Anna Katrine Vitor

Reading and Writing Skills

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

This was the first time I had read the Cask of Amontillado and a story from
Edgar Allan Poe. Although I have read a few classics, it was refreshing to read
the short story. At first I knew nothing of what the words cask and Amontillado
meant. A cask is a large barrel container used to store liquid or alcoholic drinks,
for that matter, while Amontillado is a type of alcoholic drink.

The short story started with Montresor vowing revenge after Fortunato
who had insulted and inflicted injuries on him before. He had explained that he
felt that Fortunato must be punished and in his case, kill him. Montresor
explained that Fortunato had a weak point- wine, which he will use to entrap and
kill him. The story goes on to tell us that Montresor had tricked Fortunato to
tasting the Amontillado wine himself. They had walked onto the catacombs, while
giving Fortunato wine to keep him drunk and unsuspicious. As they arrived at the
niche, Montresor had chained Fortunato onto a wall, which sobered the latter as
soon as he realized what his friend was doing. Montresor put bricks around
Fortunato one by one, entrapping him to his position. He put a burning torch
before he enclosed the bricks, with Fortunato screaming For the love of God.
Montresor felt that he was sorry but as soon as he felt the damp atmosphere of
the catacombs, the feeling had faded away.

When I had first read the story, I had a hard time distinguishing who was
Montresor and who was Fortunato. Understanding the story was also a challenge
considering that Edgar Allan Poe had used complex words and deep English.
Having read some of the works of the author, I can say that I wasnt at all
surprised with the theme of the story, which was revenge and murder, yet with
the turn of events and how Fortunato was burned alive, I must say that the turn of
events are interesting and somehow unexpected, especially for a story that had
revealed the entirety of the plot from the first line.

The point-of-view was first person and it has given us a glimpse of

Montresors thoughts, which I had liked especially at the end where he was
satisfied and proud of what he has done instead of having his guilt eating him up.

Personally, I like the story and the turn of events, although it was a
challenge to comprehend the complex words, it is a good short, nevertheless.