Edgar Allan Poe's "A Cask of Amontillado" is perhaps the most famous tale of terror ever written. Montresor, the story's narrator, leads the reader through his revenge on Fortunato. Montresor entices Fortunato into the dark recesses of the family catacombs with the promise of a very fine wine. At the climax of the story, Montresor shackles Fortunato to a wall and seals him away forever behind brick and mortar. "A Cask of Amontillado" expresses its dark view of human intention by using elements of irony and foreshadowing. The first person point of view also lends itself to an exploration of the inner secrets of Montresor. The major theme in the story is the deep hatred buried within the outwardly congenial Montresor. This makes it vital that the story be told with Montresor's thoughts known to the reader. Although I do not prefer horror stories, all these aspects have allowed consideration for "The Cask of Amontillado" to be one of the memorable and favorable stories for me.
This intriguing story written by Edgar Allan Poe gives verisimilitude to the murder of Fortunate by Montresor. From the very beginning of the story Poe starts to show the reader that there is an odd side of Montresor. "I must not only punish but punish with impunity" (Paragraph 1). This is when he starts to make out his plan of revenge. During this time, Montresor was careful not to let Fortunato onto his plan. .
Neither by word or by deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation" (Paragraph 2). .
Montresor is pictured as the diabolical narrator of this tale of horror, who pledges revenge upon Fortunate for an insult. When the two meet during the carnival season, there is a warm greeting with excessive shaking of hands which Montresor attributes to the fact that Fortunate had been drinking. (Paragraph 4) Montresor also appears to be "happy" to see Fortunate since he is planning to murder him.