In the story "The cask of Amontillado" why does Montressor want revenge on Fortunato?

Answer 1

We never know exactly. All we know for sure is found in the opening line of the story:
"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge." Montressor, the narrator, has endured some sort of repeated wrong or suffering from Fortunato, but it's an insult Fortunato issues that sends Montressor over the deep end.

Some who study this story think it's about competition or rivalry to see who is the biggest wine expert...a competition Montressor thinks he must win. My guess is that Montressor is a pretty sick, twisted dude to begin with.....we don't usually bury those who insult us alive. On the other hand, think about how many episodes of violence--especially violence committed by young people--may have been provoked in part because of abuse or harrassment endured. This is not intended to justify wrong-doing. It's not what Fortunato did so much as that Montressor uses whatever Fortunato did to justify his revenge. (Maybe Fortunato did nothing?)

Remember, too, that the style of this story is that of a confession--what Montressor wanted was the perfect revenge--murder with no punishment, no consequence.
But he doesn't get what he wanted--he is obviously tormented by the knowledge of what he did or he wouldn't make this confession to us. So in a rather simplistic way, one "moral of the story" could be that as long as we have a shred of conscience there is NO perfect revenge.

Glad your teacher introduced you to this creepy tale--I love sharing it with my students. I think it's cool to see that Horror, as a literary genre, did not just start with Stephen King! (No disrespect to Mr. King intended!)

Answer 2

Well, It doesnt say specifically, but in the story it says that Fortunato has insulted him too many times.