THEME THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO

The Cask of Amontillado by legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe is a chilling tale of
revenge woven together through the use of lies and smooth words coming out from
its main character and narrator. Written at the end of Poe's life, the themes of
revenge, substance abuse, remorse, delusion, pride, and freedom create a chilling
story and possibly give us a glimpse into the author's mind. The main themes in
“The Cask of Amontillado” are as follows: 
 Revenge
The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the driving force for the
entire short story. The main character, Montresor, vows to take revenge against the
other main character, Fortunato, because of an “insult” that Fortunato has
apparently made against Montresor. This is evident in the opening line of the short
story when the narrator Montresor states, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had
borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge." This
opening line makes it obvious that the insult is what directly led to Montresor’s
insatiable desire for revenge. Although, we are never told what the insult was, but
it was serious enough that Montresor vowed to enact revenge. People want and
take revenge every day, and Poe decided to portray that in one of the darkest ways
possible, murder. The starting paragraphs of the story explores Montresor's ideas
about revenge who considers that true revenge being one where the person taking
revenge does not face any consequences, and the one facing revenge is aware of
who has brought about the punishment. So, he plans the murder of Fortunato and
devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. 
 Betrayal
Betrayal drives the action in the story in which the writer shows how one can
betray someone by acting fake and then tricking him. The story shows how
someone can wear one personality or mask and then change it and put on another
mask to betray another person. The author shows this theme by having Montresor
(the narrator) act friendly and inviting towards Fortunato and then tricking him by
chaining him up and sealing him in a compartment in his dungeon so Fortunato
could slowly die. By the brilliant characterization of Montressor, the author painted
the picture of a cold-blooded killer capable of deceiving a friend. Not only
Montressor but Fortunato also betrays himself by not paying enough attention to
his surroundings and by not getting the clues that Montressor was giving to him. 
 Freedom and Confinement
The contrast between freedom and confinement is extreme in “The Cask of
Amontillado.” Montresor was confined by his vow to revenge, his family motto,
his family’s arms, and the need to avenge his family’s name while Fortunato was
confined by his compelling wine obsession. However, at the end of the short tale,
Fortunato is still the freer of the two; despite being physically trapped while
Montresor experiences the confinement of guilt after Fortunato's imminent death,
which confines him to always think and feel bad about his actions in the
catacombs. Montresor struggling with the weight of the final stone is highly
symbolic of his guilt. The actual setting of the story in low arched catacombs
having atmosphere filled with nitre and moisture also represents the intense foul
confinement that will occur for Montresor. 
 Ambivalence
Ambivalence might be an unexpected theme for a story in which a man's emotions
and intent are one-sided to the point of burying another man alive, but the surface
events conceal a deeper meaning. One cannot know precisely what motivates
Montresor in his quest for revenge. Readers are never told the nature of the
“thousand injuries of Fortunato,” and Montresor himself seems somewhat
ambivalent about the revenge he takes on his “friend.” 
 Self-delusion
Both of the main characters of the story suffer from different kinds of delusions.
Montresor appears to be under the delusion that his murder of Fortunato is just. He
thinks that revenge is a valid reason to murder someone, even when the perceived
insults are not intense but just numerous while Fortunato lives in the delusion that
Montresor is actually his friend and means him no harm and because of this self-
delusion Fortunato didn’t perceive or sense danger. 
 Alcoholism
Alcohol is a noteworthy theme of this story as it plays a large role in the story and
is the bait used for Fortunato, which leads to his eventual death. Poe was familiar
with the dangers of alcohol and this danger is carefully woven into this
complicated narrative. Montresor's revenge plot is carefully planned; part of it is
choosing to strike at Fortunato when his senses are diminished. He picks a day
when his target “had been drinking much”. So, alcohol is the bait Montresor has
set up for Fortunato and he can’t help himself but get lured into the trap because of
his thirst for alcohol So alcohol and drunkenness play central roles in the story,
contributing to Fortunato’s ultimate demise in Montresor’s wine cellar. 
