Fiction consists of several different categories. One of the many classifications of fiction is gothic fiction. This genre is characterized by the use of sinister and mysterious themes, settings, and moods to invoke a sense of dread, maliciousness, and the extraordinarily crude via literature. The famous American poet, Edgar Allan Poe, was dubbed the father of gothic literature for writing such melancholy tales as “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee”, and “The Tell Tale Heart”. “The Cask of Amontillado”, however, particularly depicts the grotesque elements that define gothic fiction. The short story tells the tale of Montresor, the narrator, who seeks revenge against the unsuspecting, naive Fortunato, his best friend, in the cruelest and most sinister
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Montresor manipulated every single situation to work to his advantage. Montresor used deception to insure the departure of his servants on the evening of his revenge. He orders his servants to stay at home while he goes out into the carnival. He states in the story, “These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.” (Poe 3) Montresor knew this would ensure their departure as soon as he left his home since he seems to have an uncanny ability to use reverse psychology to get what he wants. He uses this trick to get Fortunato into his cellar as well. Montresor tells Fortunato about the cask of amontillado he has acquired and that he was going to ask Luchesi, an adversary of Fortunato in the connoisseurship of wine, for assistance in determine if the wine was authentic since Fortunato was engaged and had a cold. Montresor uses Luchesi as a pawn to hurt Fortunato’s ego. Fortunato feels his pride being threatened which makes him want to prove his superiority and confirm the wine himself. Also, amontillado is a rare wine which was even rarer to come by during a season of merriment. Montresor was well aware all of this would make it impossible for Fortunato not to want to examine the wine. Montresor’s evil does not end at his extreme ability to manipulate, however. He is also malicious because of his extreme obsession with a perfect
Montresor manipulated every single situation to work to his advantage. Montresor used deception to insure the departure of his servants on the evening of his revenge. He orders his servants to stay at home while he goes out into the carnival. He states in the story, “These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.” (Poe 3) Montresor knew this would ensure their departure as soon as he left his home since he seems to have an uncanny ability to use reverse psychology to get what he wants. He uses this trick to get Fortunato into his cellar as well. Montresor tells Fortunato about the cask of amontillado he has acquired and that he was going to ask Luchesi, an adversary of Fortunato in the connoisseurship of wine, for assistance in determine if the wine was authentic since Fortunato was engaged and had a cold. Montresor uses Luchesi as a pawn to hurt Fortunato’s ego. Fortunato feels his pride being threatened which makes him want to prove his superiority and confirm the wine himself. Also, amontillado is a rare wine which was even rarer to come by during a season of merriment. Montresor was well aware all of this would make it impossible for Fortunato not to want to examine the wine. Montresor’s evil does not end at his extreme ability to manipulate, however. He is also malicious because of his extreme obsession with a perfect