One symbol that is used in the story “The Cask of Amontillado,” is the wine. The wine plays a huge part in the story for both characters. In the story, it was very clear that Fortunato’s favorite alcohol beverage was wine. Montresor knew that his favorite drink was
wine so he uses this to help kill Fortunato. As Montresor said,” Drink,” (238) presenting him the wine. The wine symbolizes that Montresor is using the wine and is trying to get Fortunato to drink it which he does because Montresor knows his desire for wine. After he drinks the wine this is when he brings up Montresor’s family motto.
Another good example of a symbol that is used in the story is Montresor’s family motto. In the story, Fortunato brings up Montresor’s family Motto which is, “Nemo me impune lacessit” (238). This is a motto that his family has used generation to generation. The motto means, nobody harms me without being punished. A good example of what happened to Fortunato is a allusion in the Bible in Genesis. In the Genesis, there is an allusion of a heal smashing a serpent’s head. That is an example and symbolizes what happened to Fortunato.
Also, the story uses Fortunato’s outfit as a symbol. The man was dressed like a carnival guy, with a cap and bells on top of his head. When you think of a carnival guy dressed like that you think of them as silly. He also wore a dress that was tight-fitting and parti-striped. As said in the story, “The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress and his head surmounted by conical cap and bells” (237). This is a description that just shows how silly and how he dressed like a fool. This quote symbolizes on who he was, which is someone who doesn’t take anything seriously. Looking at the symbols that were chosen in this essay, were huge parts of the story. As for the wine, it was used to help kill Fortunato toward the middle of the story to get him drunk. Montresor family motto symbolizes on how nobody does harm unless they want to be punished and Fortunato’s outfit symbolizes on how he was a fool. Something interesting that has caught the eye is Montresor’s name meaning. Montresor’s name means my treasure in French. This shows that the author takes over loots for perfect revenge.