The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado is a story written by Edgar Allen Poe. Some readers have a difficult time trying to understand it since Poe wrote in such a unique and perhaps gruesome way. This story portrays a very grave death for the character Fortunato who is buried alive in the catacombs of a wine cellar. The story is perhaps one of the most famous short stories written by Edgar Allen Poe, who lived a meager forty years from 1809 – 1849, it is one that leaves many people questioning. It is also a story that some say comes from an actual event during Poe's life where he killed a man in the same way that Fortunato is killed in the story. Poe was one who drank quite heavily during his life. This led too much of his demise, and cost him many jobs, and even a marriage. Even though drinking was a major part in Poe’s life some could speculate it influenced many of his writings. Either way, whether Poe was influenced in his writings by his drinking or not he became a very famous writer, and even practically invented the genre of detective stories.