Alcoholism is the dependence on the intake of alcoholic liquors or the psychological illness and neurotic behavior resulting from dependence on alcohol. There is a time and place for alcohol consumption in every culture. It is a growing problem in American society and culture today. Revenge and trust are an issue in this story. In Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor symbolizes Poe's alcoholism, while Fortunato represents himself, the man who seeks satisfaction and ultimately becomes imprisoned by his minute habit. He is trying to take revenge on someone else because of the insults directed at him. Revenge, trust and alcohol are all evident in today's society, even though this was over 150 years ago, the American population can still identify with it. In some cultures, there are situations that involve drinking. These include: birthday parties, New Year's Eve celebrations, graduations, wedding receptions, the Fourth of July, Christmas and Mardi Gras. During these holidays, people usually drink to excess to have fun and celebrate. Different countries specialize in different types of alcohol, for example: Italians have great wine, Mexico is known for beer and tequila, Ireland is famous for beer and whiskey, Japan has its own drink called Sake and the United States is known for beer, wine and whiskey. In these cultures, drinking alcohol is an acceptable type of celebration that even teenagers participate in. Not all alcohol consumed is a celebration. Therefore, “the top 20% of drinkers consume approximately 30% of all alcohol drunk in a 12-month period” (Grant 290). In the disease of alcoholism, there are many psychological effects on the person. It can cause depression, anxiety... middle of paper... ll. “Therefore, AUDs [alcohol use disorders] account for 18.4 million years of life lost due to disability (YLDs), or 3.5% of all YLDs, in low- and middle-income countries and 3 .9 million YLDs, or 5.7% of all YLDs. , in high-income countries" (Rehm 136). In the story where Montresor says to Fortunato, "Drink", presenting him with wine, not so friendly but as if he knew that if he continued drinking it would only lead to his demise . Montresor knowing that Fortunato does not know how to refuse a drink, took him to the cellar where all his fine wines are located and prepared a drink for him. This is a mental illness, because he is planning Fortunato's death and his return to take revenge history had a lot of problems involved in the 1840's, alcoholism was a big thing in society at that point and drinking was viewed better in that era than in today's era.