Montresor planned Fortunato’s revenge masterfully. He knew that Fortunato loved wine and he planned his revenge to coincide with a time when Fortunato could be drunk and to take advantage of the carnival. Montresor specifically planned to murder Fortunato when drunk during a carnival. Montresor states, “He accosted me with excessive warmth for he had been drinking much” (Poe) He (Montresor) tricked Fortunato that he had obtained a pipe of Amontillado-a kind of wine. He urged Fortunato to help him identify the authenticity of the Amontillado but Fortunato was doubtful that Montresor could receive a pipe (about 500 litres of wine) during the carnival. . "Amontillado, a pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!" (Poe). However, Montresor’s connoisseurship comes out strongly because in spite of the doubts he used masterful trickery and blackmailing to compel Fortunato to go along with him.
He cheated Fortunato the too was doubtful that what he had was genuine Amontillado and even stated that, “ I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter”. This is trickery meant to make Fortunato feel honored that he had to be consulted before such wine was purchased. As such, Fortunato played along with the revenge plan by Montresor. To cap it and make sure that Fortunato went along with him on his own will, Montresor threatened to enlist the help of Luchresi whom he knew was a rival to Fortunato. Montresor knew that Fortunato and Luchresi were rivals and that Fortunato could not agree to have Luchresi conform the authenticity of the Amontillado. In deed Fortunato states, "Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry." (Poe)
Montresor’s "connoisseurship" is affirmed when he pretentiously states that some people can get cheated that Luchresi is a good wine taster as compared to Fortunato, "And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own” (Poe). As such they set off to a place that up to now Fortunato had not heard off! When Montresor mentioned that they would go to the vaults, Fortunato was again hesitant but the moment Montresor mentioned that Luchresi could take over the job, Fortunato agreed to go. This shows perfect blackmail and indeed success with "connoisseurship".
Montresor had also made sure that there were no attendants at his home who could foil his revenge plans. ‘There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time” (Poe). Montresor had also issued the attendants with strict warnings, “explicit orders not to stir from the house” (Poe).
Montresor then led Fortunato “through several suites of rooms that led into the vaults” up to the “ damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors”. Nitre presence in the vaults made the intoxicated Fortunato to cough. All the while, Montresor exuded innocence stating, “we will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible.” This proves that Montresor is an expert in planning and executing revenge. He had made sure that he would never be traced for the murder and the disappearance of Fortunato because he made sure that the murder took place inside a vault-where several of the Montresor dead family members had been buried.
Instructively, Montresor guided Fortunato into a section of the vaults among the skeletons of his dead family members and build a wall which enclosed the helpless Fortunato. At first, Fortunato though that it was a joke that his friend was building a wall that enclosed him inside a place where he could not leave, but he soon realised that he was being caged to die. This shows the extreme brutality in the revenge carried out by Montresor.
Works cited
Poe, Edgar A. Tales of Mystery & Imagination. London: Bloomsbury, 2009. Print.
