Am I the only one who sees the story Cask of Amontillado, The differently? Am I wrong in my analysis?

Analysis:

Edgar Allan Poe is known to have been a heavy drinker, and the first known publication of the Cask of Amontillado dates back to 1846, approximately three years before his death. Upon further inspection, the characters Fortunado, a heavy alcoholic, and Montresor, the man who suffered at Fortunado's hands, represent the duality of Edgar Allan Poe's self and the trials he went through in order to be rid of his addiction.
Our narrator, Montresor, cannot be trusted to be a reliable narrator not only because he recounts killing Fortunado, but because Montresor is the complement to Fortunado, he is the side of Edgar Allen Poe without alcoholic behavior, he is his rationality and sober self. There is a saying that the phrase "once an addict, always an addict" will hold true for any addict, recovered or not, and that "you cannot trust an addict". Fortunado is the addicted self of Edgar Allen Poe, and it is Montresor's goal, Poe's goal, to overcome his addiction, or say, kill it. Poe is known to have suffered from at least one mental affliction, most notably argued to be depression, so for now, we will assume that Poe's character, Montresor might not be reliable because he is indeed, an off-shoot of Poe, and he represents the mental instability that Poe had while not using alcohol to self-medicate. The killing of Fortunado can and should be taken not literally, but symbolically.
We can infer that Montresor was once an addict and say with some certainty that this is the case when taking the following sentences and combining them with later information:
"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." Shortly followed by the interruption " --I was skilful in the Italian vintages, myself, and bought largely whenever I could." And then in the next few sections, Fortunado's obsession with the sherry Amontillado shows when he frequently interrupts Montresor to focus the attention back on alcohol, just like an addict thinks of one thing and one thing only: alcohol. Let us keep these sentences in mind when reading the following paragraph:
Fortunado is led underground, to his resting place, by Montresor, who lured him in by offering him a drink. This travelling represents Montresor becoming further and further separated from his friends and family because of his addiction. In a way, Montresor represents the thoughts and temptations an alcoholic must face. Fortunado (addiction) leads his other half--Montresor, his rationality and sobriety-- into misery by giving into these temptations. This loss of peers due to addiction is an insult to any man's rational self, and perhaps will be the final insult he can take. Most recovered alcoholics will tell you that they regret their past and perhaps will be angry with that former self, almost to the point of never forgiving it. This is the real and for some, the final insult they can take. The loss of their friends and family. Deeper underground, away from Montresor's former life, Montresor responds to Fortunado's remark with the line, "The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family." The key is that his family is spoken of as being great in the past. Assuming that Montresor is indeed, a descendent of this family, the notion that he is poor as of now can possibly be confirmed by the lack of servants and attendants mentioned earlier, and the line mentioned earlier "I was skilful in the Italian vintages, myself, and bought largely whenever I could." suggests that it was Montresor, the adult male head of the house who spent his family's money on drinks. Now, one can assume that like with any normal human relationships, this would drive him away from his family, friends, and peers.
This battle between temptation and rationality reaches a climax when the rational self, Montresor, overcomes his addiction and "chains" Fortunado underground, leaving his composed, rational self to return to be amongst his beloveds in his sobriety. This battle can be looked at as a wish coming from the author himself, who perhaps realized that death from drink was drawing near.
I believe that in this short writing, I make a convincing argument of The Cask of Amontillado being a representation of Poe's psychological struggles with addiction, with the outcome being his wish, by weaving Poe's struggles in reality and the symbolism and phrasing used in The Cask of Amontillado into a series of logical arguments that build upon one another that lead the reader to see in-between the lines to ultimately arrive at the conclusion that Montresor is not a heartless killer nor a fictive identity nor is Fortunado a silly, fatuous man, but instead, both are representations of Poe's innermost feelings.

Story:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/cask.html

Question

Am I the only one who sees the story Cask of Amontillado, The differently? Am I wrong in my analysis?

