Good Ol' Box of Wine
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Revenge, some would say, is the bittersweet taste of a fine wine. Being able to concoct a plan to murder an enemy while also staying hidden and invisible can be quite the challenge, but it is not impossible, as shown in one of the many fine works of Poe. ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ is a short story about a man, Montresor, who feels utterly betrayed by a friend (Fortunato), of which the reasons are not given, and from this betrayal creates a diabolical plan to vanish this man from existence. Edgar Allan Poe does a fine job skipping right to the point and leaving us with a lot of questions.
Montresor is not entirely specific on why exactly he wants to get rid of his long time friend. However, it has obviously pushed him to strategically bury Fortunato alive. Montresor does mention being insulted, which were probably personal in some way, explaining his introduction in his confession, “the thousand injuries of Forunato I had bourne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe). The thousand injuries, meaning how many times he has brushed off Fortunato’s incidents, until they got offensive. The more Fortuanto insulted Montresor, the more Montresor plotted his revenge. It is the quality of his revenge that stuns the readers the most.
Montresor knows almost immediately that he is going to banish this man. He knows, however, that he needs to be strategic about it so that his crime is never discovered. Fortunato just simply needs to disappear, without a trace. Montresor decides to take a personal route in this murder, by bringing in the good ol’ family motto, “nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe). Meaning, “no one attacks me with impunity”, which is exactly what Montresor believes his friend did. Montresor also mentions early on in his confession that, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe). He definitely feels betrayed by his so-called “friend”, and intends to make his death personal and heartless. Which is quite surprising because the entire time Montresor is luring him into the undergrounds, he is nothing more than thoughtful and kind…or so the victim thinks.
Being a friend to Fortunato first definitely played a big part in the knowledge it took to lure him into the cellar. Be smarter than your opponent. Montresor drops sly hints every now and then, but of course he knows that Fortunato is too drunk and naïve to catch them. Montresor uses excessive flattery to feed Forunato’s ego in order to distract him from his real motives, “you are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was” (Poe). By shaming his own self, Montresor is showing Forunato that he is the “better man”, which seems to be what Fortunato was always seeking. There was always a silent competition between the two. By pleasing Fortunato, it was easier for Montresor to tempt him to descend further into the wine cellar.
As they made their way further down, many hidden metaphors occurred. Descending into the cellar symbolized Fortunato getting closer and closer to his death. Another theory, would be Montresor getting closer to his own madness. When Fortunato makes a jester, Montresor does not recognize the movement, but provides proof that he is a true mason, “I answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaire” (Poe). This was a huge risk, as it was intentionally showing Fortunato his future murder weapon, but Montresor of course made sure Fortunato was good and drunk by this time so that he wouldn’t think anything of it. They continue their way through the tunnels and soon approach three-sided tomb.
Fortunato is still unaware of his friends’ intentions, and still believes there is more wine to be drunk. Montresor quickly cuffs his victim to the back wall and begins to build his own wall to close off the small open space. As the wine begins to wear off, Fortunato begins to laugh hysterically, crying “he! He! – a very good joke indeed – an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo over our wine” (Poe). Still, even when being almost completely enclosed in this room, Fortunato still believes Montresor is just joking. Towards the end of the story, Montresor states that, “for the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them” (Poe). “Them” meaning Fortunato’s bones and lifeless body. Montresor’s crime had gone unnoticed for fifty years; I would say that is complete and utter revenge.
The Cask of Amontillado is a great read, and has a deeper meaning each time you read it. Poe does an excellent job at keeping this story short, suspenseful, and exciting. In my opinion, Poe is one of the most successful American writers, only because it wasn’t easy for him. He had to try tremendously hard to get his stories/poems published, only because they were so incredibly daring and edgy. Back then, people didn’t appreciate that kind of writing, but nowadays his stories are some of the most well known literature in teens and young adults.