 Mortality
“The Cask of Amontillado” has a frightening fixation on death, corpses, and bones.
It’s ironic that, for Montresor to enjoy his own life, he has to take Fortunato’s. As
mortality means the state of being subject to death or die. So, from the aspect of
mortality, the theme of this story is you never know when death will come at you.

 Pride:
Pride as a precursor of revenge is one of the themes of this story that affects both
main characters throughout. It was Montresor’s vengeful pride that produces
revenge in his soul. Montresor feels as if his pride has been wounded by Fortunato
even though he is unable to state any particular instances but still he feels wronged.
Montresor values his pride and his family legacy so highly that he takes offense
even when none is meant. On the other hand, Fortunato prided himself for being
the best wine taste and it was his pride which pushes him deeper into the trap that
Montresor is laying down for. Fortunato’s self-pride is so great that he will not
admit or allow any physical weakness or impurity to affect his wine tasting ability.
Knowing that, Montresor continues to lead Fortunato to the nonexistent cask of
Amontillado, and ultimately to his death. 
 Foolishness and Folly
This story depicts that foolishness and folly can cost you your life. Fortunato is
introduced as a foolish character. His foolish characteristics gives Montresor
advantage over him and makes it easier for him to manipulate Fortunato. When
Montresor challenges Fortunato that he can make another man taste the wine
Fortunato in his foolishness gets tempted to taste that wine. So, Montresor takes
Fortunato to the damp vaults towards the cask of amontillado and Fortunato in his
foolishness was unable to identify cruel motives of Montresor. So, at the end the
ignorance of Fortunato made him loose his life with a dreadful ending.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS MONTRESOR
Montresor, the protagonist, narrates "The Cask of Amontillado" the story of the
death of his acquaintance, Fortunato, fifty years earlier. He is a type of guy who
you exactly don't want to meet, especially, in an underground catacomb.
Consequently, we can only identify his traits based on his direct characterization or
indirectly through the ways he acts, speaks or thinks.
The only details about the man's outer characterization can be identified based on
his name and status. His name is symbolic. It can be roughly translated into
"mountain treasure" as the narrator informs us it is the name of "an old and
honored family" and it also mirrors the wealth of the character. Montresor is
clearly a very rich man, belonging to nobility as he lives in "a palazzo" with staff
of servants. Though we do not know the way he looks like, we can assume he is
more fragile than Fortunato.
Montresor's profession is unspecified. Later in the journey, Fortunato makes a
hand movement that is a secret sign of the Masons, an exclusive fraternal
organization. Montresor does not recognize this hand signal, though he claims that
he is a Mason. When Fortunato asks for proof, Montresor shows him his trowel,
the implication being that Montresor is an actual stonemason. Fortunato doesn't
believe and says, “You must be jesting,” in a mocking way.
He is a complex and intriguing character whose desire for this fatal revenge
drives the story. The main reasons for Montresor’s traits are his family arms and
family motto. Given that his family motto is “Nemo me impune lacessit” which
means “No one insults him with impunity”, Poe seems to suggest that this drive
is one that defines his existence. His noble lineage seems to be at least part of what
makes him murderous. He cherishes his grudge against Fortunato who has been
engaged in several offences against him. He says he has a cause for seeking
revenge as Fortunato has perpetrated "a thousand injuries" against him. But he
never gives any specifics. The cause of his injured pride, then, is unknown and
may be imaginary.
