Name:
Period:
Date:
Cask of Amontillado Questions
On a separate sheet of paper answer the following questions using short answers. Use complete
sentences and textual evidence to support your answers. In other words, you need to have Flippin’
Awesome answers!
Reading Check – answer all of the following questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What does Montresor admit is his motive for this crime?
According to Montresor, what makes a perfect crime?
According to Montresor, what kind of person is Fortunato?
How does Montresor lure Fortunato farther and farther into the catacombs?
Where had the stone and mortar, used by Montresor to wall up the entrance to the niche, been
hidden?
6. What evidence suggests that Montresor has committed the perfect crime?
Thinking Critically – choose nine of the following questions to answer
7. How would you describe the persona that Poe has created for Montresor? Why might Poe have
chosen someone like Montresor to tell his story?
8. What character traits in Fortunato make him fall prey to Montresor?
9. Why do you think Fortunato became silent at the end? What do you think the effect was on
Montresor?
10. In your opinion, what is Montresor thinking when he says, “In pace rquiescat”? Explain your
interpretation.
11. To whom could Montresor be talking, fifty years after the murder, and for what reasons?
12. Montresor’s voice – the way he speaks and his tone – is frequently ironic. Which of
Montresor’s comments to the unsuspecting Fortunato mean something different from what they
seem to mean?
13. Think about whether or not Montresor is an unreliable narrator. Do any details suggest that
he might have imagined “the thousand injuries” and the insult – or even the whole story? Can
you find evidence in the story to support Montresor’s claim that Fortunato did in fact injure and
insult him? To support your answers, consider Montresor’s actions, statements, and voice.
14. Think about Poe’s decision to set his story during carnival. What is ironic about the setting?
In what ways does the setting suit the plot of the story?
15. What is the meaning of the phrase "A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its
redresser."?
16. Draw a picture or diagram of of the deep crypt described on page 5. Fortunato should be
shown already fettered.
17. Who do you suppose the “You” is in the 1st paragraph of the story?
18. How does Poe increase the elements of suspense as Fortunato is gradually walled into the
catacombs?
19. Why did Montresor go to such lengths to get his revenge? After all, he could merely have run
Fortunato through with his sword.
Extending and Evaluating – answer five of the following questions
20. Is this just a gripping horror story told only for entertainment, or do you think it reveals
some truth about people who are consumed by a desire for revenge? Give reasons for your
opinions.
21. What if Montresor is a woman? Most people assume Montresor is a man. Why? Would it
change the way you think about the story if Montresor is a woman?
22. What kind of clown is Fortunato? We see lots of scary clowns in the movies and in books. Is
Fortunato a scary clown? If so, what is scary about him? If not, why?
23. How do you feel when you read "The Cask"? Claustrophobic? Tired? Something else? What
about the story makes you feel this way?
24. Could Fortunato narrate this story? Why, or why not? Make an argument for both sides of
this debate.
25. Write a sequel describing the discovery of the niche.
26. Do you think the degree of revenge described in the story is ever justified? What other
actions could Montresor have taken?
27. Do you believe insults or bullying could cause this degree of revenge today? What, in your
opinion, could be done to prevent it?