The Cask Of Amontillado
By; Joey, Vijitha, Avery, Darby, Karis, Austin, and Justin
Author
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied at the University of Virginia and the U.S. military Academy at West Point. He wrote short-stories and poems. He was also a critic and editor. Most of his stories were mysteries and horror stories. The Raven (1845) was his most popular poem and it is very well known in national literature.
Person Vs. Person
This conflict is quite obvious throughout the story. Montresor has a vendetta against Fortunato (it nevers says what Fortunato did to deserve such loathing) which leads him to murder.
Person Vs. Self
Person Vs. Society
Montresor is defying the societal rules of the upper class by murdering one of his own kind, in a betrayal of trust.
Person vs. Nature: There is a bit of Person vs. Nature between Fortunato and nature, since he does attempt to defy death by trying to stay alive.
Characterization
The main characters of The Cask of Amontillado are Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor is the Protagonist of this story because the story is written in 1st person perspective and through his perspective, Fortunato was the ‘evil person’ and he was the ‘good person’. This is seen when Montresor said, “...but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 61). Montresor is a round character because although he doesn't change or grow throughout the story, we learn about his many characteristics and see more than one side of him. We learn that his family, “‘The Montresors...were a great and numerous family” (Poe 64), and that he was also once “...rich, respected, admired, beloved...happy” (Poe 64). We also see that Montresor took interest in winery as he said, “I was skillful in the Italian vintage myself, and bought largely whenever I could” (Poe 62). Although he is the main character and we learn a lot about him and his personality, Montresor is a static character because he does not change or develop throughout the story.
Fortunato is the Antagonist of the story because he is seen as the evil person through Montresor’s perspective. Fortunato is also a round character because we learn about and see many sides to him as Montresor narrates. One thing we learn about Fortunato is that he is “...a man to be respected and even feared” (Poe 62). Montresor also says that Fortunato is “...rich, respected, admired, beloved...happy” (Poe 64). We learn that Fortunato’s weakness was his taste and interest in wine, as Montresor said, “He (Fortunato) had a weak point--this Fortunato...He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine” (Poe 62). Finally, Fortunato is a static character because he does not develop or change, but stays the same throughout the story.
Luchesi is a flat character because he is a very small and minor character in the story. He is mentioned a few times by Montresor concerning the Amontillado. We only learn a couple of traits about Luchesi, which makes him a static character. One trait we learn about Luchesi is that he has interest in wine. This is seen when Montresor tells Fortunato, “‘As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has critical turn it is he...some fools have it that his taste is a match for your (Fortunato) own’” (Poe 62). We can also inference that Luchesi is seen as competition to Fortunato as Fortunato says, “‘Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from sherry...Come, let us go’” (Poe 62).