Initial Situation An insult, and a vow of revenge Fortunato and Montresor have a history, and a painful one at that.

Fortunato has wounded Montresor a thousand times. Montresor never complains. But one day, Fortunato goes too far: he insults Montresor, and Montresor vows revenge. Conflict How to make things right forever For Montresor to revenge himself for Fortunatos insult, he has to get away with it if Fortunato can revenge him back, then Montresor has lost. The punishment must be permanent Fortunato has to feel it, and he has to know its coming from Montresor. Complication Its almost too easy There really isnt much complication. After a few carefully dropped hints from Montresor (think Amontillado and Luchesi), Fortunato insists on following Montresor down into the underground graveyard of your worst nightmares. Montresor baits him and plays with him, but Fortunato never considers turning back until its way too late. Climax Trapped in a conveniently man-sized space! Montresor brings up Luchesi, Fortunato calls Luchesi an ignoramus, and boom! Hes chained inside an upright casket in the foulest depths of the catacomb! Thats the storys big, explosive moment. Suspense Brick by brick by brick Montresor is building a wall of suspense, especially if you are Fortunato. Fortunatos watching himself being bricked in, waiting, breathlessly to see if this is some kind of really creepy carnival joke. Denouement The final brick After Montresor puts in the final brick, the suspense is dissolved. Hes heard the pitiful jingle of Fortunatos bells, and it means nothing to him. As soon as the air is used up in the tiny brick casket, Fortunato will be dead. Conclusion Looking back Its impossible to know how old Montresor is when he kills Fortunato, but in the second to the last line of the story, we learn that the murder happened fifty years ago. So Montresor is probably pushing eighty when hes telling the story. And he could be far more ancient. More importantly, this conclusion lets us know that Montresor has gotten away with his crime so far. His vengeance has been a success, and he wants us to know it. Setting: An underground catacomb, somewhere in Italy, during the carnival season Characters: Montresor (if thats his real name), our narrator, is Mr. Sinister. Hes the guy you dont want to meet in an underground graveyard, or anywhere else. Hes a cold and ruthless killer. He not only enjoys killing, but also thinks its necessary. Fortunato- At first glance, Fortunato seems easier to identify with than Montresor. Its much simpler to relate to the victim than to the victimizer. But, in some ways, he seems even more foreign to the reader than Montresor. Part of this is because Montresor is telling us the story, and he doesnt give us much information on his prey. Luchesi isnt really a character. Hes more of a plot device. He helps drive the action. Luchesi is Fortunatos rival in wine tasting. Montresor doesnt really need to bring up Luchesi to lure Fortunato to his dire fate. The prospect of Amontillado is enough. Luchesi is a kind of insurance for Montresor. He brings Luchesi up whenever he wants to keep Fortunato distracted like right before he fetter[s] him to the granite. But again, Montresor doesnt really need to evoke the name of Luchesi. Fortunato is not only drunk, but also willing to do anything to get to the Amontillado. Montresor is just playing with him, exploiting Fortunatos weak point[s], with a little help from Luchesi.