Friday, February 3, 2012

How does Montresor describe Fortunato's strengths and weaknesses early in the story?

Early in the story, Montresor describes Fortunato as someone "to be respected and even feared [...]."  Fortunato takes a great deal of pride in the fact that he is a connoisseur of wine, and he apparently does have some skill in this area.  Montresor says that, like most Italians, Fortunato's knowledge in the subjects of painting and gemmary is nonexistent; however, he is truly "sincere" in terms of his expertise in wine.  On the other hand, Fortunato is also very proud, and Montresor claims that this pride is his weakness.  In fact, it is Fortunato's pride that Montresor plans to exploit in order to exact revenge on Fortunato for the many injuries that Montresor feels Fortunato has inflicted upon him.  Therefore, in terms of strengths, Fortunato is respectable, even intimidating, and he is skillful in regards to wine.  In terms of weaknesses, he is proud to a fault, and he lacks skill in other areas.

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