The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

BACKGROUND

This story takes place in an Italian city and is a story of murder (being buried alive) told from the perspective of the murderer.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Montresor: The narrator who has a devilish plan.

Fortunato: Some dude who drinks a lot and makes fun of Montresor.

PLOT

Montresor is this guy who hates Fortunato because Fortunato always makes fun of him. So one day they’re at this carnival and Montresor tells Fortunato he has this great wine, called the Amontillado. So he shows the drunken Fortunato to his wine cellar and they go back into the dark regions of the cellar. Along the way they chat about wine and masonry. Then Montresor gives Fortunato some wine that puts him to sleep. When he awakes Montresor is building a wall so Fortunato cannot get out. Montresor builds Fortunato into the wall, and kills him.

THINGS TO MAKE YOU LOOK SMART

  • Most of Poe’s stories deal with this kind of horror. You don’t really know what’s going to happen until the end, but you can tell something bad is up.
  • Ironic how they are talking about masonry and then Montresor kills Fortunado with a wall. Get it. This is a typical device of Poe to lead the reader on without giving to much away.