The Cask of Amontillado, Essay Example

In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado, author Edgar Allen Poe offers readers a narrative presumably related by a murderer to an unnamed and unknown listener. The story itself is very brief, and the events described by the narrator would also have played out over the course of a brief period of time. Within this concise framework, however, Poe provides a rich measure of detail about the physical surroundings in which the narrator and the narrator’s presumptive murder victim find themselves. Coupled with the specific details Poe relates about the story’s setting, including the fact that it is set during “Carnival,” a time of public celebration, Poe, through the voice of the narrator, also gives readers a glimpse of this narrator’s state of mind. This brief view into the mind of the narrator reveals that he may in fact be unreliable, and perhaps even “mad,” to use a then-contemporary term for mental illness. This use of an unreliable narrator is not an uncommon literary device, and it is one that forces the reader to question and consider every detail in the story in order to determine the veracity of the narrative. “The Cask of Amontillado” is littered with clues that the narrator is unreliable, a fact which does not undermine but rather reinforces the emotional impact of the story.

From the opening lines of “Amontillado” it is clear that the narrator, Montressor, is speaking directly to another person. One critic who analyzed “Amontillado” posits that Montresor may have been speaking to a priest during an act of confession (Stott, 85); this argument is buttressed by the line Montresor speaks to his listener when he describes the listener as “you, who so well know the nature of my soul.” It is also possible, of course, that Montresor could simply be speaking to a close friend; it is even possible that if Montresor is indeed afflicted with mental illness that he is speaking to himself, or to no one. In the opening lines of the story the narrator also makes reference to “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne.” Fortunato is the only other named character in the story, and it is Fortunato that ends up being murdered by Montresor at the story’s conclusion. The narrator does not define or describe these “thousand injuries,” though it does seem clear that he is not referring to literal (i.e.- physical) injuries, but rather to emotional injuries. In essence, Montresor appears to believe that Fortunato has somehow treated him badly, and done so repeatedly. The exact nature of these wrongs is never revealed, further undermining the reliability and even the credibility of the narrator.

Whatever the reason, Montresor feels so injured and insulted by Fortunato that he vows to take revenge, and story he relates to his unnamed listener is in fact the story of how he “redressed” the thousand injuries he had borne. Despite his feelings about Fortunato, and the fact that he had been carrying quite a grudge against him for some time, Montresor notes that “neither by word or deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will.” In this line Montresor again undermines his own reliability, leaving readers to wonder whether Fortunato had in fact ever done anything wrong to Montresor. As the story unfolds, Fortunato is seen to be under the influence of alcohol; in such a state it is possible that his defenses and inhibitions could be down, but if he had repeatedly treated Montresor poorly, would he be likely to unquestioningly accept Montresor’s hospitality? Fortunato seems to have no reason at all to suspect that Montresor even dislikes him, let alone that Montresor is leading him to his own death.

It is possible, of course, that Fortunato has indeed treated Montresor badly, and is simply oblivious to the effect his behavior has had on Montresor. In “Amontillado” the character of Fortunato is dressed as a jester or a fool, and it may be that he is too foolish to realize the extent to which his treatment of Montresor has affected the latter’s view of Fortunato. It is impossible not to consider this at the conclusion of the story, as Fortunato, dressed as fool, is being entombed by Montresor: was he a fool for not knowing how badly he had treated Montresor? Or was he a fool for not recognizing that Montresor’s invitation to sample a great wine was actually hiding Montresor’s murderous intentions? Throughout the story there are elements such as the fool’s costume that leave readers wondering whether Montresor’s narrative can be taken at face value.

Poe, through the voice of Montresor, continues to drop hints about the narrator’s frame of mind. The story takes place over the course of the evening “during the supreme madness of the carnival season,” a choice of phrase that may be taken as a reflection of the narrator’s internal state. As Fortunato relates his tale to his listener, he recounts that as he was walking the streets of the city, he “encountered my friend” Fortunato. This description of Fortunato as a “friend” seems at odds with Montresor’s true feelings about the man, lending a hint of irony to the story (Nevi, p461). Montresor notes that as the two men came across each other, Fortunato “accosted me with excessive warmth” This “warmth” is seen by Montresor as evidence that Fortunato is intoxicated, but it also serves to remind readers that for whatever reason Fortunato is entirely unaware of Montresor’s murderous hatred for him. This brief scene also seems to demonstrate that the two men came across each other by chance, as Montresor gives no indication that he was actively engaged in a search for Fortunato. Despite what seems to be a chance encounter, however, Montresor is later seen to be carrying the trowel he will need to wall up Fortunato behind bricks after luring him into the catacombs beneath the city. As is the case with several other plot points, this raises questions for readers about the reliability of Montresor’s narrative.

