The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is an excellent story to represent conflict. The narrator of the story expresses from the very beginning that he is in conflict over the insults and injuries that Fortunato has launched against him. It is at the beginning of the story that we learn that the narrator has a plan to avenge himself.
             The story has two areas of conflict. The first is the actual conflict between the two men. It is clear that the storyteller feels hatred for Fortunato and that there have been many previously felt wrongs. Montresor wants to punish Fortunato and be rid of him.
             The story's two conflicts are played out very well within the story. The conflict between the two men is felt very strongly by the narrator. Fortunato does not fear his murderer but he has, obviously, in the past been cruel to the storyteller. It is this conflict between the men that triggers the act of revenge. It seems odd to me that Fortunato would agree to go with the storyteller if he has not been a real friend to him in the past. It seems that the temptation of the cask of wine is too great for Fortunato and his senses are further dulled by all of the wine the storyteller pours for him on their way into the crypt.
             The other conflict is within Montresor himself. He deliberately gets Fortunato drunk and lures him into the crypt. He chains his victim to the wall when he is too drunk to realize it. But more importantly, he knows that when he finishes walling up the crypt, that the murder will be committed. At the very end of the story the storyteller says that his heart "grew sick."
             Although he claims that the dampness of the catacombs is the cause of this "sickness" I think that he is conflicted over the fact that Fortunato is silent in his burial place and that Montresor does feel guilt over what he is doing. Before he puts the final stone in its place he tries to make sure that Fortunato is st...