Somehow, this made the story illustrate Fortunato's character and somehow has given me some thoughts on Fortunato's character, reasoning why Montresor bears bitterness to Fortunato.
The next scene in the story is the place where the crime will happen, at the catacombs of the Montresors, a place underneath the Montresor palazzo and where a lot of deceptions and verbal ironies were suggested. This includes the concern to Fortunato's health that Montresor shown behind the fact that he means harm to Fortunato. Another irony during the nearing death of Fortunato was the fact that he was wearing a funny costume of a court jester and yet he was unsuspecting that Montresor is already making a "fool" out of him. Moreover, the fact that Fortunato was the one who unknowingly insisted to go to the place of his death is a painful and yet humorous irony of the story.
Overall, The Cask of Amontillado is a blend...
It can effectively arouse a reader's emotion whether to laugh at Fortunato or to pity him. However, in the character of Montresor, a reader can feel nothing but fear of his eerie nature that seems to be out of a normal psychological behavior. The settings and tone in the characters' words all contributed in providing effect to every scene in the story. The first part of the story where Montresor was revealing his anger and wanting for revenge was already effective, stimulating a reader's curiosity on what will happen next.
Perhaps, Edgar Allan Poe meant the story as a lesson to his time where aristocracy can sometimes cause troubles to others. The story shows how a lower class can feel, and can do to the unrelenting upper class that abuses power.
Reference
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado (Text). http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/cask_amo.html
