the cask of amontillado
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The Perfect and Critical Crime
What is the perfect crime? Montresor knew exactly what it was and how to commit it as he threw poor Fortunato into his death over an Amontillado. The perfect crime is getting away with murder in this life and the next. Montresor gets away with killing Fortunato in this life and the next which leads us all to believe that he has committed the perfect crime. Montresor knew what Fortunato's weak points were when he says:
He had a weak point - this Fortunato - although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity - to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen , was a quack - but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially: I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could...