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The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado
Overview
Themes
Numbering
Montresor, the story's delightfully macabre narrator, plots to exact revenge against his friend Fortunato, who has wronged him. Exploiting Fortunato's fondness for Italian wine, Montresor lures the man—dressed in a Jester's costume for Carnival—into a dark, damp crypt by asking him to taste a rare wine: Amontillado. Drunk and sick with a cold, Fortunato never returns.
Revenge
Montresor embraces his family motto, "No one provokes me with impunity," by seeking revenge—with no remorse.
Folly of Pride
Fortunato's interest in proving himself as a wine connoisseur gets him killed.
Paradox
Montresor reacts to a slight with murder, while Fortunato—unaware of his fate—pretends a dire situation is a game.
1844
Year Poe read "A Man Built in a Wall," a story about workers who found a skeleton behind a IIIchurch wall in Italy—likely inspiring "The Cask of Amontillado"
50
Years after Fortunato's death Montresor relates "The Cask of Amontillado"
1
Story Poe wrote about tuberculosis after his wife was diagnosed with it: "The Masque of the Red Death"
2
Significant wine names offered to Fortunato: Medoc, believed to protect health, and De Grave, which means "of the grave"
Author
EDGAR ALLAN POE 1809-49
A master of psychological horror, Poe wrote short stories and poems revered—and feared—by millions of readers for nearly two centuries. Much of his work, like "The Cask of Amontillado" and his famous poem "The Raven," uses dark themes that toy with both the characters' and the readers' emotions.
109
author vip Community Helper
The Cask of Amontillado mind map is horror based short story. Edgar Allan Poe's short fiction The Cask of Amontillado was first published in November 1846. It takes place during the carnival in an unknown Italian city and relates the narrative of Montresor, who wants vengeance on Fortunato, a fellow nobleman who has insulted him multiple times. The Cask of Amontillado is a story of revenge, deception, and murder, in which Montresor traps an inebriated Fortunato in an ancient catacomb.

In the components of his characters and environment, Poe's work makes excellent use of sarcasm. Fortunato has harmed him a thousand times, but it is his insult that has prompted him to swear vengeance. He continues to tell us that he has not informed Fortunato of his intention to murder him, and that he intends to utilize Fortunato's expertise of wine to lure him to his death. Scholars have noted that Montresor's reasons for revenge are unclear and that he may simply be insane.

However, Poe also leaves clues that Montresor has lost his family's prior status and blames Fortunato. Further, Fortunato is depicted as an expert on wine, which Montresor exploits in his plot, but he does not display the type of respect towards alcohol expected of such experts. The story has been frequently adapted.
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