Oh honey, Montresor plays Fortunato like a fiddle with reverse psychology. He lures him into the catacombs by telling him he's not up to the challenge, making Fortunato think he can prove him wrong. It's like dangling a shiny object in front of a magpie - too tempting to resist. And we all know how that story ends... with a wall and some good ol' revenge.
A trowel. Fortunato had asked Montresor to show him the secret sign of the brotherhood of Freemasons. Montresor pulls out a trowel to show Fortunato that he is a "mason." Fortunato laughs as if Montresor were joking, little knowing that the trowel is no joke, because Montresor intends to use it to kill Fortunato.
They don't have a conversation about "brotherhood" per se. The conversation is about the brotherhood of the Freemasons. Fortunato makes some strange gestures that perplex Montresor. Fortunato states that is because Montresor is not of the Brotherhood of masons, meaning the Brotherhood of the secret group the Freemasons. Montresor says that he is and Fortunatos says it is impossible and asks for the sign. Here Montresor produces a trowel to prove he is a mason. This gets a laugh out of Fortunato, because it is a play on the word 'mason'. Fortunato means it in the Freemason sense, while Montresor means it in the bricklayer sense. A very nice pun. A very ironic pun considering that Montresor is about to use the trowel as a mason would to build a brick wall to seal Fortunato in the cellar till his death.
The main character's (Montresor) enemy (Fortunato) has a weakness in that he has vanity and pride in his ability to judge wines. This vanity is so great that Montresor will use it to lure Fortunato into Montresor's cellar where Montresor will be able to seal him in never to be heard from again. This is how Montresor put it: "He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected even feared. He prided himself in his connoisseurship in wine."
"...My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met..." This is Ironic because Montresor says he's lucky to see Fortunato, but he really hates him.
The exciting part of "The Cask of Amontillado" is when Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs with the promise of tasting a rare wine, Amontillado. As the story progresses, we see Montresor's cunning and the suspense builds as Fortunato becomes more intoxicated and unaware of his impending fate.
Some devices are:Foreshadowing: The various sets of bones throughout the passageway Montresor takes Fortunato through foreshadow Fortunato future as being another pile of bones just like the ones they are passing.Irony: Fortunato's name is ironic because being murdered is not the most fortunate thing a person can wish for. He is also ironic because he is dressed in a fool's costume yet believes himself to be quite knowledgeable in wines and Montresor will use that belief to fool Fortunato into the cellar to his doom.Imagery: Montresor points to the nitre on the walls of the cellar describing it as weblike and hanging like moss.Symbolism: Montresor's family crest and motto reflect the fact that they will tolerate no insult and will punish anyone who insults the family. This is a symbol of Montresor's frame of mind and of his ultimate intention.Pun: Montresor makes a play on the words 'Freemason' and 'mason.' Fortunato states that he is of the brotherhood of Freemason, who are also called 'Masons' for short. Montresor states that he too is a 'mason.' Fortunato asks Montresor for the secret sign to show that Montresor is also a Freemason. Montresor produces a trowel instead. The trowel is the tool a mason, meaning a bricklayer, would use to build a brick wall. Montresor is about to build that brick wall that will soon seal Fortunato in the cellar for at least 50 years. (Isn't it ironic that of all the descriptions of literary devices here, the one with the most words is for the device with the fewest letters?)
Montresor is not typically considered a coward in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado." He is depicted as cunning, manipulative, and vengeful in his actions towards Fortunato. While his methods may be deceitful and cruel, cowardice is not a characteristic commonly associated with Montresor in this context.
Montresor uses his acting ability to manipulate and deceive Fortunato by pretending to be a concerned friend, offering him wine, and appearing friendly and trustworthy. This allows Montresor to lure Fortunato into his trap and ultimately exact his revenge.
