Question

Select the correct inference of the given passage from "The Cask of Amontillado."

"Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado."

a. Luchesi does not know wines as well as Fortunato.
b. Montresor does not want to bother Fortunato.
c. Fortunato thinks himself to be a better connoisseur of wines than Luchesi.
d. It is too cold to go anywhere.

Answer 1

The correct answer is C. Fortunato thinks himself to be a better connoisseur of wines than Luchesi.

Fortunato considers himself to be a great connoisseur of wine, and he thinks Luchesi is a fraud. He believes that Luchesi misidentified cheap wine as Amontillado, and he wants an opportunity to prove he is right and Luchesi is wrong.

Note that the difference between answer A and answer C is Fortunato's belief. Answer A states Luchesi's lack of knowledge as fact, but we do not know if this is actually true. However, Fortunato THINKS he is better than Luchesi, and that's what makes him go down into the cellar despite the cold, as indicated by Answer C.

Because Fortunato believes himself to be better than Luchesi, he will leave the celebrations and brave the coldness of the crypts. Ultimately, his pride will lead to his death.

Answer 2

The correct answer is c. Fortunato thinks himself to be a better connoisseur of wines than Luchesi.

That's because he's somewhat of a wine addict and can differentiate between different types of wine.