What is the narrator's family crest in 'The Cask of Amontillado'?

Answer 1

The coat of arms gives us a reason to understand why Montresor is so unforgiving in getting revenge from Fortunato. The picture on the coat of arms is one of a golden foot crushing a snake which has its fangs imbedded in the heal of the foot. The motto of the Montresors is ""Nemo me impune lacessit." In English this means no one punishes me and gets away with it. Fortunato had evidently insulted Montresor's name at some point. Just as his family coat of arms says, no one will punish or insult him and get away with it. The picture reinforces that image. A human foot is crushing a snake that has just bitten the foot. Evidently, Montresor considers Fortunato to be the snake, and Montresor is the foot that is soon to crush and kill him.

Answer 2

The motto was "No one attacks me with impunity," meaning that no one does something to him without consequences. This is why Montresor feels that he must get revenge on Fortunato's insults, because Fortunato can't get away with something HE did.

And that's the irony.

Montresor says no one can do something to him and get away with it, but the whole story revolves around Montresor trying to do that.

Answer 3

The family motto is to the effect that it not allow itself to be insulted or injured in any way or it will strike back at whoever does. The story is about Montresor seeking revenge against Fortunato for many injuries and insults, even though it is not clear to the reader if they are real or imagined by Montresor .

Answer 4

The narrator in 'The Cask of Amontillado' does not explicitly mention a family crest. However, the Montresor family is associated with a coat of arms featuring a golden foot crushing a serpent whose fangs are embedded in the heel.