"The Cask of Amontillado"

"The Cask of Amontillado" is a story of revenge. This revenge had to be well plotted out and executed at the right time, or all time would be wasted. The main character has been building up a hatred for a man by the name of Fortunato for quite some time; however Fortuanto has no awareness of such hatred. It was about dusk, one evening durring the supreme madness of the festival season, where the main character was to impliment his diabolical plan for revenge. The main character knew that Fortuanto was a wine finatic, and was a huge boaster about his "talents". By tricking Fortunato into believing he was to ask Luchresi, a man of whom Fortunato did not like, to taste an Amontillado wine, he was able to hook Fortunato into offering his own assistance. The two men walked down into the vaults where the wine was being stored. The damp, cool, and isolated vaults was a perfect place to conduct his revenge. Along the was the main character was able to undergo the first phase of his plan, getting Fortunato drunk. Deeper and deeper the two men went down in the vaults where, at this point, Fortunato was beyond mental capability. Leaving Fortunato in a niche, the main character started to build a wall to enclose Fortunato in the vaults forever. Building stone, Mortar, and the aid of his trowel, the main character built the wall and sat down by skeletons that rest agianst the wall.
This story by Edger Allen Poe was one that I really enjoyed. Althought it was kinda emo, I saw that it fits with my personality at times. I feel as if at times I do the same thing where I am talking to my self in my head planning on a way to get back at someone. While reading this short story I saw some figurative language that the authour portraied. The part of the story where Fortunato said that the wine wouldn't kill him gave me a sense that something was going to happen to him later on in the story. It was quite ironic that something did happen. The main character got Fortunato well under the influence and what Fortunato really loved, in the end killed him, with the help of the main character of course. Not only did I like the fact that Poe used irony as the main loop of things, but I also enjoyed the whole frame of things. The anger that the main charcter had was really powerful to me as a reader. The saying "Nemo me impurne lacessit" [ no one attacks me with impunity(witout being punished)], made me really feel what the main character was feeling. Fortunato must have done something really big to the main character to get him that peeved off. So, in conclusion to what I had to say, I would like to add that out of the three short stories that we read this one gave me the most out of my time. I got to feel what the main character felt, I was able to understand what was happening and I enjoyed the plot of the story as well. Now it is time to give my fingers some requiescat.(Rest)

By: Alexander Rasmussen, Friday, March 3rd, 2007