Unfortunately, you are not allowed to ask more than one
question, so I have chosen to focus on the theme of this terrifying short story. From
the very first paragraph it is clear that revenge is Montresor's central motive for
acting in the way that he does:
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as
best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed
revenge.
Although the exact
nature of this "insult" is never divulged, revenge is the driving force that leads
Montresor to plot and enact his most gruesome of punishments. Consider Montresor's
motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit", which means "Nobody attacks me without punishment",
which adds a moment of black humour to the story as Fortunato responds to the firmness
of this motto with a strong approbation: '"Good!" he said.' Of course, the first
paragraph is key to the reader in terms of displaying Montresor's plan, which is an
enactment of his motto:
A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes
its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as
such to him who has done the
wrong.
It is vital therefore
to Montresor that Fortunato meets his fate at his hand - Fortunato must know that it is
Montresor who is exacting the revenge himself, otherwise, by Montresor's definition, it
would not be revenge.
Thus it is revenge that drives
Montresor and impels him to devise such a terrible manner of achieving his revenge
against Fortunato, which, of course, allows Montresor to observe first hand the revenge
he is gaining against his enemy, bricking him in to the depths of his catacombs as he
locks away his crime in his mind and re-enters the light of day
again.
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