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   clane Teacher
   High School - 10th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   The narrator is certainly an unreliable one. The story is told from Montresor, the narrator's, point of view. At the opening of the story Montresor claims that Fortunato has committed "a thousand insults" against him, but he never names what was done. When Fortunato makes his way into the story he thinks the two to be friends so Montresor could have the insults worked up in his mind. At the close of the story as he is burying Fortunato alive, which isn't exactly a sane act to begin with, he remains quite calm even when Fortunato begins to realize what is happening to him. A reader can deduce from the act of burying him alive that Montresor is in fact insane. He does have a moment of feeling guilty, but he attributes the feeling to the dampness of the catacombs, which again could point toward Montresor being insane.

   "My heart grew sick - on account of the dampness of the catacombs."

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   Posted by clane on Monday April 7, 2008 at 7:09 AM