the cask of amontillado summary and analysis

To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchesi as a connoisseur of wine. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchesi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato’s. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the main object of his revenge and even praises his “friend’s” knowledge in the subject of wines. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless, he makes a point of him looking “remarkably well”. The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples of ironic elements. Such figure foreshadows the events taking place later that night in the damp catacombs. At this point one can mention the presence of symbols: the black mask and outfit might be a representation of Death or the devil. On the other hand, Montresor is dressed in a black-coloured cloak and has his face covered with a black mask. His costume suggests that he will be the one playing the fool. We learn from the narrator that when he first meets Fortunato the latter has apparently been drinking and is dressed in many colours, resembling a jester. The atmosphere changes drastically when the two protagonists leave the gaiety of carnival for the gloomy and desolate catacombs beneath Montresor’s palazzo. However, in the tale, it is a time for revenge and death. Carnival is supposed to be a time of celebration and happiness for everybody.

It is during Venice’s Carnival that the characters meet.

The setting in which the story takes place again shows an ironic element. The very name Fortunato would clearly imply that this is a man of good fortune when the actual case is that he is about to suffer a mostly untimely demise: the end of his life. The sustained irony is detected through style, tone and the clear use of exaggeration of Montresor, the narrator.įrom the very beginning, we notice the apparition of irony in the story. The use of such a device in the story provides it with humour and wit and makes the piece more sophisticated. The irony is a manner of expression through which words or events convey a reality different from and even opposite to appearance or expectation. The plot involves two men: Montresor, the narrator, who is an Italian aristocrat seeking revenge against the second main character: Fortunato, a proud man that boasts about his connoisseurship of wines and who finally walks to his own death. The Cask of Amontillado is a horror short story, which revolves around the themes of revenge and pride.

The cask of amontillado summary and analysis