An Analysis of "The Cask of Amontillado
             In "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a trip into the mind of a mad
             man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance
             is being taken when no real offense had been given. Even though this is a short story, Poe creates
             a nightmare, almost guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night.
             The plot of the story is simple. Montresor takes revenge on his friend Fortunato by luring
             him into the tunnels under the family estate. There he leads Fortunato into the depths of the
             catacombs where he buries him alive by walling him into a recess in the wall. The story is told in
             first person from the point of view of Montresor himself. The exposition of the story occurs
             when Montresor tells us that he wants to take revenge on Fortunato because "he ventured upon
             insult"(191). We also learn that he intends to go unpunished for this act of vengeance. The
             narrator informs us that he is going to continue to smile in Fortunato's face, but use the pride his
             victim has in wine to lure him into the catacombs to taste some of his non- existent amontillado.
             At this point, the reader knows the conflict will be one of man versus man. It is an external
             struggle because Fortunato and Montresor are in a life and death fight. However, the conflict is
             largely internal, because Montresor has a fierce hatred that Fortunato is unaware of. The
             narrative hook seems to occur when Fortunato follows Montresor into the vault. Even if the
             reader was confused by the language of the first paragraph or is puzzled by the motive of the
             narrator, he/she is curious to know what will happen next. Knowing that revenge is at hand the
             reader wonders what it will be. Why is he taking him underground?
             The climax of the story is when Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall and begins to
             ...