At the beginning of the story, Montresor mentions that he had suffered a thousand injuries from Fortunato and had heard that Fortunato laughed at his honorable family name. It is unclear what the "thousand injuries" may have been, but the reader understands that Montresor has pride in his lineage and takes offense to Fortunato's insult regarding his family's name. Montresor makes it clear to the reader that he will eventually get his revenge for Fortunato's disrespect. Throughout the story, Fortunato is depicted as a rather arrogant, prideful man, who is respected and feared throughout his community. However, Montresor is acutely aware of Fortunato's weaknesses and is able to manipulate Fortunato into following him down into his family's catacombs. The unarmed Fortunato is caught off guard once Montresor shackles his arms and begins building a wall of stone behind him. True to his family's motto, Montresor gets his revenge by burying Fortunato alive.
In "The Cask of Amontillado," by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor's motivation for killing Fortunato is simple: he was insulted. In the opening line of the story, Montresor (narrator) explains that he suffered through many hurts imposed by Fortunato, but would not put up with an insult: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borned as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge," (1).
It is unclear what the insult was regarding, but one might guess it had something to do with familial protection, as family seems important to Montresor, (illustrated in his discussion of his family's coat of arms); or it may have to do with wine connoisseurship as both men seem to pride themselves on this skill; "I was skillful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could," (2).
Interestingly, the family motto of Montresor is "Nemo me impune lacessit," meaning "No one attacks me with impunity." This implies that members of the Montresor family do not allow anyone to hurt them and then get away with it. However, Montresor's plan to wall Fortunato up inside the catacombs without anyone ever knowing about it is an illustration of exactly that. In fact, Montresor is never punished for his deed because he's never found out: "For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed [his bones]," (6).
What do you think was Montresor's motivation for killing Fortunato?
While the story contains no explicit mention of a motive, it may be gleaned somewhat from the narrator's choice of words and the dialogue. Montresor's motivation is complicated. It has to do not so much with murdering Fortunato specifically as somehow avenging the decline of his family name and prestige. Our narrator is a deeply insecure man. These insecurities manifest themselves as a desperate need for decisive, bold action, namely murdering Fortunato.
As to the catalytic insult which triggered this whole thing? It most likely was something similar to the conversation the two characters had on their way through the wine vaults:
"The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family."
"I forget your arms."
Note that Montresor says they were " a great...
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and numerous family." This implies the family has since dwindled and become less important. Montresor may logically feel ashamed or insecure about this, and thus he feels stung by Fortunato's lack of knowledge (or respect for) his family's importance. Fortunato does not know the family's arms or motto and does not seem to revere the Montresor name as Montresor thinks he should. Montresor resents Fortunato's arrogance and reads it as an insult to his entire existence—his name and family history.
What do you think was Montresor's motivation for killing Fortunato?
In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor wants to kill Fortunato in order to seek vengeance for the "insult" that Fortunato has dealt him. What exactly this insult entails, we do not know; Poe never tells us the specifics of the grievance; we only know that it comes after a "thousand injuries" dealt by Fortunato.
Montresor then decides that he must punish Fortunato "with impunity." He lures Fortunato to his family's cellar with the promise of letting him taste his pipe of Amontillado. The already drunk Fortunato agrees, and, when they arrive, Montresor supplies Fortunato with more alcohol. At this point, he paves the inebriated man into an alcove, effectively sealing him into a suffocating, tiny tomb and leaving him there to die.
What does Montresor think has been done to him that leads him to exact revenge upon Fortunato?
The motive for revenge in the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” is simple insanity. The reader who is looking for a specific cause will find there is really nothing specific indicated beyond Montresor’s madness. He says in the beginning, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had born as best I could.” This is the only reference. However, there are plenty of relevant clues to his madness: “It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season;” the unmerciful way in which he torments Fortunato; pure evil of his plan; the way he mocks Fortunato’s last moments; and the relish with which he tells the tale after 50 years.
Enotes has some great resource material.
http://www.enotes.com/cask-amontillado