Whether or not Montresor’s meeting with Fortunato was purposeful, Montresor seems prepared to bait Fortunato into accompanying into the underground catacombs. As Montresor describes him, Fortunato is a connoisseur of wines (or at least he fancies himself to be such a connoisseur).  Montresor informs Fortunato that e has come into possession of a “pipe of Amontillado (a pipe being a significantly larger amount of wine). It is not necessary to know what sort of wine Amontillado is to understand that it must have a good reputation; Fortunato’s excitement at the prospect of sampling this wine clearly demonstrates its quality. It is helpful to know, however, that Amontillado is a form of Sherry (Milne, ed.; np). This point is significant; when Montresor suggests that he will ask another acquaintance to sample the Amontillado to determine its quality, Fortunato claims that this acquaintance “cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry. It is not necessary to understand this reference in order to enjoy the story, but forreaders who do recognize the significance of this statement it seems to indicate that Fortunato may not be as knowledgeable about wines as he would like to believe (or as he would like others to believe).

Whether or not Fortunato is as knowledgeable a connoisseur as he seems to think he is, Montresor is clearly able to appeal to Fortunato’s pride in order to lure him into a deadly trap. Montresor first admits that he purchase the cask of wine “without consulting (Fortunato) in the matter,” and he goes on to say that he wishes to have Fortunato sample the wine in order to verify that it is Amontillado, and that it is of good quality. Almost as soon as he has extended the offer, however, he rescinds it, telling Fortunato that he will seek the advice of others, such as their mutual acquaintance Luchresi, and noting that “if anyone has a critical turn it is he.” Fortunate bristles at this suggestion, and quickly assures Montresor that he will gladly accompany him to the underground rooms in which this wine is supposedly stored. Montresor then goes on to express his concerns over the “extreme cold” and the effect this cold might have on Fortunato’s health. With each attempt to dissuade Fortunato fro sampling the Amontillado, Fortunato only becomes more insistent that he join Montresor. While it is difficult to determine how reliable some elements of Montresor’s narrative really are, it does seem unquestionable that he knows Fortunato well enough to know exactly how to appeal to his vanity.

As the two men gather orches to light the way into the catacombs, Fortunato begins to could violently. Montresor warns Fortunato again that his “health is precious,” and informs him that if he were to die he would be greatly missed. It is here that readers are iven another small glimpse into the narrator’s state of mind, as he tells Fortunato “you are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter.” It is notable that Fortunato does not respond to these personal revelations about Montresor’s state of mind or emotional state, a fact which again raises questions for readers. Did Fortuntao ignore these comments because he did not take them seriously? Was his lack of response an indication that he had in fact “injured” Montresor and simply lacked the necessary empathy and awareness to know it? Or did Fortunato simply have no way of knowing just how revealing they were in terms of Montresor’s state of mind? The fact that these questions are unanswered, and unanswerable, only reinforces the unreliability of Montresor’s narration.

After luring Fortunato deep into the underground rooms and tunnels, he suddenly moves to chain Fortunato to a wall. Montresor does not recount whether he had put the chains there, but it does quickly become clear that e was well-prepared for this situation, as he is not only able to lock Fortunato up in mere moments; he also has the tools and materials ready to entomb Fortunato by building a wall of bricks and mortar. To this point in the story any elements of the narrative that were potentially unreliable still had the possibility of reasonable explanations; when Montresor finally chains Fortunato to the wall the nature of his hidden madness is revealed by how own words. As Montresor prepares to build the wall that will entomb Fortunato, he again warns Fortunato about the dampness, as if that dampness still poses some threat to Fortunato’s health. And he further taunts Fortunato by saying “once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you.” As Montresor uses his trowel to spread mortar for the bricks, Fortunato drunkenly cries out to him; Montresor responds by mockingly repeating Fortunato’s words and cries. Nearing the end of the task of building the wall, Montresor mentions that his “heart grew sick;” at first this seems as if it may indicate some feelings of regret or remorse, but Montresor goes on to explain that it was merely “the dampness of the catacombs that made it so.”

What begins as a narrative about Montresor’s ill will for his “friend” Fortunato soon becomes a confession to murder. Despite making such a confession, however, it is never clear whether Montresor’s tale can be taken at face value, or if it is simply the ramblings of a madman. It may be that Fortunato is a fool who has routinely “injured” and “insulted” Montresor without even realizing the hurtful nature of his actions, or it may be that Montresor is suffering from paranoid delusions that have driven him to murder. The lack of specificity about the reasons why Montresor so hated Fortunato does leave the reader questioning Montresor’s sanity, just as the seemingly chance encounter between the two men juxtaposed with the fact that Montresor seemed prepared to kill him leaves even the facts of the story open to question. By utilizing such an unreliable narrator, Poe leaves readers wondering if Montresor was simply a madman, or if the story ended with a living, breathing man trapped underground, screaming for help that will never arrive.

Works cited

Cervo, Nathan. “Poe’s the Cask of Amontillado.” The Explicator, 51. 3 (1993): 155–156. Print. 

Milne, Ira Mark. Short stories for students. Detroit, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006. Print.

Nevi, Chareles. “Irony and “The Cask of Amontillado”.” The English Journal, 56. 3 (1967): Print.

Stott, St Graham John. “Poe’s the Cask of Amontillado.” The Explicator, 62. 2 (2004): 85–88. Print.