FREE ESSAY ON THE CASK OF AMONTILADO

THE CASK OF AMONTILADO

Katie Zhang
November 27, 2000
Period 3
The Cask of Amontillado
??The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured
upon insult, I vowed revenge.?? So begins The Cask of Amontillado, Poe??s horrifying tale
of pride and retribution. Told by Monstresor, this story tells of how he lured his friend
Fortunato into literally walking into his own grave. From the opening sentence the reader
can perceive that Monstresor is proud and vengeful, and would do anything to save face.
As the story progresses, Monstresor unravels the chilling tale of how he got his revenge,
though vengence had been taken when no real offense had been given.
In the midst of a great carnival Monstresor approaches Fortunato, claiming he has
purchased a cask of Amontillado. He goes on to say that he doubted the authenticity of
the wine, and was on his way to Luchresi??s to ask him to taste it. ??[Fortunato] prided
himself on his connoisseurship of wine.?? This pride eventually leads to his downfall,
for he criticized Luchresi??s, saying he ??cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.?? Thus
Fortunato accompanies Monstresor to the latter??s family vault, where the nonexistent
Amontillado was being stored.
The vault, deep underneath the Monstresor estate, is ??insufferably damp?? and
??encrusted with nitre.?? The way Poe describes these catacombs further accentuates the
morbidness of the situation. ??We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed
on, and descending again, arriving at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air
caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.?? The ominous tone of this story is
characteristic of the gothic style of writing.
Poe uses a good deal of symbolism in this story. For example, the Monstresor family coat
of arms is ??a huge human foot d??or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent
rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.?? The arms symbolize Monstresor and
Fortunato, with the former being the foot, and the latter being the serpent. Though
Fortunato has hurt Monstresor in the past, Monstresor will ultimately crush Fortunato.
Foreshadowing also plays an important role in this story. The Monstresor family motto is
??Nemo me impune lacessit,?? which stands for ??No one attacks me with impunity.?? Both
the motto and the coat of arms suggest retribution. When Monstresor inquires of
Fortunato??s cough, which is made worse by the nitre in the catacomb walls, Fortunato
simply replies, ???- ??The cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die
of a cough.?? ?? To which Monstresor agrees, knowing his friend will in fact die from
dehydration in the crypt. As Monstresor offers Fortunato a draught of Medoc, he drinks to
Fortunato??s long life, which is ironic, considering the latter will soon die at the
hands of his ??friend??. ??Another instance of foreshadowing comes with the trowel scene.
Fortunato asks whether Monstresor is a member of the Masonic order, but Monstresor
replies with a visual pun. When he declares that he is a ??mason,?? he means that he is a
stone mason -- that is, that he will be building things out of stones and mortar: namely
Fortunato??s grave,?? (Sparknotes.com).
The menacing atmosphere is just one element of the gothic style. The sinister catacombs
and the wicked Monstresor also play a key role in developing this tale of horror. What
makes this story even more horrifying is that there is no real violence in the modern
definition of the word. Monstresor was vengeful, yet he was very intelligent in his
actions to kill Fortunato. Without a doubt, this tale of retribution is one of Poe??s
best works.