“The Cask of Amontillado” has two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. The story is being told by Montresor’s point of view and we are with him as he brings down his opponent Fortunato. Poe builds each character throughout the story but in the beginning he introduces us to a character that is angry and is now ready to serve his form of justice “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.” (Poe 764). With this Poe is setting the scene of anger and justification that the character is feeling. Montresor is angry because of the “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could”, but he is also smart in that he knows in order to get his revenge he must maintain his appearance of friendship, which he had been doing …show more content…
When meeting Fortunato on the street Montresor gains his attention by mentioning the cask of Amontillado that he has acquired and with that Fortunato, who had been drinking, insisted that they go down into the vaults to try this cask of wine. The irony of this is that under the guise of friendship and concern he tells Fortunato’s health he tells Fortunato “Come, we will go back ere it is too late.” (Poe 766) due to the cough that is exacerbated by the cold and dampness of the cellars of Montresor’s home. During the trip going further and further into the catacombs Montresor asks Fortunato again if he would like to go