The Cask of Amontillado

            In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” there are two main characters. One character, named Fortunado, has insulted another character named Montresor. Montresor decides to seek revenge by luring Fortunado down to the catacombs to “try” some wine that maybe amontillado. Instead of finding wine, Fortunado walks straight into his own grave. Montresor buries him alive by building a brick wall to enclose Fortunado. Edgar Allan Poe never gives a specific description on what the insult may have been, but he gives the readers little hints. The root word of Fortunado is fortune. Fortunado may have been flaunting his wealth to Montresor and claimed that the Montresor family is broke. Another insult that could have occurred is when Fortunado talks about the Free Masons. Fortunado claims that Montresor wasn’t a Free Mason. Montresor claims to be one, but it sounds like Fortunado isn’t convinced. Montresor must not have liked how Fortunado talked about his family. So, he sought out revenge. Edgar Allan Poe does a wonderful job at creating suspense in the story. He portrays his characters in a way that makes the reader feel sorry for them. He also creates a setting that gives the whole story a eerie feeling so that the reader knows that something evil is going to occur.