Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)

He was well known for his tales of mystery, He was one of the earliest American practitioners of
the short story, and is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with
contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try
to make a living through writing, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career. Born in Boston,
he was the second child of two actors. His father left them in 1810 and his mother died the following year,
Becoming orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan Poe attended the University of
Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. Poe had an argument with Allan over the funds
for his education and enlisted in the Army in 1827 under an unknown name. Poe and his works influenced
literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as
cosmology and cryptography.

The Cask of Amontillado

Publication date: November 1846

Background:

An apocryphal legend holds that the inspiration for "The Cask of Amontillado" came from a story
Poe had heard at Castle Island (South Boston), Massachusetts, when he was a private there in
1827. According to this legend, while stationed at Castle Island in 1827 he saw a monument of Lieutenant
Robert Massie. Massie had been killed in a sword duel on Christmas Day 1817 by Lieutenant Gustavus
Drane, following a dispute during a card game. According to the legend, other soldiers then took revenge
on Drane by getting him drunk, luring him into the dungeon, chaining him to a wall, and sealing him in a
vault.

Why it was written:

Upon researching on this I was not able to find a reason for him in writing the said story, he may
just been inspired so much to the point he wanted to write it that bad, but some say Poe understood the
complexity of the mind in which he used to grab hold of the readers feelings, “hit them where it hurts the
most”.

Summary:

The story revolves around two individual namely Fortunato and Montresor in which Fortunato
happenly hurts Montressor by insulting him , Montressor then vowed to get revenge for the action of
Fortunato , he then planed a scheme to murder the poor victim , knowing that he was very much fund of
tasting wine Montresor told him that he was able to obtain a “pipe” of amontillado and wanted Fortunato
to taste to tell whether it was legit or fake , Montresor leading Fortunato to an underground cellar in
which he told him where he kept the wine , upon further down Montresor was able to drunk Fortunato
unknowingly and chain him to the wall where Montresor barricaded the exit along with Fortunato still in
chains.