Literary Analysis of The Cask of Amontillado

Introduction

This short narrative by Edgar Allan Poe provides an instance of premeditated murder. It illustrates the evil side of human nature through the role of Montresor. It is clear for the reader to ascertain that Montresor is a vengeful and devious character who is determined to make Fortunato, his victim, suffer. This is seen through his words, actions, and the way he thinks about his victim on how he will execute his plan of carrying out an act of revenge. In that, he decoys Fortunato into the crypts of his home to fulfill his intention of killing him.

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The Cask of Amontillado: Plot Analysis

The plot of the narrative is not complicated. After Fortunato is tricked into the deep tunnels of the family estate, Montresor takes revenge on his friend and buries him alive by walling him inside the tomb. The story presents a horrible event since the vengeance is being executed even when there is no real crime depicted in the story. Thus, the exposition of Montresor's actions illustrates the other dark side of human nature through his manipulative and vengeful character. Montresor is aware that he can appeal to Fortunato's ego. He believes that one of the major flaws of his victim is pride thus he plans to take advantage of that egotism to trap him. Montresor tells his victim that he has been offered a Cask of Amontillado, but he doubts if it is a genuine one. Therefore, he decides to go and look for Luchresi who is a connoisseur of wine, Fortunato tells him that he will come and taste if the wine is original or fake. He thinks highly of himself by admitting that he is more discerning than both Luchesi and Montresor. When he gets intoxicated, it becomes easier for Montresor to carry out his revenge by constructing the brick wall around him.

On the other hand, Fortunato holds that everyone is on good terms with him in spite of his cruelty to Montresor. Even though Montresor claims he was insulted by his victim, there were insults discussed in the story. Fortunato is believed to be a helpful friend towards Montresor which is not true since he ends up being killed by the person he views as a friend. The victim thinks everyone likes him and that is why he accepted and insisted on following Montresor into the catacombs without thinking if he had evil thoughts of killing him there. He is confident and feels safe thinking that no one will hurt him.

Subsequently, Fortunato fails to realize that he is being trapped since he is determined to impress Montresor. He focuses on impressing Montresor by proving that he is smarter than Luchesi who is presented as the local wine connoisseur. Along the way into the vaults, Fortunato is given a chance to go back since his health was deteriorating, but due to his terrible pride and the desire to impress Montresor, he insisted on going deeper into the vaults. He is convinced that his ability to judge fine wine will without a doubt impress Montresor who is pretending to be in doubt about his expertise.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Poe composed a story whereby one man tricks another deep into the catacombs and abandons him to die in chains. As illustrated in this work, Montresor uses good wine to lure Fortunato into a trap where he takes his revenge on him. Along the way to the vaults, Montresor does not discourage Fortunato from drinking since he knows excessive drinking will weaken his ability to figure out what was happening. Therefore, the acts and thoughts of Montresor provide the reader with a clear picture of how evil people can hence setting the mood for true evils which are practiced in society.