The Cask of Amontillado
Revenge has been a favourite topic of authors in all genres, including short stories, poems, and movies. Many have tried, but few have ever come near the excellence at which Edgar Allen Poe attained in his short story "The Cask of Amontillado". Poe's story revolves around Montressor, a man who feels he was slighted by Fortunato and therefore vows revenge on him. Poe tells a tale of successful and remorseless revenge. Montressor, the story's narrator and one of its main characters, begins the story by informing us of the terms for his revenge on Fortunato. In order for it to be a success it must be taken at length, he must not get caught, and Fortunato must know what is happening. It is made clear that all three of these elements must be present in order for Montressor to deem it a success. The first condition that must be met is that the revenge must take place at length. Early on we see that Fortunato has difficulty walking through the catacombs because of the nitre which causes him to cough uncontrollably. Although Montressor advises him to go back, we know that he really wants Fortunato to continue on and
The end of the story provides us with some interesting information; it states, "For the last half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. Up until that point he believes that Montressor is playing a joke on him. This evidence clearly supports the notion that he did achieve his second condition. It is obvious that this process took a long time because they first met at dusk and Montressor only finished at midnight so it appears that the first condition was met rather easily. It becomes apparent to him that Montressor is serious about his actions when he says, "Yes, for the love of God. He devises an elaborate plan to kill Fortunato and he follows through with it successfully all the while feeling no remorse. After a very lengthy walk Fortunato reaches a dead end and that is where Montressor chains him up. The opening line of the story reads, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best as I could. When they first meet in the story, Fortunato happily greets Montressor and the two shake hands as if they were friends. Some see this as his way of covering up his feelings of regret, but most look to the final line for a definitive answer. The long walk and the nitre were painful enough, but having to be buried alive behind the wall that Montressor erected would have been even more excruciating. The third and final condition of his revenge was that Fortunato must be aware of what is happening to him and who is doing it.
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