The Cask of Amontillado[dem1]
The main character in "The Cask of Amontillado[dem2] " by Edgar Allan Poe, is Montresor. This deviant yet cunning character is set on getting revenge on his acquaintance, Fortunato, by sealing him in his family catacomb. The motive behind this idea is "disrespect." Montresor feels as if Fortunato "disrespected" him[dem3] . It is an excuse that Montresor uses to rationalize his true motive of jealousy.
Montresor uses charm, calculation, and deception to lure Fortunato to his demise. As the story begins Montresor runs into Fortunato at the carnival and reveals he has a bottle of very fine wine, Amontillado. He then claims he doesn’t know if it is real or not and intends to get an opinion from a friend. Playing on Fortunato's vanity, Montresor knows Fortunato will insist he examine the wine due to the fact that he prides himself on his connoisseurship of wine[dem4] .
Montresor uses his charm brilliantly. He makes it seem as if he has real compassion for his victim, in actuality he was tricking Fortunato deeper into his clever trap. He acts as if he does not want to take Fortunato away from the festivities and his engagements. Montresor then pretends to care about the current state of Fortunato, saying "My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre" (145). Montresor knows because Fortunato is so vain no matter what he says, it will not stop Fortunato from getting to the cask of Amontillado[dem5] .
The character Montresor is also calculated in his plain to murder Fortunato. He made sure that none of his servants were home when he brought his guest over. Montresor told them that he would not return home from the carnival until morning. He gave them explicit orders not to stir from the house. Montresor was careful, he did not want anyone to see that the last place Fortunato was,