The “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is a story of broken friendship and revenge in which the narrator, Montresor, seeks revenge upon the main character, Fortunato because of an insult. In the story Poe highlights the appropriation of revenge, character weakness, and misplaced trust.
A highlight in Poe’s story is appropriation of revenge. “It is equally undressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.” When the wrongdoer does not feel the equal pain or emotion as the person seeking revenge has, then the revenge seems useless. “A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite.” Montresor had chained up Fortunato and left him for dead as the revenge for insulting him or his family, which in that time in Italy that was a big deal. Aside from revenge the character has weaknesses that showed through.
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“He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine.” Fortunato was lured into Montresor’s catacombs by wine telling because he believed he would be able to tell what kind of wine and Montresor played off of that. Poe also describes, “He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much.” Again, Fortunato was let on by his weakness, which is being drunk. Later on, this would be played off of again by Montresor giving him more wine and alcohol, to keep him detached and unaware of the situation, unable to use common sense. Fortunato relied on Montresor to take him through the catacombs, which probably was not a great