Edgar Allan Poe's short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” reveals a character so devoid of human compassion and utter ruthlessness that it is difficult to see beyond the mask of madness for anyone else feature. Montresor, the narrator of the story, attempts to elicit sympathy or, at best, justification for the murder he is about to commit due to dubious wounds. This plot lends a dark and disturbing tone to the story, but also highlights the meticulous attention to detail of an extremely intelligent mind. Fortunato's murder is not a crime of passion but a meticulous crime. It is through the use of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism that Poe reveals that madness does not negate the greatness of intellectual capacity. The intellectual Poe's short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” is full of symbolism. This literary device allows the author to invest hidden meanings with the use of symbols or correlations that are fundamental to the development of Montresor's character. This character arranges the death of someone deemed inferior and worthy of his punishment. Poe, to indicate Montresor's feeling of omnipotence, symbolizes Fortunato's character as a fool: “The man was motley dressed. He wore a tight-fitting striped suit, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells” (165). Poe's portrayal of Fortunato as a fool, by comparison, symbolizes Montresor as a master of manipulation, thus a man of remarkable intellect. In meticulous detail Montresor traces the series of events that will end the life of his nemesis, underlining a magnitude of genius and madness. The reference to nitre may also be symbolic of the trap that Montresor meticulously weaves to ensnare Fortunato, “but observe the white canvas work that shimmers forming the walls of these caves” (166). The abundant use of symbolism within "The Cask of Amontillado" successfully achieves the development of Montresor as a character whose madness is not counterbalanced by