The Cask of Amontillado: Quiz

1. Explain or say in your own words: “A wrong is unredressed when retribution

overtakes its redresser.” (paragraph 1)

-I don’t have a concrete idea about the phrase and what I actually do before
coming up with a semantic is to check the morphology of each unfamiliar or I
sometimes consider as a heavy word for me. First unredressed here is defined as
“unfixed” while the word retribution refers to a punishment inflicted on someone as
vengeance for a wrong doing (Oxford Languages). On the other way meaning, it
implies that Montresor, the seeker of revenge, must be careful for his plans for the
wrong will not be compensated if the revenger himself is punishable. One should
redress their foe without any potential repercussions and try not to be caught for
their doings. Though I know it was not mentioned in the story but for sure part of
Montresor's plan is not to be caught on action.

2. “The man wore motley.” (paragraph 4). What is the importance of this detail?

[I’ll be using two meanings for the definition of “motley” from different sources to
emphasize my answer]
Oxford Languages: incongruously varied in appearance or character; disparate.
Wikipedia: Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, fool.
-What I wanted to pertain is the symbolism of the cloth and to the one who worn
the motley which is Fortunato. The first definition clearly pertains to a character
with a disparate soul of pride (although Montresor seeks for a revenge, I think his
not that desperate after all, it’s just that their family holds a great motto in life
cause if he is anxious enough; then he could have killed Fortunato a long time ago).
The first definition actually correlates to the character of Fortunato, that even
amidst of the risk of his health- he wanted to prove that he is the expert when it
comes to wine, not the other person being mentioned by Montresor. By that, the
importance of this detail pertains to what is Fortunato and how will his flow in the
story works. A foolish man to be exact. Driven by his pride; made his own ending of
his life.

3. What is Montresor’s intention in saying to Fortunato: “As you are engaged, I

am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he…”

Excerpt from the short story: “He had a weak point—this Fortunato—although in
other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself
upon his connoisseurship in wine.”
-It simply shows a trap on how Montresor could make Fortunato fall into his plans.
In order to lure Fortunato by following him, he made a play with the occurrence of
Fortunato’s ego. This helped him to easily fool Fortunato to follow him in the
catacombs where the said type of wine, the Amontillado, is located.

4. Would anyone in the carnival be able to recognize Fortunato and Montresor on

 this evening they met? Why or why not?

Excerpt from the short story: It was about dusk, one evening during the
supreme madness of the carnival season.
-I think no one will recognize the both of them since the story clearly emphasize
the night time scene and how crazy the people are in the carnival. Nevertheless, if
someone is curios on them because they are famous; then one or two could notice
them but again the ironic supreme madness of the carnival made it covered.

5. How did Montresor insure that not one of his house staff would not be home this
particular evening when he brought Fortunato to his palace?

Excerpt from the short story: There were no attendants at home; they had
absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not
return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the
house.
-As the writer makes emphasize on different scenes, I find this excerpt of the story
relevant for my answer. Sometimes, we address words seriously to come up with a
result that will ironically fall into another distinct effect. What Montresor told to his
entourages gives meaning that if he would have detailed the account of his time
from going out, the attendants will surely vow for disappearance.

6. Explain the relevance of the Montresor coat of arms to the character of

Montresor.

Excerpt from the short story: "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot
crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."
-I believe the Montresor coat of arms pertains to the family’s power and legacy. The
Latin motto is "Nemo me impune lacessit" or in English translation it means “No one
provokes me with impunity.” The foot depicts the Montresor family while the snake
being crushed is somewhat the representation of an enemy. I actually like the
symbolism of it. It feels like a powerful gem that one could fear of due to its
intimate supremacy. The Montresor coat of arms then, surely exploits the character
of Montresor upon highlighting his revenge to Fortunato that nobody injures him
and gets away with it. It gives us the reason to comprehend why Montresor is so
unforgiving in seeking retribution from Fortunato. Clearly, Montresor believes
Fortunato to be the snake, and Montresor himself is the foot that will soon to kill
Fortunato.

7. Describe how the niche or recess which became Fortunato’s upright tomb was
fashioned.

“Niche” meaning according to Oxford Languages: a comfortable or suitable

position in life or employment.
-The niche means a comfortable settlement of someone, but in the story, the niche
of Fortunato is considerably a hell for him being covered by blocks and locked alive
with a chain on his wrists. The place can be imaginatively exploited as an
underground private cemetery by the Montresor family which has bones and skulls
literally on the filthy ground. Specifically, the niche has blocks and chains that soon
became Fortunato’s physical way of imprisonment forever.

8. What caused Fortunato to quickly sober down despite having quaffed a whole
flagon of De Grave?

-Simply, the answer is due to physical realization as Fortunato felt the wrong
actions done by Montresor at him. Afterwards, Fortunato understands that
Montresor plans to hurt him after he is shackled to the wall and starts to sober;
understanding the real situation of him. When the liquor wears off, Fortunato starts
to groan in torment, dread, and desperation to be free. He, at that point starts
irately treading on at his good humor, which shows that he knows about his
dangerous circumstance and perceives that Montresor is indeed an enemy.

9. What must have been the direct cause of Fortunato’s death? Do you think his
death was sudden or over a course of say, 4 to 6 hours? Explain.

Excerpt from the short story: We passed through a range of low arches,
descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the
foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.
-I think some might consider the suffocation for the main manner of death of
Fortunato but as mentioned in the excerpt from the story, there is clearly an air to
breath. Even though it’s limited to the point where the stone wall was built by
Montresor- it may contain small or enough cracks to allow the entry of a portion of
the air. The starvation also is pointed as part of the reason of Fortunato’s death but
I assume that there is undoubtedly plenty of water, since the story specifies that
there is water dripping ubiquitously and that they are in fact underneath a river.
Fortunato could lick some water to satisfy his thirstiness from the chains or from
the ground. Well, those where just my two speculations. So above all, both might
be the manner of death but not exactly on the day of the scene. It will take time for
Fortunato’s death to happen since there is a small hope of living shortly.

10. What is the meaning of: “Against the new masonry, I re-erected the old
rampart of bones. For the half of a century, no mortal has disturbed them.”

-I think the lines are addressed to make an emphasized characterization that

Montresor is really malevolent- it is unexpected for me, as the standard also implies
the words "rest in peace" after all. This could be perused as somebody repentant, in
spite of the fact that I should and would like to imagine that this is simply a scene
and that, Montresor’s last assertion is a scrumptiously abhorrent assertion. It
simply best indicates that Fortunato has never been found in the end.