The Amontillado Symbolism

But no! Fortunato insists he is fine, saying ?Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado.? This is also a sign he is an alcoholic, inferring he knows far more about the Amontillado than Luchresi. It also shows that he is so drunk, that he is outgoing and excited enough to walk right into his death.

In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is not the only character who displays an overwhelming and ultimately detrimental sense of pride. Fortunato is also a very prideful man who is willing to go to great lengths to maintain his honor and reputation. For him, it is his reputation as a fine wine expert that he must defend. Fortunato’s pride overrides his common sense and is the driving force of the deadly decisions he makes throughout the story. Montresor claims to possess a bottle of the expensive and highly regarded Amontillado wine. He tells Fortunato that he has called an expert, Luchresi, to inspect the wine. Fortunato forces Montresor to take him to the vaults because he is certain that “‘[Montresor has] been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot

<br>The way the narrator treats his enemy is one of the clearest examples for ironic elements. When the characters meet, Montresor realises that Fortunato is afflicted with a severe cold, nevertheless he makes a point of him looking "remarkably well". Montresor acts in the most natural and friendly way towards the man object of his revenge, and even praises his "friend's" knowledge in the subject of wines. Also upon their meeting, Montresor begins a psychological manipulation of Fortunato. He claims that he needs his knowledge to ascertain that the wine he has purchased is indeed Amontillado. Furthermore, he acknowledges that Fortunato is engaged in another business (i.e.: the celebration of carnival), so he would go to Luchresi, who, one is made to believe, is a competitor of Fortunato's. To these words, Fortunato is forced by his pride to accompany Montresor to the vaults (where the Amontillado is kept), dissipate his doubts and also to prove his higher status than Luchresi as a connoisseur of wine. In fact, during their way down under in the catacombs, the twisted mind of Montresor, dares to give Fortunato the chance to go back, due to the almost unbearable dampness and foulness rampant in the vaults and Fortunato's state of health. The narrator clearly knows about the stubborn nature of Fortunato, and is

Montresor teases Fortunato quite a few times while leading him deep into the catacombs. In the beginning of the story, Montresor tells Fortunato that he has purchased a wine called Amontillado but cannot be sure that it

Montresor does this by flattering and acting concerned about the health of Fortunato when really his only concern is killing Fortunato. While in the wine cellar, Montresor says to Fortunato, “Come, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi-.” Montresor does an excellent job of being Fortunatos’ friend and at the same time convinces him to continue drinking and telling him, “A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.” Montresor was not trying to defend either one of them, his only purpose was to place Fortunato into a higher state of drunkenness. Montresor causes Fortunato to become so drunk that while he was being chained to the wall by Montresor, “He was too much astounded to resist.” “The Cask of Amontillado” is filled with many ironies and also life lessons; such as know who your real friends are. Fortunato thought his real friend was Montresor when, in reality, Montresor was anything but his friend. Not only did Montresor fake his sincerity towards Fortunato, he was also vengeful and very intelligent in his actions to kill Fortunato.

that he will have someone else taste the Amontillado, knowing that by doing this Fortunato will feel compelled to taste the wine himself. “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn I is he. He will tell me…” In addition to being manipulative and vengeful, Montressor also displays condescending traits. Montressor addresses Fortunato in the catacombs by saying, “...your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I was. You are a man to be missed.”

During the conversation, Montresor flattered him by obsequiously asking his opinion on a newly acquired cask of Amontillado. He tantalized Fortunato with the rare liquor, even pretending that his vaults where the wine was stored had too much dampness and "nitre" for Fortunato's affliction. He knew that Fortunato would be determined to taste the wine and insisted on being taken to Montresor's home. Furthering his demented plan he even plays Fortunato’s own ego against him by suggesting that another man would tell him what he wanted to know, knowing this would only make him want to taste the sherry even more. With this in mind, he sets the trap for Fortunato. He gives Fortunato numerous opportunities to back out, using the tricks of classic conmen by playing on Fortunato's greed and pride. Fortunato insists so Montresor complied while wrapping himself in a cloak to make sure that he would not be recognized. Earlier, he had told all of the servants that he would not be returning for the night and to “not stir from the house” this “[insured] their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned”. Montresor used the excuse of the carnival; in this way, he would avoid arousing Fortunato's suspicions and would also prevent anyone from witnessing the atrocity he planned to commit. Apparently, Montresor had been planning this revenge for a long time and, ironically, had chosen carnival time as

