... for the reader to become the friend in Poe's story. One good observation is when the narrator speculates that Madeline may not be completely dead yet. Studying her face, he notes "The disease which had thus entombed the lady in the maturity of youth, had left, as usual in all maladies of a strictly cataleptical character, the mockery of faint blush open ... never mentions his suspicion to his friend. The narrator automatically turns away from the unpleasant truth by trying not to believe what he is seeing. In addition, the narrator also notes the changes he sees in his friend. Over time...

• Word Count: 1218
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... good, so he had to appraise the wine himself. Another point of symbolism that is expressed by Kenneth Silverman in his book Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. Silverman notes that the Montressor motto, Nemo me impune lacessit, is the national motto of Scotland. He thinks that Poe chose this motto not only because of the appropriateness, but because of ... a deeper look at the story, we see that Fortunato represents fortune, which is the ultimate influence on how good or bad a man's life is. The difference between Montressor and the common men who he may be compared to ...

• Word Count: 1180
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School