The only way for him to avoid this fate is to kill both of them before they can carry out their plan. What are Fortunato’s weaknesses?Īccording to Montresor, Fortunato's one flaw is his pride in "his wine connoisseurship." Montresor intends to use his pride to lead his rival, Fortunato, into his family tombs, where he will wall the guy in and ensure his prolonged and horrible death.įortunato has two major enemies: Montresor and his father, who have always wanted him to succeed in their business. Even though Fortunato was a bad man he had children that loved him. So if someone breaks the law but they aren't responsible for their actions then they are suffering from some kind of disease.įinally, Poe used this story to comment on how we deal with death. Poe also used this story as a way to explain mental illness too. Crime needs to be kept "under control" so that other people will not be afraid to report it when they see it happening. When they do this they are committing "vandalism" and they should be punished even if it is only given a warning. He believed that everyone broke the law once in a while even if it is only by saying an angry word or taking something that does not belong to you. The author used this story as a way to explain crime without using the word "crime". This is one of many stories that can be found in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. "Farewell, villainy! This night I die." He then dragged his dying body into a chest cavity and covered it with dust. "The thousand injuries of.," Montresor continued. Montresor murdered Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado" because Fortunato had repeatedly offended him. However, this obsession ends when Montresor kills Fortunato in self-defense so he can go back to being human. The fact that Fortunato does not even notice this lack of interest on Montresor's part makes him feel like he is losing his mind. In conclusion, Montresor is obsessed with Fortunato because they are two very different men who have nothing in common except for their wealth.
Thus, he gets punished by being turned into a monster whose only desire is to eat other people's flesh. This difference in status drives Montresor crazy with jealousy and this shows in how he treats Fortunato after killing him.įinally, Montresor is also a murderer which is not a good thing to be in Gothic literature. In addition to this, Montresor is a wealthy aristocrat which makes him even more obsessed with Fortunato who is also rich. Although he kills him at the end of the story, it is more out of self-defense than obsession. He is, however, preoccupied with Fortunato himself.
Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" is comparable to the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" in that his fixation with eating Fortunato's soul dictates his every move. In conclusion, Fortunato is murdered by locking him in a room with no air ventilation. You also learn that even though Montresor has murdered many people, he still suffers from guilt about his sister. This scene is very sad because you feel for Fortunato even though he did something terrible to Montresor. He dies within two days due to asphyxiation.
In 'The Cask of Amontillado,' Montresor murders Fortunato by creating a wall around him in the wine cellar/catacombs, locking him. He keeps Fortunato's body inside this wall until it can be buried properly.įortunato was probably born in Italy. So Montresor shoots him again in the head.Īfter that, Montresor builds a wall around his house so no one will ever bother him again. When he finds Fortunato, he shoots him in the chest but it isn't enough to kill him. So he takes his gun and goes looking for him. When Montresor returns, he finds his house robbed and knows that it must be Fortunato who did it. After that, Montresor leaves with everything else worth stealing including Fortunato himself.Ī few days later, while Montresor is out hunting, Fortunato sneaks into his house and steals some money. They want to rob him but he fights back and kills two of them. Fortunato is lying in his bed asleep when a gang of thieves led by Montresor breaks into his house. Fortunato most likely perished of asphyxiation or malnutrition behind Montresor's wall. Montresor assassinates Fortunato by burying him alive. In Edgar Allan Poe's classic short tale "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor tells how he carried out his meticulous preparations and murdered his adversary, Fortunato.