Haunting Confession of Revenge and Murder in The Cask of...

The haunting confession of revenge and murder Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† is a horror story about revenge and murder that occurred half a century ago. Through the haunting confession of the narrator, Montresor, the reader is able to feel what Fortunato had endured half a century ago. In this tale of revenge and murder the dark, damp, and bone-filled catacombs provide a contrast to life during the â€Å"madness of the carnival† (553). Through the acts, thoughts, and words of the protagonists Montresor, the reader is able to feel the psychological torment that Fortunato is about to endure. The first line in the story Montresor said â€Å"The thousand of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured†¦show more content†¦Fortunato assumes he is a fellow member of a society, when really he is merely a bricklayer, who intends to seal him in the bricks for all eternity. This conversation also provides foreshadowing in the story when Montresor produces a â€Å"trowel† (555). This is the first clue shown to the reader as to how Montresor will kill Fortunato. By the end of the story the reader is even more aware of the irony that Poe has used. If ever anyone comes across Fortunato’s skeleton they will find him dressed in a â€Å"tight-fitting parti-striped dress† and on his head a â€Å"conical cap and bells† (553). The setting gives the reader an awareness of the dark, sinister mind of Montresor. The catacombs provide an appropriate setting for the story’s suspense and inevitable ending. Poe describes the men passing â€Å"walls of piled bones, with casks and puncheons intermingling into the inmost recesses of the catacombs† (555). The dark and gloomy catacombs are the perfect place for a murder. The overall mood of the story is one of impending evil. Bill Delaney makes the following statement about Montresor’s plan for revenge and murder in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†: â€Å"If he were to have had a change of heart and had released Fortunato, he would only have experienced a renewal of the fury that led him to immolate his enemy in the first place. He could not have allowed Fortunato another chance to add to the thousand injuries