The Cask of Amontillado

“The Cask of Amontillado,” is a parable story because it examines human behavior through two characters, the protagonist Montressor and the antagonist Fortunado. Montressor states that he vowed his revenge towards Fortunado as he claims that Fortunado has done many unspeakable acts against Montressor. None of which is ever disclosed to the reader. However, throughout the story, Montressor may be symbolized as the grim reaper as he is the cause to Fortunado’s death. Fortunado on the other hand, can be represented as the sin of pride, as he speaks like he is all knowing and almighty when compared to other people. The term sin of pride is defined by being punished for thinking to highly of oneself and ones abilities. The character Fortunado fits this term perfectly because Fortunado is characterized as an omniscient Rockefeller. He talks to Montressor about extravagant wines, the amontillado in particular. The Amontillado is stored in Montressor’s catacomb, and Fortunado insists on going to down to have some. This gives Montressor the perfect opportunity to seek is revenge on the unknown sins Fortunado has done to him. To carry out his revenge, Montressor keeps feeding less expensive wines to Fortunado to make him incapable of holding his ego. Many times on their way down to the amontillado, Montressor exclaims that they should turn back has Fortunado may get sick down in the catacomb. Fortunado, in his impaired state insists that they continue on down, thus foreshadowing his fate. As Montressor leads Fortunado down towards the amontillado, he is wearing a long dark cloak with a hood pulled over his head. This suggests the image of a grim reaper. This is ironic because as all the details add up, Montressor will be the cause for Fortunado’s death. As they are deep down in the catacombs, Montressor grabs the now intoxicated Fortunado and chains him to the wall in a burial chamber. Montressor then begins to use his masonry skills and build a wall in the doorway. As