<P> There is indication that Montresor blames his unhappiness and loss of respect and dignity within society on Fortunato . It is easy to ascertain that Fortunato is a Freemason, while Montresor is not, which could be the source of Fortunato's recent ascension into upper class society . Montresor even imparts this blame to Fortunato when he states, "You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was". This interchanging of fortunes is a suggestion that, since the names Montresor and Fortunato mirror one another, there is a psychological reciprocal identification between victim and executioner . This identification reciprocity is further suggested when one takes into consideration that Montresor entombs Fortunato in the Montresor family catacombs rather than dispatching him elsewhere in the city amidst the chaos of the Carnival . It is with this converging of the two characters that one is able to see the larger symbolism of the Montresor crest--the foot steps on the serpent while the serpent forever has his fangs embedded in the heel . </P> <P> Upon further investigation into the true nature of character, double meaning can be derived from the Montresor crest . It is the position of Montresor to view himself as the owner of the righteous foot that is crushing the insolent Fortunato serpent and his "thousand injuries" that progress into insult . A more allegoric meaning of Poe's places the actors in reverse . The blind oaf Fortunato has unintentionally stepped upon the snake in the grass--the sneaky and cunning Montresor--who, as a reward for this accidental bruising, sinks his fangs deep into the heel of his offender, forever linking them in a form of mutual existence . </P> <P> Though Fortunato is presented as a connoisseur of fine wine, L. Moffitt Cecil of Texas Christian University argues that his actions in the story make that assumption questionable . For example, Fortunato comments on another nobleman being unable to distinguish amontillado from sherry when amontillado is in fact a type of sherry, and treats De Grave, an expensive French wine, with very little regard by drinking it in a single gulp . Cecil also states that a true wine connoisseur would never sample wine while intoxicated and describes Fortunato as merely an alcoholic . Cecil also suggests that some people might feel Fortunato deserved to be buried alive for wasting a bottle of fine wine . </P> <P> Poe may have known bricklaying through personal experience . Many periods in Poe's life lack significant biographical details, including what he did after leaving the Southern Literary Messenger in 1837 . Poe biographer John H. Ingram wrote to Sarah Helen Whitman that someone named "Allen" said that Poe worked "in the brickyard' late in the fall of 1834"'. This source has been identified as Robert T.P. Allen, a fellow West Point student during Poe's time there . </P>

Where did montresor hide the mortar and stone