To build suspense in the story, Poe often employs foreshadowing. For
example, when Fortunato says, “I shall not die of a cough,” Montresor
replies, “True,” because he knows that Fortunato will in fact die
from dehydration and starvation in the crypt. Montresor’s description
of his family’s coat of arms also foreshadows future events. The
shield features a human foot crushing a tenacious serpent. In this
image, the foot represents Montresor and the serpent represents
Fortunato. Although Fortunato has hurt Montresor with biting insults,
Montresor will ultimately crush him. The conversation about Masons
also foreshadows Fortunato’s demise. Fortunato challenges Montresor’s
claim that he is a member of the Masonic order, and Montresor replies
insidiously with a visual pun. When he declares that he is a “mason”
by showing his trowel, he means that he is a literal stonemason—that
is, that he constructs things out of stones and mortar, namely Fortunato’s
grave.
The final moments of conversation between Montresor and
Fortunato heighten the horror and suggest that Fortunato ultimately—and
ironically—achieves some type of upper hand over Montresor. Fortunato’s
plea, “For the love of God, Montresor!” has provoked much critical
controversy. Some critics suggest that Montresor has at last brought
Fortunato to the pit of desperation and despair, indicated by his
invocation of a God that has long left him behind. Other critics,
however, argue that Fortunato ultimately mocks the “love of God,”
thereby employing the same irony that Montresor has effectively
used to lure him to the crypts. These are Fortunato’s final words,
and the strange desperation that Montresor demonstrates in response
suggests that he needs Fortunato more than he wants to admit. Only
when he twice screams “Fortunato!” loudly, with no response, does
Montresor claim to have a sick heart. The reasons for Fortunato’s
silence are unclear, but perhaps his willing refusal to answer Montresor
is a type of strange victory in otherwise dire circumstances.