The narrator, Montresor, opens the story by stating that he has been irreparably insulted by his acquaintance, Fortunato, and that he seeks revenge. He wants to exact this revenge, however, in a measured way, without placing himself at risk. He decides to use Fortunato's fondness for wine against him. During the carnival season, Montresor, wearing a mask of black silk, approaches Fortunato. He tells Fortunato that he has acquired something that could pass for Amontillado, a light Spanish sherry. Fortunato (Italian for "fortunate") wears the multicolored costume of the jester, including a cone cap with bells. Montresor tells Fortunato that if he is too busy, he will ask a man named Luchesi to taste it. Fortunato apparently considers Luchesi a competitor and claims that this man could not tell Amontillado from other types of sherry. Fortunato is anxious to taste the wine and to determine for Montresor whether or not it is truly Amontillado. Fortunato insists that they go to Montresor's vaults.Montresor has strategically planned for this meeting by sending his servants away to the carnival. The two men descend into the damp vaults, which are covered with nitre, or saltpeter, a whitish mineral. Apparently aggravated by the nitre, Fortunato begins to cough. The narrator keeps offering to bring Fortunato back home, but Fortunato refuses. Instead, he accepts wine as the antidote to his cough. The men continue to explore the deep vaults, which are full of the dead bodies of the Montresor family. In response to the crypts, Fortunato claims to have forgotten Montresor's family coat of arms and motto. Montresor responds that his family shield portrays "a huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel." The motto, in Latin, is "nemo me impune lacessit," that is, "no one attacks me with impunity."Later in their journey, Fortunato makes a hand movement that is a secret sign of the Masons, an exclusive fraternal organization. Montresor does not recognize this hand signal, though he claims that he is a Mason. When Fortunato asks for proof, Montresor shows him his trowel, the implication being that Montresor is an actual stonemason. Fortunato says that he must be jesting, and the two men continue onward. The men walk into a crypt, where human bones decorate three of the four walls. The bones from the fourth wall have been thrown down on the ground. On the exposed wall is a small recess, where Montresor tells Fortunato that the Amontillado is being stored. Fortunato, now heavily intoxicated, goes to the back of the recess. Montresor then suddenly chains the slow-footed Fortunato to a stone.Taunting Fortunato with an offer to leave, Montresor begins to wall up the entrance to this small crypt, thereby trapping Fortunato inside. Fortunato screams confusedly as Montresor builds the first layer of the wall. The alcohol soon wears off and Fortunato moans, terrified and helpless. As the layers continue to rise, though, Fortunato falls silent. Just as Montresor is about to finish, Fortunato laughs as if Montresor is playing a joke on him, but Montresor is not joking. At last, after a final plea, "For the love of God, Montresor!" Fortunato stops answering Montresor, who then twice calls out his enemy's name. After no response, Montresor claims that his heart feels sick because of the dampness of the catacombs. He fits the last stone into place and plasters the wall closed, his actions accompanied only by the jingling of Fortunato's bells. He finally repositions the bones on the fourth wall. For fifty years, he writes, no one has disturbed them. He concludes with a Latin phrase meaning "May he rest in peace."- sparknotes.com
montresor makes certain that his house will be empty by telling his servants he will be out all night; he has supplied chains and wall-building materials to trap his victim.
The trowel is important because it is ironic, foreshadowing and a pretty good pun all at the same time. It is ironic in that Montresor intends to use the trowel, not to prove to Fortunato that he is a Freemason, but to build the wall that will seal Fortunato's doom in the cellar later on. It foreshadows the doom of Fortunato because it is the first sign that Montresor has things hidden that he would not normally be walking around with. This raises suspicions that Montresor has something planned for Fortunato. It is a pun because it is a play on the word mason being used in the sense of a bricklayer and as a Freemason. Montresor produces it as a sign that he is a 'mason' because Fortunato had asked Montresor for a sign that he was a 'mason' in the sense of the brotherhood of Freemasons. Even Fortunato had a laugh at that.
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," suspense builds as Montresor slowly walls Fortunato into the catacombs, heightening tension through the use of darkness, echoing sounds, and Fortunato's increasing inebriation. The ominous setting amplifies the feeling of entrapment, while Montresor's feigned concern and taunting words create a chilling contrast to Fortunato's obliviousness. As the brick wall rises, the reader feels the impending doom, and Montresor's sinister intentions become increasingly clear, culminating in a palpable sense of dread.