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The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

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In The Cask of Amontillado, the narrator, Montresor, lures Fortunato into his wine vaults in order to murder him. The reason behind it is never clearly stated in the text. Montresor merely says, “A thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe 1108) Montresor never reveals the exact nature of the insult, nor the multitude of injuries that he had supposedly borne. The audience cannot even be certain that the insult ever occurred. Perhaps the slight is only in Montresor 's mind. Fortunato seems blind to Montresor 's true intentions, meaning he is either completely oblivious and insensitive to those around him, or, what Montresor has deemed a horrible crime punishable by …show more content…

Montresor is the story 's protagonist, as well as its narrator, meaning that the story is told in the first person point of view. Because of this, the audience has no idea what is true or what Fortunato is thinking; only the information Montresor remembers and chooses to disclose. Clearly, Montresor is unbalanced, and has a complete lack of remorse for his actions. The audience witnesses this most notably toward the end of the story, when Montresor describes “A succession of loud and shrill screams... I replied to the yells of him who clamored. I reechoed – I aided – I surpassed them in volume and in strength.” (Poe 1112-1113) Not only does Montresor bury Fortunato alive, but he mimics his screams as he entombs, taking sheer delight in Fortunato 's terror. Montresor is also an unreliable narrator, which, as defined by our text, is “a fictional character... whose knowledge or judgment about events and other characters is so flawed or limited as to make him or her a misleading guide to the reader.” (Charters 1745) The audience cannot count on Montresor to give an accurate depiction of the events in the story. What are the “thousand injuries”? (Poe 1108) What is the “insult” that finally pushed Montresor over the edge? (Poe 1108) Did the events in the story really

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