Poe's Cask of Amontillado

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A 5 page research paper/essay that presents an argument concerning the correct interpretation of Poe's famous short story. The scholarly interpretations that have been penned regarding Edgar Allan Poe's famous and enigmatic short story "A Cask of Amontillado" are numerous. Some critics focus on the irrationality of Montresor's behavior, while others, such as John Gruesser, argue that Montresor suffered from a guilty conscience when he made his confession and that "Fortunato literally and figuratively gets the last laugh in the tale because he knows that lies ahead for Montresor and himself in the next world" (Gruesser 129). Rather than take this position regarding the meaning of the story, it seems truer to the tone of the narrative, as well as Poe's careful characterization of Montresor, to argue that Montresor saw himself as being the hand of God in the enactment of his revenge, but that, having accomplished this purpose, he allowed himself in retrospect to feel pity for his victim. This point is substantiated by Poe's remarks on how to write a short story; the use of Latin in the story and Poe's characterization of both Montresor and Fortunato. Bibliography lists 4 sources.