Study Guide for “The Cask of Amontillado”
I. JOURNAL - Write a response to each question.
Is revenge ever justified? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Has anyone ever done anything to you that made you want to get revenge? What did they do?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Have you ever gotten revenge on someone for something they did to you? What did you do to them in return? Why did
you feel the need to get revenge?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Explain how the revenge made you feel. Did you get caught? If you had gotten caught, would that have changed the
feeling the revenge gave you? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Do acts of revenge ever solve conflict?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
II. Text-dependent Questions
1.) Reread the first paragraph on page 87. Why does the narrator want revenge? What does it mean that he seeks to
“punish with impunity”?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) On page 87, Montresor describes Fortunato’s knowledge of different topics. What does Montresor mean when he
says, “In painting and gemmary Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack--but in the matter of old wines he was
sincere”? Why is this important?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3.) Reread pages 88-89. What evidence from Poe’s writing builds a mood of suspense in the conversation between
Montresor and Fortunato?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4.) During Fortunato’s coughing fit, Montresor insists they return to the festival, as he is worried about the cold and
damp surroundings making Fortunato ill. Fortunato responds by saying, “Enough...the cough is a mere nothing; it will not
kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” What is ironic about these lines? (Pg. 89)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5.) Reread page 90 until the line, “He emptied it at a breath.” What sensory details does Poe provide to help you visualize
the setting? What mood does he succeed in creating?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6.) What specific details lead you to understand how intoxicated Fortunato is? How does his state help Montresor chain
him to the wall? (Pgs. 89-91)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
7.) Reread from the beginning of page 92 starting with, “The noise lasted for several minutes” until the end of the
paragraph (“...threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within”). What details make this description especially horrifying?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
8.) In your own words, summarize what happens in the first full paragraph on page 92.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9.) How would you describe Montresor’s and Fortunato’s final interaction? What mood does Poe leave lingering with these
lines? (Pg. 92)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________