The Cask Of Amontillado

In the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator, Montresor, tricks a man named Fortunato to his death. He claims that Fortunato had wronged him several times in the past but does not say exactly how or why, just that he seeks revenge. Being the narrator, Montersor admits to pretending to befriend Fortunato even though he resents him. Using his love of wine against him, Montresor tricks an intoxicated Fortunato into following him down into his personal vaults to taste a wine named Amontillado. He then proceeds to get him even more drunk and chains poor Fortunato to the wall and begins to build a barrier of brick, cutting him off from the rest of the world. Thinking it is all a joke Fortunato starts to laugh at the thought but the
laughs turn into cry’s as he begs Montresor to spare his life. It is only after the last brick is in place is when Montresor says his heart is at peace. I believe he is the betrayer in this tale for many reasons. One of them being that he can not provide any solid reason for his anger. I also do not believe Montresor is justified in his murdering of his so called friend. He strategically planned out the death of another human based solely on the fact that Fortunato hurt his feelings. Another reason I think Montresor is the betrayer is because he shows no remorse. He writes that he does not speak of Fortunato’s death until fifty years have past.

I feel that I can best relate to Fortunato in being tricked into a situation I personally did not want to be in. To be stabbed in the back by someone whom I thought was a true friend was bewildering to me just as it was for Fortunato as he sat on the damp floor as he realized his fate was being sealed off by brick and plaster. To this day, I do not understand why she did what she did and sometimes I do wish we were still friends. Just as Montresor had pretend to smile upon his foe she too mislead me into thinking we were good friends. She was like a sister to me and for her to flip the switch so easily made me wonder if she even was my friend at all. As it turns out, she and I have been estranged since the incident. Although we have tried to reconnect, all attempts were in vein.