The story "The Cask of Amontillado", written by Edgar Allan Poe is a truly fascinating story which, once read, becomes as heavy and scary as it is mysterious. The theme of the story aims for revenge with a cruel murder. Personally, after analyzing "The Cask of Amontillado" I had the feeling that Poe was creating a dark and suspenseful atmosphere, especially after providing the information at the beginning of the story that the main character, Montresor, is looking revenge on another character, Fortunato. In the article “The Motive for Murder in 'The Cask of Amontillado' by Edgar Allan Poe” written by Elena V. Baraban indicates some possible motives for Montresor's actions and talks about the various commentators on the story. Between my personal thoughts and Baraban's article, both share the idea that the main reason for Fortunato's killing was actually Fortunato's own death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayPersonally, after reading "The Cask of Amontillado" I had the feeling that Poe was trying to convey, especially in regards to the plot, that there is more to the story than what is being said. I honestly believe Montresor was exaggerating whatever Fortunato did to him to make him want revenge, which I would say makes him an unreliable narrator. From here a question came to mind that I didn't find a direct answer to in the story: Did Fortunato even know that Montresor was angry about something he had done some time ago? Also, if Fortunato had known, would he have survived? Based on knowledge of Poe's writing, I doubt it because he doesn't write stories like that, and this one in particular was destined to have a dead person at the end. The dark and suspenseful atmosphere of the story is what makes me believe my observation. The dark atmosphere is created by Poe telling the readers that Montresor will take revenge on Fortunato and creates suspense in the readers as to when something might happen to Fortunato. We know from the beginning of the story that Fortunato is going to die, but we have no way of knowing whether he is aware of Montresor's dislike for him. Elena V. Baraban's article, “The Motive for Murder in Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado,'” summarizes the essence of what all commentators on the story concluded, that Montresor was mad. Baraban supports his claim that Montresor is mad by saying: “Far from being a mediocre murderer, Montresor elaborates a sophisticated philosophy of revenge: 'I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is not righted when punishment takes its toll on the person who makes it right. It is equally irreparable when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such by the one who did the evil. (Baraban, 48) All this planning and timing to kill someone because of an insult is more than just border madness, it's simply madness. Edward Hutchins Davidson comments: “We never know what made him hate Fortunato, nor are we aware that he ever formed a plan to carry out his revenge... There is nothing intellectual here; everything is crazy and improvised – and Montresor succeeds to the extent that he can adapt to a crazy and improvised world. Baraban and Davidson have somewhat conflicting ideas about Montresor's plan, but both came to the same conclusion that he was insanely mad. Another commentator, Stuart Levine, considers Montresor a madman since he "kills because of a nameless insult." “According to Levine, 'The Cask has no passage that tells the reader that the narrator is crazy;.