In the story ¨The Cask of Amontillado¨ by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful story about revenge that takes readers into the mind of a murderer. Montresor is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator because he was capable of burying Fortunato into a vault. He vows revenge on Fortunato for an insult. He can’t be trusted, even if he’d be lying about Fortunato’s death. Fortunato´s name means ¨fortunate¨ which in reality, he didn 't really turn out that way.
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
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark story involving two men, Montresor and Fortunato, who were at one point friends. Fortunato wronged Montresor many times, but when he made an unknown insult towards him it sets Montresor on a path of revenge and murder (Poe 108). Montresor lures Fortunato to his home with the promise of some Amontillado (Poe 109). Montresor
He obsesses to revenge with physically and perfectly, and also enjoys it during the process of the plan. He is not lazy to prepare for revenge, he takes advantage of Fortunato’s pride well and lures him to the vaults. He chews well and enjoys the last moment of his death. In this story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is described a very callous and cruel man. Poe describes the mental state of a man who is going to kill people horribly and admirably. In addition, his the last word “In peace requiescat!” expresses Montresor’s cruel and horrible character that he is indifferent of his friend’s death he despite killed him. This is the mental state of a man who is going to kill
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a short story in which the narrator, also known as Montresor vows revenge on a man named Fortunato. The reason is revealed to the reader as “injuries and insults.” The author Edgar Allen Poe, illuminates the theme of betrayal through friendship, death, and deception.
Edgar Allen Poe is a famous writer who is well-known for his short stories. The Cask of Amontillado is one of Poe’s short stories which is about two men, Montresor and Fortunato. Fortunato did something to Montresor, the act is unknown, but it angered Montresor badly enough to make him feel the need to seek revenge. The story portrays Montresor’s long, drawn out plan to kill Fortunato. In the story, it is clear that he was set on killing Fortunato, because of his actions and emotions shown toward Fortunato. The ongoing argument of whether Montresor should be held to capital punishment or not hasn’t been solved. Facts and evidence back up the claim that Montresor should be killed for his wrongdoing.
Poe’s two prominent characters in “The Cask of Amontillado” was Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor, whose name means “to show fate,” is a man with a bitter heart seeking for revenge. Throughout the story Montresor expressed his extended hatred towards Fortunato, a fellow friend. With great care and patience he meticulously formed a plan to end Fortunato. However,
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
Man has been known to be the cruellest animal on our planet and since we are at the top of the food chain we can do anything we want to our planet and also other people. Our kind is so cruel that we destroy our world for the need of resources and we can even be cruel to each other. Humans throughout history have always been at war with each other over land, greed, culture and revenge. Revenge and greed are both prominent in the short stories Stone Mattress and The Cask of Amontillado. Both of these short stories have great examples of greed and revenge in them and that they are similar but both are set differently.
Everybody will eventually want revenge on an old friend or just someone they know. Montressor, similar to many people in the world, wants revenge on one of his old friends, Fortunato. The story opens with, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 212). In this statement, Montressor tells the reader what the cause of his revenge against Fortunato is. “The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, tells the story of how Montressor brings Fortunato into the catacombs to bury him alive. Montressor, from the story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, is insane because he lies about wine to get Fortunato into the catacombs, he plays off of Fortunato’s ego, and he buries Fortunato alive.
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.
The start of the story even begins with the narrator articulating that he had finally had enough abuse from Fortunato. What is common in both stories is that after snapping both men continued to smile and play nice in the face of their victims for several weeks. However in “The Cask of Amontillado” this is given in much greater detail. Montresor not only remains civil with his victim but allows him into his home to his cellar. Poe expresses clearly that Montresor not only wanted Fortunato to suffer but to know why he was suffering in every step of the process. Although this is to lure his victim to his untimely fate, Fortunato goes to his death with much ignorance and thereby joy. Poe’s writing for Fortunato is far more grave than that of the old man. One doesn’t appreciate the death as much because of how deadly of a game he is playing into. From a readers perspective, Fortunato walking down to the cellar is like watching a lamb walk into a wolf den; wholly unsuspecting of their outright fate both are set to be slaughtered from their very arrival. The whole tone of “The Cask of Amontillado” is more gruesome in every way compared to “A Tell-tale Heart”. The madness displayed by Montresor is far more intimidating than that of the madman. The reader is less likely to appreciate the madness of Montresor as it is colder and more cruel as they did with the madman. The reader does not
When it comes to writting performance, Poe is so graceful with his purpose from sentence to sentence. Poe starts his story in a strange way because readers do not know exactly about Fortunato’s personaily, he insults Montresor whether seriously or not which enables him to receive severe revenge and the result of Fortunato is seemingly predicted : “ A wrong is unredressed....who has done the wrong” (1). In addition, every single detail contains many implications of irony. The name of the victim, Fortunato, means “ the fortunate one”. The most terrible actions are executed in a carnival atmosphere of happiness. The motto “Nemo me impune lacessit” (No one attacks me with impunity) indicates that the entire Montresor Family history is filled with acts of revenge; the jinging of the bells announcing Fortunato’s death.
The fictional short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe takes place in the catacombs of Montresor’s palace, during the carnival’s climax. The story begins when Montresor, the villain of the story, vows revenge on Fortunato. Throughout the story, the author doesn't tell us what the revenge will be, but his choice of words in the details creates a mood in the reader. The author’s detailed description in the short story creates different moods in the reader like anger, satisfaction, curiosity, and victory because the chosen words connect with the audience.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” and Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” the two characters are consistently belittled by the antagonist in the stories. In “Sweat” Delia is an average housewife, but unfortunately she is in an abusive relationship with her husband named Sykes, who has a tendency to degrade Delia. Throughout the story, Sykes treats Delia horribly and towards the end of the story, Delia finally realizes that she has had enough of her abusive husband because he makes her feel as if she is not worth anything. Due to Sykes’ tendency to degrade her, Delia is considered to be a sympathetic character. The same kind of conflict affects the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado.” During the story, the narrator, Montresor, consistently gets put down by his friend Fortunato, who mocked the narrator’s family name. Montresor, being very proud of his family name felt