Mura 1
Nicolas Murati
Prof. Jochaniewicz
UCLR 100: 09L
September 14, 2014
Paper 1: Summary and Response
The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, is a short story that was published in the
November 1846 issue of “Godey’s Lady’s Book.” While it is never specifically stated many
details suggest that the story takes place somewhere in Italy during the 18th or 19th century. The
story narrated in first person by Montresor, begins with his own account of how he has been
irreparably wronged by his associate, Fortunato. He wants revenge, and he is not going to let
Fortunato’s actions go unpunished. However, he needs to execute his revenge without any risk of
getting caught. He had always been very respectful and kind to Fortunato which served to
conceal his evil-natured intentions towards him. Fortunato prides himself on his connoisseurship
in wine, which Montresor sees as a weakness and structures his revenge in lathe to it.
While he had been planning revenge for a long time, he gets his opportunity during a
night on a Carnival. He has a street encounter with Fortunato, who is drunk and dressed as a
jester, which guaranteed that no one would know about their run-in. Montresor tells him that he
has acquired a cask of wine, which he believes that might be Amontillado. He tends his trap to
Fortunato by using the pretext of consulting Luchesi, a competitor of his, whether the wine is
actually Amontillado or not. Fortunato discredits Luchesi’s wine knowledge and insists that if
Mura 2
anybody could confirm the veracity of the wine, it would be himself. He immediately suggests
that they should head to Montresor’s vaults and taste the wine.
They arrive at Montresor’s house, where all of his servants had been relieved for the
night as a part of his plan, which ensured the absence of all possible witnesses. Montresor takes
him into his family’s vaults, an ideal place to commit a crime, and whose moisture contributes to
undermining the health of Fortunato, who has the flu. These damp vaults are covered by nitre,
which apparently aggravates Fortunato’s health and he begins to cough. Montresor seizes this
opportunity and convinces him to drink wine as a remedy for his cough, which masks his real
intentions of intoxicating him in order to facilitate his task.
They continue deep into the vast catacomb to a niche where Montresor tells Fortunato
