h we both dread and desire to fall. He who looks into the abyss will become afraid of himself”(Rea 69). This is one of Poe’s great short stories because it involves the reader in real life issues: jealousy, revenge, and regret. Edgar Allan Poe allows the reader to interpret the end of the story by himself, which brings imagination into the picture. Why does Montresor hesitate in putting up the last stone? This makes the reader wonder if Montresor was beginning to feel guilty. At the end of the story Montresor and Fortunato talk a little. Montresor called aloud, “Fortunato!” No answer came so Montresor states, “I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so”(153). This statement leads the reader to believe that Montresor may have had a moment when his conscience begins to creep up on him. He quickly states that it is the dampness of the catacombs that makes his heart sick. ...
