The Cask of Amontillado

by Edgar Allan Poe

Summary:
The narrator begins by telling us that Fortunato has hurt him. Even worse, Fortunato has
insulted him. The narrator must get revenge. He meets Fortunato, who is all dressed up in jester
clothes for a carnival celebration and is already very drunk. The narrator mentions hes found
a barrel of a rare brandy called Amontillado. Fortunato expresses eager interest in verifying the
wines authenticity. So he and the narrator go to the underground graveyard, or catacomb, of
the Montresor family. Apparently, thats where the narrator keeps his wine. The narrator leads
Fortunato deeper and deeper into the catacomb, getting him drunker and drunker along the
way. Fortunato keeps coughing, and the narrator constantly suggests that Fortunato is too sick
to be down among the damp crypts, and should go back. Fortunato just keeps talking about the
Amontillado. Eventually, Fortunato walks into a man-sized hole thats part of the wall of a really
nasty crypt. The narrator chains Fortunato to the wall, then begins to close Fortunato in the hole
by filling in the opening with bricks. When he has one brick left, he psychologically tortures
Fortunato until he begs for mercy and we finally learn the narrators name: Fortunato calls him
Montresor. After Fortunato cries out Montresors name, he doesnt have any more lines. But
just before Montresor puts in the last brick, Fortunato jingles his bells. Then Montresor finishes
the job and leaves him there to die. At the very end, Montresor tells us that the whole affair
happened fifty years ago, and nobody has found out.

Setting:
An underground catacomb, somewhere in Italy, during the carnival season
Tone:
Creepy, Elegant, and Funny

Themes:
1. Betrayal - drives the action in The Cask of Amontillado." One characters betrayal
sets off a hideous chain of retribution, enacted below ground in a mass grave.
Behind all this revenge and death, the story is about trust. Without trust there can be
no betrayal. The story has much to do with the lengths human being will go to feel
better when they feel betrayed and the tragedy that comes when those lengths hit
murderous extremes.
2. Drugs and Alcohol - The only literal drug we see in The Cask of Amontillado is
wine. But there are many other drugs circulating between the lines. Drugs, in this
story, can be anything the characters want badly enough to do awful or foolish things
for. The storys author, Edgar Allan Poe, struggled with drugs and alcohol. His
struggle is carefully woven into this complicated narrative, which can be read as a
gruesome allegory for addiction.
3. Foolishness and folly - In The Cask of Amontillado foolishness and folly can cost
you your life. The story amplifies human foolishness and folly to extremes so
hideous and cruel they become vices. The Cask only has two characters. By the
end of the story, their combined silliness culminates in tragedy and pain for them
both. The tragedy is what makes us think more profoundly about their foolish ways
in the hopes that we can avoid ending up, even in some metaphorical way, like
them.

Characters:
Fortunato - is addicted to wine. Hes already really drunk when he meets Montresor,
and he thinks the Amontillado can help him take it to the next level. Right up until the
end, he thinks of Amontillado, and only Amontillado. Plus, he lets Montresor get him get
even more drunk down in the catacomb. His addiction leaves him vulnerable to
Montresors attack.
Montresor - As the narrator, hes telling the story fifty years after it happened. This
raises a whole host of complicated questions. Hes the guy you dont want to meet in an

underground graveyard, or anywhere else. Hes a cold and ruthless killer. He not only
enjoys killing, but also thinks its necessary.
Luchesi- Luchesi is Fortunatos rival in wine tasting. Montresor doesnt really need to
bring up Luchesi to lure Fortunato to his dire fate. The prospect of Amontillado is
enough. Luchesi is a kind of insurance for Montresor. He brings Luchesi up whenever
he wants to keep Fortunato distracted like right before he fetter[s] him to the granite.
But again, Montresor doesnt really need to evoke the name of Luchesi. Fortunato is not
only drunk, but also willing to do anything to get to the Amontillado.

Setting:
An underground catacomb, somewhere in Italy, during the carnival season
Tone:
Creepy, Elegant, and Funny
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory:
The Coat of Arms; Everything takes on symbolic meaning in The Cask. Every detail seems

to stand for something else, or to be flashing an encoded, and no doubt gruesome,

message that we are compelled to decipher. The Montresor family coat of arms really
stands out, though, for several reasons.