Montresor is an artist with words; he knows the exact meaning of what he says. He
is a cold and ruthless killer. He does not only enjoy killing but also thinks that it's
necessary. While reading we feel what an unreliable and unsympathetic person
he is. The main characteristics of Montresor are anger, hatred, and revenge. He
believes that Fortunato has wronged and irreparably insulted him many times by
saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could… he
ventured upon insult…”
A subtle manger of macabre setting and situations, Montresor is a ruthless, quick-
witted planner with careful manipulating power of revenge-taking. Determined in
avenging his strange motive, he has a Machiavellian psyche. As the story
progresses on, he shows signs of feeling guilty for wanting to kill Fortunato. He
attempts to keep Fortunato from following him into the catacombs even though
Fortunato still refuses, not knowing what is going to happen to him. Montresor
lures Fortunato into the catacombs; he chains him up to a small hole in a wall,
bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. At that time, he even passes Fortunato a
taunting offer to leave. Also, he is doubtful because during the whole text we still
didn’t get his thoughts – is he confessing to committing murder or bragging
about it? It’s probably a bit of both.
At the very end of the story, Montresor seems to have lost all feelings of guiltiness
when he says, “For half a century no mortal has disturbed [Fortunato’s
grave]. In pace requiescat!” In pace requiescat, to me, means, “Rest in peace!”
He finally did the deed and felt prideful.
Montresor shows his skill at deception by how he sets up the final resting spot in
the catacomb and guides Fortunato to it. While there is one moment that seems to
give him pause (when Fortunato screams), he is ultimately cold, calculating, and
relentless.
FORTUNATO:
Fortunato first appears in the story through Montresor’s discussion of how
Fortunato has hurt him. Readers experience Fortunato through Montresor's
narrative which is clearly biased and likely insane. He doesn’t give us much
information on his prey. He seems even more foreign to the reader than Montresor.
He doesn’t even tell us how Fortunato hurt him, nor how he insulted him. So, we
can’t really say whether Fortunato’s punishment fits his crime.
When he appears in the story in person, he’s wearing a costume-specifically,
motley clothes- a jester or fool would wear. These two factors largely frame
Fortunato’s role throughout the story.
Fortunato himself plays the fool at many times, missing clues, and making choices
that make his fate worse. Fortunato's ego, greed and competitiveness cloud his
judgment. He remains totally unaware of his friend’s revenge-motive. Wine leads
him to the grim world of death.
There are two ironies related to Fortunato. First, his name which indicates
“fortunate” But he is fortunate ironically to meet his death. And second his dress or
costume, only a jester would wear which is ironic at last.
If we get hung up on trying to figure out if Fortunato deserved to die that way, we
should know about Fortunato’s weak points. Montresor gives us his opinion −
Fortunato’s a little too conceited about his knowledge of wine − but that’s not his
only fatal flaw. Fortunato is addicted to wine. He’s already really drunk when he
meets Montresor, and he thinks the Amontillado can help him take it to the next
level. Right up until the end, he thinks of Amontillado, and only Amontillado.
Plus, he lets Montresor get him even more drunk down in the catacomb. His
addiction leaves him vulnerable to Montresor’s attack.
Whether he really hurt and insulted Montresor or not, he’s so insensitive, he
doesn’t notice that Montresor is mad at him, something any fool can see. And he
just guzzles Montresor’s wine without even saying “thank you.” Because he’s so
insensitive, he’s a poor judge of character.
He’s either too proud or too greedy. Maybe Montresor doesn’t need to bring up
Luchresi to get Fortunato down in the hole, but it doesn’t hurt. Fortunato either
wants to prove that he’s a better wine taster than Luchresi, or he wants to make
sure Luchresi doesn’t get his hands on the Amontillado.
Being too trusting can be a weakness. Montresor says he made sure Fortunato
had no reason to doubt him. But still, Fortunato should know better than to follow
a masked man into a catacomb. Hasn’t he ever watched a horror movie?
 Throughout the story-until the very end - Fortunato seems to think that he and
Montresor is friends and their fondness for wine creates connection between them.
It isn't until Montresor locks him in a crypt and begins to brick him up. Then
Fortunato finally realizes he's been tricked. He thinks it’s a joke. He even begs for
mercy “For the love of God, Montresor!” but Montresor ruthlessly forces the last
stone. Only the jingling of the bells on the fool’s cap can be heard which mock
Fortunato’s wordless recognition of his fate.