El Barril De Amontillado

Abril Vazquez
English 102
Mr. Baukholt
March 4, 2012
“The Cask of Amontillado:” A Tale of Tragedy or Foolishness
Does a man has to be punished for being too naïve? As humans, we are scared ofdeath, so we instinctively protect ourselves from danger. Most of us are capable of detecting a suspicious situation, and avoid it. Would we be able to suspect from a person we trust as well? In “TheCask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism and irony to depict this very same controversy. Fortunato may appear to be an innocent victim, but his ultimate fate strongly suggests that hisfoolishness along with Montresor’s and vengeful feelings and intelligence are a lethal combination.
Although Montresor was the perpetrator of the murder, Fortunato has his share of guilt too. He ignoredthe all the signs that Montresor was intentionally showing him. First of all, he approached Fortunato using a black cloak in a carnival and took him to his desolate house, all the way to his family’sgraves. Also, Fortunato who was already drunk kept on drinking until he almost lost his conscious. Secondly, when he asked for Montresor’s family motto he answered, “Nemo me impune lacessit” whichmeans “No one insults me with impunity,” which is actually part of the coat of arms of Scotland. Finally, the end was the most important part of all. Towards the end, when Fortunato was already tied up,he did not try to persuade Montresor to let him go. He just stood there and yelled at him, “For the love of God, Montresor.” Montresor called out his name, and when he did not get an answer, he justcontinued building the wall.
Montresor is an enigmatic character, the only thing we really know about him is his motivation, which is vengeance. He wants us to believe that Fortunato did somethingso terrible to him, that he deserved death. He states so at the very beginning: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” The...