Exposition
Background: . The exposition of the story begins when Montresor (the narrator) is introduced and starts talking about his hard history together with Fortunato (the victim) . Montresor claims that Fortunato has wounded him a “thousands” times. Montresor never complains until one day. Fortunato goes way to far according to Montresor because he insulted him, and Montresor vows revenge on the day of carnival
Setting: when we have a look at the setting of ‘’the cask,’’ we can see a clear or distinct movement from freedom to confinement. As they walk into the catacomb, Montresor and Fortunato move into smaller and smaller spaces. This clarifies that, as they travel away from fresh air, they are also moving further away from freedom. Fortunato is eventually trapped in a space that represents the opposite of freedom: he Is chained up and bricked inside a man-sized crypt with no (fresh)air and there is no way out of it.
Conflict
A conflict derives from the motivation. When things make it difficult to fulfill the motivation is what provides the conflict. The conflict of the story is that Montresor has to take revenge in a way that allows him to get away with it. It must not be possible for Fortunato to can revenge him back, otherwise he has lost. The punishment must be permanent and in a way that Fortunato will feel it. Fortunato has to know that it is coming from Montresor. But this presents many problems and difficulties, because Montresor doesn’t want to be suspected and at the same time Fortunato is dressed in a costume that even has bells on his cap that attracts way too much attention. Montresor wants to commit the perfect crime in which the protagonist doesn’t get caught.
Complication
There isn’t much complication in the story. Montresor succeeded in taking Fortunato with him in the catacombs. The only complication is when he has to take him deeper and deeper in the dark passages knowing that Fortunato is ill with a bad cough
Rising action
The rising action starts when Montresor brings Fortunado to his catacombs to taste his Amontillado, the expensive type of wine. During this time Fortunato is slightly intoxicated and not aware to what is taking place around him. He still believes Montresor when he said that he have bought a large barrel of Amontillado. The action rises when they are getting deeper and deeper in the dark passages, because it gives us the idea that the murder or the climax will take place very soon.
-foreshadowing The story also has some clues of foreshadowing in it. Firstly, Montresor himself said that he had “vowed revenge” and that he would “punish with impunity.” A revenge that is done with impunity, means that he will do something awful on Fortunato. So here we can take it form his own lips. He doesn’t tell us specific what will happen, but it hook the readers up and get them interested in the story.
secondly, when he leads Fortunato down to the catacombs, he goes through his own apartment. He does not see any servants of him. He planned this, because he told his servants he was going out for the evening, and to stay in the house. He said:
“These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.”
But why would he do this? He would do this to make sure that no servant or no one could tie him to being with Fortunado. He doesn’t want anyone knowing where Fortunado has gone and he doesn’t want anyone seeing him with Fortunado, because he will be reported missing. If the servants say Montresor leading him underground, the authorities would search there and maybe they will find him there. This all foreshadows the fact that Montresor is taking him down there, for always, permanently.
Climax
the climax of the story is when Montresor brings up Luchesi, Fortunato calls Luchesi an “ignoramus” and then it happens, Montresor has chained Fortunato inside an upright casket in the foulest depths of the catacomb while Fortunato is watching himself being bricked in.
A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess…I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.
Denouement/ falling action
now the story begins to lead downhill, toward the ending. When Montresor begins to bury his so called friend alive. When Montresor is almost finished with burying him alive, Fortunato becomes desperate and then, finally, unresponsive Montresor then completes his work and leaves.
But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my head. It was
succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of the noble Fortunato. The voice said—“Ha! ha! ha!—he! he!—a very good joke indeed—an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo—he! he! he!—over our wine—he! he! he!”
“The Amontillado!” I said.
“He! he! he!—he! he! he!—yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone.”“Yes,” I said, “let us be gone.” “For the love of God, Montresor!” “Yes,” I said, “for the love of God!”
But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply
Resolution
At the beginning of the story Montresor specifies his problem. He must satisfy all the requirements he describes in order to achieve a complete resolution. This is how Montresor explained his problem:
I must not only punish, but punish
with impunity. 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.
Montresor succeeds in bringing Fortunato through the crowded streets without being recognized as his companion. He succeeds in getting Fortunato down into the dark passages of his own catacombs. Fortunato realizes at the end what is going on and then he says: “for the love of god, Montresor!” this is an important achievement because it is the first time that Fortunato has called Montresor by his name. one of the requirements for revenge is satisfied: Montresor has made himself “felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”
One requirement is still to be met. Montresor concludes his story with a real resolution:
“A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.”
here the writer must show to the readers that Montresor has never been suspected as being the killer of Fortunato. And therefore Montresor concludes his story with the true resolution:
Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart
of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed
them. In pace requiescat!