Fortunato's love of wine contributes to his downfall in a couple different ways: first, he takes such pride in his knowledge of wine that he jumps at the chance to gloat over what he believes is Montresor's mistaken purchase (Fortunato does not believe Montresor could have bought a whole pipe of amontillado at this time of year but that he has likely overpaid for something else). Montresor says, "He had a weak point — this Fortunato [...]. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine." This makes him willing to go deep into Montresor's catacombs, endangering his health as a result of the niter on the walls.
Second, Fortunato drinks a lot of wine once he and Montresor descend underneath the earth. He was inebriated even before he met Montresor in the street, and he becomes more and more so as they travel together through the vaults. Montresor says that his eyes looked like "two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication." This makes him slow and impairs his judgment so that he does not pick up on strange clues — why does Montresor have a trowel (a tool to lay bricks) in his pocket? why would Montresor have hidden the wine so far back in the catacombs? — and this impairment helps lead to his own death.
Fortunato of "The Cask of Amontillado" has two flaws: he loves wine and he considers himself a great connossieur. In fact, it is his excessive pride which leads to his nemesis much more than his love of wine. However, his excessive drinking certainly inhibits his reasoning. For instance, when Montresor cautions him about the niter and the dangers of his becoming ill, Fortunato does not think about the threatening conditions; instead, he lets his desire to be the one to say that he has first tasted the Amontillado overrule any judgment.
In his drunkenness, too, Fortunato notes that the vaults are extensive, but he thinks nothing of getting lost in them. And, when Montresor makes a pun upon the word mason, Fortunato does not comprehend. So, when Montresor leads him into the dark recess, Fortunato is so inebriated that he does not back away in caution. When he is fettered to the wall, he is bewildered: "He was too much astounded to resist."
One of the ironies of "The Cask of Amontillado" is that Fortunato contributes to his own end. In what ways does he do so?
Fortunato, if he had been a bit more wary, humble, and sober, might have avoided his dreadful end in the catacombs. The first thing that does him in is pride, and Montresor milks that pride well. Montresor knows that Fortunato
"had a weak point...He prided himself on his connoisseur-ship in wine."
Fortunato takes pride in his expertise regarding his abilities to discern quality draughts. Montresor appeals to that sense of pride by saying he bought a bottle of Amontillado, but fears that he was ripped off, and so he is going to ask another man, Luchesi, to see if the wine is quality or not. Immediately, Fortunato's pride kicks in, and he says Luchesi is a fool, and that the only man...
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that can do the job properly is himself. So, Fortunato's pride lends a hand in getting him down into the catacombs in the first place.
Once down there, his drunkenness keeps him from having his proper sense of awareness about him; his inhibitions are lowered, and he's a bit fuzzy about things. This prohibits his spidey-sense from going off that Montresor is leading him quite far into the tombs, much further than a typical wine collection would be kept. Montresor continues to milk his pride, saying they should turn back and consult Luchesi, and his drunkenness by giving him more and more alcohol. So, Fortunato's vanity and intoxicated state do indeed aid Montresor in his evil scheme to do away with the insulting Fortunato. I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!
One of the ironies of "The Cask of Amontillado" is that Fortunato contributes to his own end. In what ways does he do so?
In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Fortunato contributes to his own death mainly through his inebriation. The narrator has "borne as best [he] could" "the thousand injuries of Fortunato," and vows to get revenge. He encounters Fortunato, an aficionado of wines, during the "carnival season"; he is dressed as a jester. By promising him rare wine, the narrator lures the already-drunk Fortunato to his wine cellar. On the way, the narrator offers Fortunato wine to keep him pliable, and Fortunato cannot resist. The narrator chains Fortunato to a wall, and has no trouble due to Fortunato's state. After doing so, the narrator acts as though Fortunato is lagging behind in leaving, and Fortunato believes that he is joking. The narrator begins to build a wall enclosing Fortunato, using a trowel that he had shown Fortunato earlier as a masonic sign. In response to Fortunato's protestations, the narrator continues denying Fortunato's bondage or enclosure, and leaves Fortunato to die.