuable sherry wine. He isn't sure, however, and wants his friend's expert opinion on the subject. Fortunato goes with Montresor to the wine cellars of the latter's palazzo, where they wander deep underground in the catacombs. Montresor gives Fortunato more to drink.

Montresor repeatedly warns Fortunato, who has a bad cough, of the damp, and suggests they go back; Fortunato insists on continuing, claiming that "he shall not die of a cough." During their walk, Montresor mentions his family coat of arms - a golden foot crushing a snake whose fangs are embedded in the foot's heel - with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit (No one strikes me with impunity). When they come to a niche (a dome), Montresor tells his victim that the Amontillado is within. Fortunato enters and, drunk and unsuspecting, does not resist as Montresor quickly chains him to the wall. Montresor then declares that, since Fortunato won't go back, he must "positively leave him."

Montresor then remorselessly walls up the niche, entombing his friend alive. At first, Fortunato, who recovers from his drunken state faster than Montresor anticipated he would, shakes the chains furiously, trying to escape. Fortunato then screams for help, but Montresor just listens to his cries, knowing nobody can hear them. Later, Fortunato laughs weakly and tries to pretend that he is the subject of a joke and that people will be waiting for him .As the murderer finishes the topmost row of stones, Fortunato wails despairingly "For the love of God, Montresor!" Montresor replies, apparently calmly, "Yes, for the love of God!" He listens for a reply but hears only the jester's bells ringing as he places the last stone. He claims that he feels sick at heart, but dismisses this reaction as an effect of the dampness of the catacombs.

In the last few sentences, Montresor reveals that it has been fifty years since the murder, he has never been caught, and Fortunato's body still hangs from its chains in the niche where he left it. The murderer, seemingly unrepentant, ends the story by remarking: In pace requiescat (may he rest in peace).

Foreshadowing:

When Fortunato said that he won’t die of a cough it was foreshadowing that he will die in the story. Also the cask (a grave or tomb) of Amontillado says that some one will die. The cough specifies it.

Symbols:

chains

The skulls

The bricks

The wine

setting:

The carnival

The catacombs

Themes:

Hate

Death

Drunkenness

Carelessness

Careful Planning

Despair

Insane