The cask of amontllado
The cask of amontllado"The Cask of Amontllado" by Edgar Allan Poe
This is very well-thought out story of revenge involving two enemies, in which a man, Montresor elaborately plans the demise of his foe Fortunato. Montresor chooses the the timing to seek his revenge perfectly. It is the time of the carnival (Mardi Gras). The carnival in itself creates a great diversion. It's a particularly haphazard and crazy time. Fortunato is quite drunk, and much too trusting of Montresor. He even throws a mask and cloak over Montresor, making their departure from the carnival even less conspicuous.
Montresor subtly plays Fortunato's ego in order to convince him to leave the carnival and sample some Amontllado that he had supposedly just purchased. Montresor keeps mentioning that he was on the way to have Luchresi sample the wine and get his opinion on its authenticity. He knows that Fortunato would never give up an opportunity to sample such a fine wine, nor would his ego allow an "inferior" connoisseur to judge the quality of the wine. The way in which Montresor manipulates Fortunato's ego is masterful.
Montresor knows the servants have left for the evening because he ordered them not to abandon the house, but told them that he would not be returning until morning. He knew that during this time of merriment the servants would disappear as soon as he...
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