In Patrick White’s article “‘The Cask of Amontillado’: A Case for the Defense,” his stance on Montresor’s murder is one of justification and comprehension. White’s foundations for this stance is based upon the perspective that Montresor was acting on behalf of the Montresor’s family, similarly to how soldiers kill as a patriotic duty. White makes connections between the family motto’s origin being from the royal house of Scotland and the coat of arms resembling the American-Revolution flag. White claims that the Montresor family acts as a political unit with the same right to take action against an opponent as a governmental group would (White 550-555). Reasonably, Patrick White points out, “…what [Montresor] did, he is convinced, was justified. …show more content…
White regards this by asserting:
[f]or even though Montresor acts with a sense that what he does is fully sanctioned, he still must act in a covert manner. His family can assert sovereignty openly in its motto and coat of arms, but he knows that the actual implementation of this sovereign power must be muted. And so he carries out the killing of his adversary in secret. (White 553)
It is distinct in The Cask of Amontillado that Montresor goes to great lengths and meticulous planning to keep his assassination concealed, regardless of how justified he feels, like White notes. For example, Montresor mentioned:
There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned. (Poe
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Though, the conclusion that White makes that is arguable is the fact that, “…we, the gentle reader, might similarly welcome Montresor back into the human community with our horror-stricken hearts” (White 555). This is debatable because even though humans want to defend their units, whether that be family or country, not everyone is exempted for the guilt that comes with murder. All in all, the act of taking the life from another human, still is rarely —if ever— justifiable, especially to the torturous extents that Montresor takes the action. So not everyone would forgive Montresor in this manner, this can bring valuable insight to us as a humanity, and how if we feel extensive discomfort over Montresor’s assassination of his rival, then perhaps we should feel the same way about the annihilation of our countries own
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, is confessing to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thous...
Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his
No matter how well executed, a crime of this magnitude will leave scars on the conscience, thus marring it’s perfection. Conflicting psychological emotions and actions plague the journey causing inner conflict ranging between pity and revulsion by the time the narrator concludes. Notwithstanding the shortage of information on Montresor’s life in the ensuing fifty years since Fortunato’s death; it can be surmised from the events leading to the murder that Montresor does, in fact, have a conscience and that it builds upon itself as the action
Poe, Edgar A, and David D. Galloway. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings:
In The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of revenge is established at the start of the story, when the narrator states that he suffered irreversible insult by his associate, Fortunato, thus he vowed to avenge this action. This is evident in the following statement in the opening paragraph of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 7). Therefore, it is apparent to the reader from the onset of the story that revenge is a major driving force for Montresor for him to dreadfully murder his acquaintance,...
In Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado,” the main character and narrator, Montresor begins the story by expressing how he has put up with many insults from a man named Fortunato and that he has had enough and vows revenge against him. Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs to taste the Amontillado so as to kill him secretly. Montresor portrays in the beginning of the story that he is going to be lying to Fortunato’s face, acting one way while really thinking another. This fact indicates that Montresor is an unreliable narrator for telling the story because he lies to people he knows, gives hints that he is jealous of Fortunato, does not offer an explanation for wanting to murder Fortunato and his tone of narrating the story.
A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.
Have you ever met someone so clever, determined, and cruel to leave a man to die over an insult? Montresor is the perfect example of these character traits. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor uses all of these character traits to get revenge on Fortunado for insulting his family name. Montresor’s clever planning, determination for revenge, and cruel murder are the perfect combination for his unequaled revenge.
The perfect revenge is an action so many scorned have attempted and what so many more have lusted after. Apt punishment for the offender, success without being discovered and fulfillment without regret are all elements for satisfactory vengeance. All were present in "The Cask of Amontillado." However, despite Montresor's actions seeming to be perfect, he does not fulfill the criteria for flawless revenge. Poe doesn't quite allow readers to feel convinced of his main character's peace of mind. Subtle indications are strewn throughout the story that suggest otherwise. Though Montresor intended to cleanse his honor of Fortunato's insults, it may very well be that he only succeeded in creating, for himself, a guilty conscience, forever depriving himself of the sweetness of revenge.
The thoughts and feelings of Montresor lead the reader to conclude that he is not successful at revenge. Montresor says in telling his story, "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however that I gave utterance to a threat" (153). By communicating in this way, the question arises of who Montresor is actually speaking to, and why he is telling this story fifty years later. One can only conclude that it is for one of two reasons: he is either bragging or finally giving confession. As he tells the story, it becomes obvious that he has not yet filled his need to win, and now a half of a century later, is still struggling with his conscience. As Gregory Jay s...
The story begins with, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” Montresor cites what must have been in his mind, the ultimate betrayal imaginable, at least in his mind. A betrayal that
In "Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. "The thousand of injuries of Fortunato he has borne as he best could; but when he ventures upon insult, Montresor vows revenge" (Poe 528). As the story unfolds, "Montresor's idea of perfect revenge" is "characteristically precise and logical in detail" as to how he commits his crime (Delaney 1).
Thompson states, “He similarly shows confidence in the rightness of his action in his last words to Fortunato. Fortunato, desperate for his life, pleads, ‘For the love of God, Montresor!’ Montresor, with what must strike Fortunato as biting irony, replies, ‘Yes,... for the love of God!’. He is doing this ... not ‘For God and Country!’but for ..., "For God and family!"(555) This shows the irony of the situation. Fortunato expected this all to be a joke, but he soon realizes that it is not. This also shows the final example of poetic justice. Montresor commits murder for the love and the name of his family which Fortunato has disgraced.
...ause this statement reveals Montresor’s satisfaction in his belief that justice has been served through his actions when he has actually removed a body from its resting place in order to replace it with a live one.
This immediate familiarity helps the reader to see inside the calculating mind of Montresor, whom we later learn is a killer. When talking about the past insults of Fortunato, he takes on a cold, determined tone: “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled […] I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe, 618).