Why Is Montresor Wrong

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

“‘The Montresor’s’ I replied, ‘were a great and numerous family’” (Poe 393). Deliberately using the past tense to describe the decaying state of the Montresor family, Montresor implies how his family had seen much better times. Montresor evidently valued his family name much more than what it was actually worth; living in their past glory. Further hurting the sensitive wound of Montresor’s family, Fortunato admits causally his ignorance of Montresor family motto or arms (Poe 393). Being a man described as someone to be respected and feared, Fortunato undoubtedly further insults Montresor’s sense of familial worth. The passion displayed by Montresor concerning the lineage of his family makes the reader consider whether the transgression leading to Fortunato’s death was aimed at the Montresor family instead of directly at Montresor himself (Baraban 52). Simultaneously a calculated and passionate crime, the murder of Fortunato was to avenge the decreasing family worth. Re-analyzing the quote from the beginning of The Cask of Amontillado: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 393). Specifically, the “thousand injuries,” nobly taken in a stoic manner by Montresor were undoubtedly slights of personal level while the single “insult” which lead to the death of Fortunato was most likely an offence concerning the

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

The main character “Montresor” has an old friend by the name of “Fortunato” who has caused Montresor many injuries and has even gone to the length of insulting him. Early in the story one can understand the hate towards Fortunato, but it gets confusing when Montresor says, “I was so pleased to see him, that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand” (Poe 1846). Montresor had such a hate for Fortunato due to all the pain and upsets caused by him, so much so that Montresor vowed revenge and devised a plan to achieve just that.

Montresor has a strong violent vengefulness. When he vowed revenge, he tells the reader, “You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat”. There are many ways to revenge on Fortunato but his word expresses that his desire to give him not only mental but also physical distress. From this world,

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

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.

Montresor was never clearly introduced as being mentally ill or insane, therefore he should be sentenced to his death. It is only fair that he is killed. In The Cask of Amontillado, it is proven that the men are drinking. Montresor could have been drunk, and if he was he wouldn’t have been in his right mind, but he still was sober enough to realize what he was doing and was able to follow through with his precise plan. He did offer Fortunato wine, knowing he would accept because he was prideful in his wine tasting. He got Fortunato drunk, (Montresor states this when he says "Drink," I said, presenting him the wine”), then lured him into the catacombs to where he was going to trap him, leaving him there to starve.

It’s very clear to see why Montresor is the ultimate character of revenge; Montresor indicates that he is going to kill Fortunato, just for the sake of revenge, as seen in this quote, “…He [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I [Montresor] vowed revenge” (Poe 61). The whole story is based upon the concept of revenge. Revenge is almost always a personal matter, so nowhere in the book does it say anything about Montresor doing a good act, nor committing the will of the people. There is nothing in Poe’s novel that suggests Montresor was committing his crime

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.

As readers, we have no idea what Fortunato did to Montresor or his family name to drive him to such revenge. Poe hints at certain things, from revenge and the family crest to his arrogance of insisting that Fortunato penetrate the Montresor vault to acquire the esteemed Cask Amontillado. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (1126). The only clue is that Montresor systematically closes up Fortunato in a bone chamber perhaps with others who have wronged his family in the past. However, due to the reader's not knowing his true injustice, his murder seems unjustified and maybe even cruel to some

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