Analysis:

Edgar Allan Poe is known to have been a heavy drinker, and the first known publication of the Cask of Amontillado dates back to 1846, approximately three years before his death. Upon further inspection, the characters Fortunado, a heavy alcoholic, and Montresor, the man who suffered at Fortunado's hands, represent the duality of Edgar Allan Poe's self and the trials he went through in order to be rid of his addiction.
	Our narrator, Montresor, cannot be trusted to be a reliable narrator not only because he recounts killing Fortunado, but because Montresor is the complement to Fortunado, he is the side of Edgar Allen Poe without alcoholic behavior, he is his rationality and sober self. There is a saying that the phrase "once an addict, always an addict" will hold true for any addict, recovered or not, and that "you cannot trust an addict". Fortunado is the addicted self of Edgar Allen Poe, and it is Montresor's goal, Poe's goal, to overcome his addiction, or say, kill it. Poe is known to have suffered from at least one mental affliction, most notably argued to be depression, so for now, we will assume that Poe's character, Montresor might not be reliable because he is indeed, an off-shoot of Poe, and he represents the mental instability that Poe had while not using alcohol to self-medicate. The killing of Fortunado can and should be taken not literally, but symbolically.
	We can infer that Montresor was once an addict and say with some certainty that this is the case when taking the following sentences and combining them with later information:
		"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." Shortly followed by the interruption " --I was skilful in the Italian vintages, myself, and bought largely whenever I could." And then in the next few sections, Fortunado's obsession with the sherry Amontillado shows when he frequently interrupts Montresor to focus the attention back on alcohol, just like an addict thinks of one thing and one thing only: alcohol. Let us keep these sentences in mind when reading the following paragraph:
	Fortunado is led underground, to his resting place, by Montresor, who lured him in by offering him a drink. This travelling represents Montresor becoming further and further separated from his friends and family because of his addiction. In a way, Montresor represents the thoughts and temptations an alcoholic must face. Fortunado (addiction) leads his other half--Montresor, his rationality and sobriety-- into misery by giving into these temptations. This loss of peers due to addiction is an insult to any man's rational self, and perhaps will be the final insult he can take. Most recovered alcoholics will tell you that they regret their past and perhaps will be angry with that former self, almost to the point of never forgiving it. This is the real and for some, the final insult they can take.  The loss of their friends and family. Deeper underground, away from Montresor's former life, Montresor responds to Fortunado's remark with the line, "The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family." The key is that his family is spoken of as being great in the past. Assuming that Montresor is indeed, a descendent of this family, the notion that he is poor as of now can possibly be confirmed by the lack of servants and attendants mentioned earlier, and the line mentioned earlier "I was skilful in the Italian vintages, myself, and bought largely whenever I could." suggests that it was Montresor, the adult male head of the house who spent his family's money on drinks. Now, one can assume that like with any normal human relationships, this would drive him away from his family, friends, and peers.
	This battle between temptation and rationality reaches a climax when the rational self, Montresor, overcomes his addiction and "chains" Fortunado underground, leaving his composed, rational self to return to be amongst his beloveds in his sobriety. This battle can be looked at as a wish coming from the author himself, who perhaps realized that death from drink was drawing near.
	I believe that in this short writing, I make a convincing argument of The Cask of Amontillado being a representation of Poe's psychological struggles with addiction, with the outcome being his wish, by weaving Poe's struggles in reality and the symbolism and phrasing used in The Cask of Amontillado into a series of logical arguments that build upon one another that lead the reader to see in-between the lines to ultimately arrive at the conclusion that Montresor is not a heartless killer nor a fictive identity nor is Fortunado a silly, fatuous man, but instead, both are representations of Poe's innermost feelings.
	
	Story:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/cask.html

arabpride · Answer

Wonderful Analysis!! It was perfect!! It made sense and and I can tell you that you're not alone on the position in which you stand~ Your understanding of the the relationship between the author and his short story is clear, concise, and logical. Good Job *^-^ If you'd like, you can take a look at some of my thoughts about the short story, having read it multiple times, my interpretation of the story has changed slowly, but here are some stable points: http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/5440ac36e4b00a9e5934d227 ~Good Luck :3