Fortunato for example was an awkward, clumsy, and egotistical drunk, whose main concern was when he would take his next drink. Michael Lewis suggests that Fortunato did not mean to mistreat Montresor or disturb his happiness, but his decisions to drown away his sorrows opened up a can of worms for Fortunato (Lewis, Explicator). Fortunato was over-indulging on sherry to build his confidence while stripping that of the other gentlemen, particularly Montresor. Now, for Montresor, Fortunato’s alcoholism was no excuse for his constant barrage of misdirected insults. Consequently, Montresor goes

Montresor uses his knowledge of Fortunato to lure him into his trap. He tells Fortunato that he bought a cask of Amontillado and that Luchesi, a man who Fortunato is not fond of, is going to taste test the wine for him. This hurts Fortunato’s pride, which is made obvious when he repetitively states that Luchesi cannot tell the difference between Amontillado and Sherry. Fortunato predictably insists on tasting the Amontillado rather than allowing Luchesi to do so in order to prove how useful and important he is. Montresor leads him into the catacombs where he claims the Amontillado is being stored. Montresor lures Fortunato further and further into the catacombs by using reverse psychology. Montresor insists that they must turn around or else Fortunato will become sick from the nitre on the walls, which causes Fortunato to obsess over tasting the wine himself. While walking

At the carnival, when Montresor meets Fortunato and tells him about the amontillado, he states, “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi,” referring to Fortunato being inebriated. Fortunato insists that, “Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry” (Poe 361). “Knowing his victim’s vanity, Montresor baits him by saying that some fools argue that Luchresi’s taste is as fine as Fortunato’s” (Morsberger 334).

Montresor is an effective enemy to Fortunato as he knows “his weak point,” his love for wine. Throughout the story, our narrator claims to be a friend and unaware about the authenticity of the wine he has purchased. As he plays on Fortunato's ego, the ill man is self-forced to

Throughout the story, one of Fortunato’s main weaknesses is his pride in his knowledge of wine. Fortunato “[prides] himself on his connoisseurship in wine” due to the riches and status it gives him, and Montresor takes this into account in his plan when he tells Fortunato that he found amontillado, a rare wine, in the catacombs (Poe

Furthermore, Aubigny and Fortunato suffer losses when trying to achieve self-gratification motivated by their tragic flaw, demonstrating situation irony. Fortunato tries to prove his knowledge by proving that Montresor does not actually have amontillado only to foolishly follow his murderer to his death. Fortunato accompanies Montresor to prove his alleged proficiency on recognizing wine, likely to outshine Luchresi: “And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado" (Poe). Fortunato offers his self-proclaimed expertise to prove his

From this point of view, as Lewis points out, one can easily relate Fortunato's drunken artifical sweetness to that of imitation amontillado. Montresor's disgust with Fortunato would then mirror Fortunato's disgust with imposter alcohols. Upon further analysis however, Lewis suggests the possibility that it is actually Fortunato's lack of a protective layer , or "fleur" in terms of amontillado, rather than his spurious nature, that offends Montresor. Using this idea as a basis for thought, Lewis expands the correlations between amontillado and the characters' relationships and actions to include the alcohol cask and Fortunato's casket, both containing extra space; the failure of either Fortunato or poor sherry to become properly refined; the fool who "cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado" and the fool Fortunato himself proved to be in his oblivion to his plight. Additionally Lewis points out that Fortunato's alcoholism may have caused both this oblivion and the "injuries" he had placed on Montressor in the past. In this case, Montresor would have succeeded at exploiting the very weakness in Fortunato that had caused the damage for which he saught

In the "Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe, Poe uses Ironic symbols throughout the story to convey the conflict and theme of revenge. In this story, Montresor, the protagonist, and narrator start the anecdote announcing how someone named Fortunato has repeatedly insulted him, therefore Montresor vows revenge. During the carnival, Montresor meets Fortunato, this is where Montresor sets his plan into action. Montresor decides to utilize Fortunato's penchant for wine against him in order to lure him into a ruse. He reveals to Fortunato that he had recently acquired something that could pass for an Amontillado. Montresor informs Fortunato that if he is too busy, Luchesi is capable of testing the sherry, Fortunato believes Luchesi is a competitor