Summary of Edgar Allan Poe's
"The Cask of Amontillado"
In "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe we are told by a first-person-narrator who is at the same time the main character, called Montresor, that he wants to take revenge on Fortunato, a man who has always insulted him. But he wants to avenge himself without being punished and does not show by any sign to anybody that he has unfriendly ideas concerning Fortunato. He knows about Fortunato's weak point, which is his connoisseurship in wine and decides to use it.
One day in the carnival season he meets Fortunato, who is costumed, "by accident" (he must have planned the meeting before) and tells him that he has bought a cask of Amontillado without being sure that it really contains this type of sherry. Fortunato decides to go with his "friend" because he can say if it is Amontillado or not. They go to Montresor's vaults although Fortunato has been warned several times by Montresor that it might not be good for his health. Montresor mentions repeatedly that he can also ask another person to test the sherry but Fortunato refuses. As a restorative for Fortunato's cough because of the nitre in the vaults they take a drink before continuing to go deeper into the vault to look for the Amontillado.
They talk about Montresor's family, whose motto can be translated as "Nobody challenges me without being punished" and Fortunato continues drinking the spirit while getting more and more drunk.
At the end of the vaults there was a smaller crypt with bones piled on three walls and one wall without bones where a little niche was. There Montresor sends Fortunato to find the Amontillado. Then he fetters him with chains and a padlock to the wall and takes the key while Fortunato is very surprised and does not understand the situation. Montresor begins to wall up the entrance of the recess with stones and mortar.
Finally Fortunato begins to understand in what a situation he is and starts screaming and producing noice with his chains.When he makes shrill screams the narrator hesitates, then anwers with even louder screams till it is quiet again and continues building the wall.
When the wall is nearly ready he hears Fortunato laugh and sayithat all this is a nice joke. Then he asks if they could go home again. But when Fortunato notices that it is no joke at all he gets really horrified. Then all is quiet and even when Montresor shouts Fortunato's name he gets no answer. He throws his torch through the remaining hole but only hears the bells of Fortunato's fool's hat. His heart grows sick and he hurries to end his work, piles the bones against the wall and nobody will have disturbed Fortunato even fifty years later.
Nina Kirstein