What do the jingling bells symbolize in Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Drunken, sick, foolish, arrogant—this is the victim in the story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s tightly woven story is narrated through Montresor who seeks revenge from Fortunato for undisclosed insults. Much planning and preparation has gone into Montresor’s scheme to kill Fortunato. 

Poor ridiculous Fortunato does not have a clue that his "supposed" friend is leading him to his death.  Fortunato is dressed as a court jester [also called a fool] whose purpose is to entertain his audience: an appropriate dress for this man ignorant of what is happening to him.

 The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I [Montresor] was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.

As Montresor leads Fortunato through the catacombs toward the wine, Fortunato’s bells are often heard.

• The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode
•  He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familiarly, while his bells jingled.
• The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled.

Each sounding of the bells moves Fortunato closer to his fate.

Symbolically, bells represent many aspects of life.

1. Bells toll to represent time.  This is true in the story as the jingling of the bells ring as his time runs out on his life.
2. Poe uses the bells to build toward the climactic moment when Montresor quickly chains Fortunato to the wall. 
3. Bells also denote the death of someone. Fortunato’s last sound before his death is the ringing of his bells as he accepts his fate and knows that there is no hope.

As he walls up Fortunato in his  tomb, Monstresor calls to Fortunato:

No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only jingling of the bells.

No one knows for sure what that last sound meant. Fortunate may have let his head fall forward on his chest, or may be he passed out due to the cold and his illness. No matter because Fortunato is silenced forever. As Montresor states: Rest in peace.

What does the ringing of the bells signify in The Cask of Amontillado?

The ringing bells on Fortunato’s cap naturally attract attention. This makes it that much more of a problem for Montresor, who wants to get Fortunato down off the crowded streets into his catacombs. Fortunato is wearing the most conspicuous kind of a costume. Poe could have given him any kind of costume but he deliberately made it not only gaudy but noisy. The biggest conflict in the story is Montresor’s problem in getting Fortunato down below without being recognized himself. He didn’t want anybody to remember seeing him with Fortunato on the night Fortunato disappeared. By making Fortunato so conspicuous, Poe makes Montresor all the more inconspicuous in his black cloak and black mask. He is almost like a shadow. Inquiries will be made. Many people will remember seeing Fortunato, and a few will remember that he was with someone---but no one will be able to tell who he was with. Montresor has plenty of foresight. He knows that Fortunato’s disappearance will be talked about for years. He himself will have to keep asking if there is any news about his “good friend” until the authorities give up their investigations and the matter is finally forgotten.

I would agree with the symbolism of the bells in general, but there is also a more specific meaning that applies here. Fortunato is wearing a costume for carnival, and the hat has bells on it. The ringing bells indicate his nervous motion, that he is upset, that he has moved physically, and, throughout, that this is Carnival, the time when the world is turned upside down. This makes the entire story deeply ironic, for the narrator is essentially walling a clown into the brick work, and the bells remind us of this.

Greg

Throughout Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," bells and the ringing of bells signify death. In this tale, the "jingling" of bells occurs numerous times.

Historically, the ringing of bells told all hearers of a death. The quote from poet John Donne should have been "ringing" in the protagonist's ears: "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."