Montresor tortures Fortunato, both physiologically and physically. Montresor clearly gives Fortunato “multiple chances to escape his fate” (Delany 34), as he gives Fortunato obvious clues to his true intensions. These include leading Fortunato into a place for the dead, telling Fortunato not to go due to his severe cough that made it “impossible to reply” (Poe 5) at times, reminding Fortunato of his family arms, mentioning Luchesi, and showing Fortunato a trowel. Montresor seems to receive morbid joy out of the fact that Fortunato is so intoxicated that, just like the foot on Montresor’s coat of arms, he is unintentionally “stepping into his own destruction” (Cervo
Montresor has wrath toward Fortunato for insulting and treating him less. Fortunato was tricked into thinking a different result would happen than his death. Montressor tried to make his own justice of the situation ‘’ At length, i will be avenged. ‘’ pg 83 Poe showing he's going to get back at Fortunato for what he did. “He did not perceive that my smile was at his demise’’ Pg 83 Poe. This shows the manipulation and secrecy of Montressor to deceive Fortunato for insulting him. If
The lack of mental stability, homicidal tendencies, and the large gap in time, it is safely said that Montresor is not a reliable narrator. It is apparent to the reader that he does not have all his marbles. In what society would someone who is not all mentally there be seen as a reliable source? The fact that he is able to pick up on Fortunato’s weakness and exploits them proves how unreliable he is. “He had a weak point… He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine…” (Poe, 360). Montresor use of verbal irony demonstrates that the murder is premeditated. “... the cough… it will not kill me…” states Fortunato who receives “True-true…” as a response from Montresor (Poe, 362). He exploits this and deceives the man to go down into the caverns that housed the supposed Amontillado. Furthermore, Montresor never tells the reader what Fortunato actually did. He only states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, 360). Insults do not call for homicide. Additionally, it seems to be a retelling from an event fifty years ago. “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.
He has plotted a revenge for him so that Fortunato could get what he deserved. Montresor planned for Fortunato to get drunk and then lure him to his home where he will kill him . After Fortunato is led back to Montresor’s house be deceiving him and took him to the catacombs of the Mansion where the supposed Amontillado wine is. Montresor was planning to trap Fortunato in the catacombs to kill him, this is an extremely horrible death. Dying of starvation or thirst would be a painful way to go especially in a dark catacomb surrounded by skeletons and the smell of rot and dampness. This is a cruel way to kill someone and as the reader feel like this is alright and we feel for Montresor as he was insulted by Fortunato. Again though, a life is being taken but we don’t mind as Montresor tells us about why he wanted to kill
16,238 people get murdered per year. In the story "The Cask of Amontillado," by Edgar Allen Poe, Montresor tells the reader that he wants revenge from Fortunato. Throughout the story, Montresor plans out how he is going to get his revenge. Montresor tricks Fortunato into following Montresor to his death without being aware of what is going on. Montresor accomplishes murder because he is intelligent, clever, and manipulative.
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
In the beginning of the story the author's choice of words in the descriptions makes the reader feel angry. Montresor tried to ignore Fortunato and his insults, but they were
One who would read the story would tell you that the whole thing is about revenge and it can be looked at as revenge twists the mind of a person who is vengeful, to begin with, or as revenge is a driving force behind a person going so far as to commit a murder. Such a person might be so obsessed with vengeance that he imagines reasons to obtain it are the right doing. In this story, Montresor 's family prides itself on leaving no insult unavenged. Montresor 's obsession with this has perhaps made him imagine that Fortunato has insulted his family just so that he, Montresor, has something to try his family 's pride on. As when the narrator says ‘’THE thousand injuries of
This one-sided story by the narrator, Montresor, leads to a suspenseful conclusion not only that Fortunato’s insults perhaps are minor, but also that Fortunato may not recognize the issues at all. This lack of evidence and unrealistic friendship lead readers to believe that Fortunato does not deserve to be buried alive. Montresor could be just a sadistic character who wants to murder his enemy for
1. The entire story is based on the fact that Fortunato has wronged Montresor many times, and Montresor dealt with them until Fortunato “ventured upon insult,” which caused Montresor to “vow revenge.” Though it seems the “insult” must be so terrible that Montresor is willing to murder him for it, the reader can not be entirely sure that the killing is justified since Montresor is not of sound mind. Because Montresor is the narrator, and unreliable at that, the reader is forced to learn about the events through a perspective tainted by emotions and bias. For example, the person telling the tale may embellish or downplay events in the story in order to look like the “good guy” without completely lying. Montresor could be making up the entire story, or he could be embellishing or downplaying the story so that he could defend his actions. If Montresor knew he did wrong, he may have left out exactly what Fortunato did, so he could embellish the wrongs to make them seem terrible, when they are the smallest of sins. Embellishing the wrongs helps to justify to the reader that the killing of Fortunato was a suitable thing to do based on the “thousand injuries of Fortunato.” Due to the unreliable narrator, the reader may not be reading the events as they happened, but rather Montresor’s
Throughout the narrative, the language used by Montresor shows deep emotion and disturbing passion for revenge and the punishment of Fortunato. At the beginning of the story Montresor states “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne
“The Cask of Amontillado” is an ironic short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. Poe used symbolic irony to describe who his characters were, how they dressed, and the settings in which the events took place. In this short story symbolic irony was used to define how Montresor, one of the prominent characters, sought his way to redemption by repressing his friend Fortunato to his demise.
In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor has an evil plan to get revenge on his “friend,” Fortunato. Montresor's plan involves drinking the wine, Amontillado. Fortunato loves wine, and he will do anything for it, or with it. Wine plays a huge role in Montresor's plan. Montresor gets Fortunato to really think that they are “friends.” Montresor told Fortunato that he is a “rich, respected, admired, beloved” (86) man. He does not actually think that. When he says he “must not only punish” (83) Fortunato, but he must “punish [him] with impunity” (83), which he does. The first step in Montresor's plan is to get Fortunato to go in the catacombs. He says to Fortunato, “Come, we will go back, your health is precious” (86). Montresor is doing reverse psychology.
Montresor becomes vindictive when Fortunato’s insults start turning towards his family. Montresor’s family motto is no one punishes him and gets away with it (Fields). This gives reason to believe that honor dictated that Montresor avenge the insults Fortunato laid at his feet. Montresor says, “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I
“At length I would be avenged” (paragraph 1). He will go to any length to make sure his vengeance on Fortunato is secure. Montressor has come to terms with the fact that he doesn’t care about his punishment or think he should even be punished for killing Fortuando because its what needed to be done. This is revealing that Montresor doesnt care about any trouble he may get into as long as he is gAn example of irony in the story “The Cask of Amontillado” is when Montresor continues to refer to Fortunato as his friend. As the reader, you are aware that Montresor despises Fortunato and his intentions for him aren't necessarily enjoyable. He sincerely hates Fortunato with such an intense passion that he has configured a proposal to murder him. Montresor continuously describes Fortunado as “my friend,” “my good friend,” and “my poor friend.” Montresor has convinced Fortunato that they are infact companions, Montresor made this strategic move for multiple reasons one of them being that when Fortunato ceases to exist he will need not to be suspected. Nobody would think that his “good” friend had any sort of connection to Fortunato so called disappearance. So Montresor has been practcing playing the role of Fortunados friend meanwhile plotting his murder. Every time he uses the word "friend" in