Dec 18, 2009

The Cask of Amontillado | Themes

Revenge
The force that drives Montresor to commit the horrible murder of Fortunato is his powerful desire for revenge. His first words in the story speak of it: ‘‘The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.’’ The idea of revenge is repeated several times in the opening paragraph. Montresor will not rush to act, he says, but ‘‘at length I would be avenged''; he is determined to "not only punish, but punish with impunity.’’ The terms of the revenge are quite clear in Montresor's...