Introduction
The Cask of Amontillado is a short story written by the American author Edgar Allan Poe and was published in 1846. Amontillado is a specific type of Spanish sherry. Sherry is a fortified wine, and a cask is a barrel. It is a story of the narrator’s revenge on Fortunato, a wine expert. The reasons for the revenge are unclear, although the author leaves some clues. This essay examines or analyses this short story in terms of the plot, themes, characterization, symbolism, and setting.
The story is narrated from the murderer’s perspective, Montresor, to an unnamed listener, where he explains his revenge against a man called Fortunato. Montresor says that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times, and thus, he wants to take revenge on him. To exert his revenge, Montresor lures Fortunato to a private wine tasting so that he can kill him. Although Fortunato tries resisting as he is going to a carnival, Montresor uses reverse psychology and the advantage of Fortunato’s love for Amontillado that he cannot resist. Once they are at Montresor’s vaults, he drunks him and takes him to the most remote area of the catacombs, and in a smaller crypt, Montresor chains Fortunato burying him alive. Montresor tells the story after 50 years since he took his revenge on Fortunato.
Poe intentionally follows the classic elements of the plot and the plot diagram, thus increasing the importance of each scene. The plot’s exposition. This is usually the introduction to the story; we are introduced to the setting and the characters. The story is in Montresor’s memory, and thus, we are introduced to the two main characters: Montresor, the narrator and perpetrator, and Fortunato, Montresor’s victim. For unknown reasons, Montresor has sworn to take revenge on Fortunato.
The conflict is the other element of the plot diagram, which usually makes the story a problem that must be solved. The problem is that Montresor feels insulted by Fortunato at various times, and this problem can only be solved after Montresor has taken revenge on him, and that is through Fortunato’s death. “…when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe, Edgar Allan.pg3) The story’s rising action is when Montresor tells Fortunato about his doubts about the pipe he bought. Also, the mysterious wine area and Fortunato’s realization of being drunk. The climax. In The Cask of Amontillado, the climax occurs when Montresor strikes Fortunato with a rock and chains him to the wall. And this leads us to the story’s falling action, which occurs when Montresor seals Fortunato behind the wall, burying him alive. The resolution occurs when Montresor finishes telling his listener about his killing Fortunato and that his body has not been found even after fifty years.
The story revolves around two main characters, Fortunato, the story’s protagonist, and Montresor, the antagonist, and one minor character, Luchesi. Montresor is the narrator of the story, and we also learn that his family was once wealthy and of high status. he holds a grudge toward Fortunato and has sworn to take revenge on him. He is portrayed as manipulative and vengeful in how he manipulates Fortunato, leading him to his death. As a planner, since he has carefully planned his revenge on Fortunato, he kills him without anyone knowing, and even after 50 years, his body hasn’t been found. He is a murderer as he killed his friend. Fortunato is portrayed as an expert in tasting wine. His name means the fortunate one, but he ends up being killed. He is a friend of Montresor. And finally, Luchesi is acquainted with both Fortunato and Montresor and is a wine expert, but he doesn’t flourish well in his expertise.
The story is set during a carnival just before Lent in Italy. It is set in a mood of horror, suspense, and disbelief. It focuses on the Montresor home, especially the catacombs where Fortunato is killed.
The story’s symbolism is depicted through the catacombs. Catacombs are portrayed as psychologically symbolic. The way Poe puts it and the context it occurs, the author treats us, the readers, to a particular voyage of Montresor’s psychological state, where we see the depths of his evilness and his horrific thinking and acting. It is in the catacombs where Montresor commits the crime of burying Fortunato alive; the way he does it shows that he is psychologically unstable (Francisco, Jesusa).
The story’s main theme is a murder mystery. Montresor murders Fortunato, but the main question is Montresor’s motive for murder which remains a mystery throughout the story. However, with the lack of a detective, it is up to the reader to solve this mystery, like most crime stories. It’s not about who killed Fortunato but why Montresor killed Fortunato. Although Poe does not clearly state the motives, he leaves some significant clues. Montresor says that Fortunato has often wronged and insulted him, but no evidence anywhere in the story mentioned how he insulted him and when. However, at some point at the beginning of the story, Montresor does not seem to know about his motive for revenge when he states, “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.” (Poe, Edgar Allan.pg3). Even when he chains Fortunato, he does not tell him his reasons for killing him. The other theme is vengeance which is portrayed through Montresor’s desire for revenge against his friend Fortunato. He exerts his revenge by burying him alive and leaving him for dead.
Conclusion
The Cask of Amontillado is a revenge tale explored through Montresor, who has a great desire and grudge toward Fortunato. Thus, he has vowed to kill him, for he has insulted him. It is clear to the reader that Montresor harbors hatred and blames his society for his loss and unhappiness. It is a story of murder mystery, and the reader has to search for the killer’s motive.
References
Francisco, Jesusa C. “To Live but Die Inside: A Lamentable State of Montressor in “The Cask of Amontillado.” OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra 15.2 (2021): 126-140.
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado (Edgar Allan Poe). Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing, 2020.
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