The Cask Of Amontillado Essay
Edgar Allan Poe tells a story of cold, calculated revenge upon the character Fortunato for some insult that is unknown to the reader. He seeks revenge in the name of the Montresor family in accordance with their motto displayed on their coat of arms: "Nemo me impune lacessit."("No one harms me unpunished.") The central idea is that Montresor, the protagonist, wishes for Fortunato to suffer. He will derive much pleasure from watching him suffer as he dies and tries, in vain, to escape his tomb. He wishes for Fortunato to die slowly so that he suffers and realizes that his lust for the Amontillado wine has led him down into the catacombs and to his death. It can be said that since the central idea is somewhat vague, that Poe's intentions were to create a piece built upon horror.
The central character in the story is Montresor. Montresor has suffered insult or injury of some type at the hands of Fortunato, the antagonist. Montresor is seeking revenge against Fortunato and cleverly tricks him into following into the catacombs of his families dwelling where he intends to exact this revenge. It can be said of Montresor that he is a vengeful man with premeditated murder on his mind when he says of Montresor that he continued "to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation." When he meets Fortunato at the carnival, he is very happy to see him. It would seem that his happiness can be attributed to the fact that he realizes the time of his revenge is at hand. The character of Fortunato, who is very intoxicated, is introduced as wearing a costume of a jester. This is very appropriate to the situation since Montresor is intending to make a fool of him by playing upon his greatest desire, the love of wine, to lead him to his own death.
The conflict stems from the fact that Montresor or his family has been the victim of some insult at the hands of Fortunato or his family. The gravity of the situation is somewhat exaggerated by the narrator in the opening line of the story when Montresor states: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge....At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely...