First, you'll want to be sure to answer the questions, 1 – 10, on page 231. This will help you develop your understanding of Montresor. Also, note that this story is thick with irony. Be sure to fully address questions #3 and #5, which ask you to examine some of the story's irony.
To begin to develop your analysis of this character, you might focus on the question: Does Montresor really fulfill his definition of the perfect revenge?
Begin by making a list of impressions you have of Montresor.
Smart, educated, wealthy, smart...too smart…
Be sure you can cite passages from the text that support your claims about him.
Then, you might consider organizing your essay as follows:
v Introduction
Ø Title
Ø Author
Ø Thesis – does he or does he not get away with the revenge
v Montresor's definition of revenge: cite and explain opening paragraph
v Show how he seems to fulfill the definition
v Show some of the irony throughout and how the irony sets the reader up for understanding the end
v In the end, he tells us "For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed [the bones]," and he says in Latin, "In pace requiescat!" [May he rest in peace]. Who has spent the last fifty years in peace, and who has spent the last fifty years remembering the incident, down to the last jingle of the bells and the sickness he felt at heart? Does Montresor fulfill his definition of revenge? What does he think? What does the audience know?
v You might conclude with why such a story is important. What does it suggest to you about the nature of the "perfect revenge."