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Psychoanalysis of The Cask of Amontillado
Psychoanalysis of The Cask of Amontillado
Symbolism in the cask of amontillado essay
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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 Cask of Amontillado" is told in the first person by Montresor. In the opinion of John Gruesser, Montresor who "lies on his deathbed, confessing his crime to an old friend, the You' of the story's first paragraph" (129) is signifying his guilt fifty years after the murder. It does not appear that he is disclosing this sin to someone out of revel, but rather out of regret. It is highly unlikely that he is still experiencing the murderous level of hatred for a foe who is now just the pathetic skeletal remains of a man who met his demise on account of the drink he loved. Gruesser further speculates that Montresor may in fact be speaking to a priest to relieve his conscience of the dread he experienced each day since he murdered Fortunato (130). Such a theory is further demonstrated when Montresor calmly echoes Fortunato's exclamation, "For the Love of God" (Poe, 1597). Fortunato is not just crying for mercy during the last few moments that he has a chance. He is also warning Montresor to think of his own demise and the next world thereafter (Delaney, 130). Therein lies the source of Montresor's half a century of dread. He was so blinded by his hatred and lust for revenge that he failed to think of his own soul. Only when it is too late does he realize to how great of an extent he may have actually affected his own life. Furthermore, just as Fortunato's words may have caused Montresor years of distress, as does both characters fulfillment of Montresor's coat of arms. Montresor is the heel, crushing and ending the life of a serpent, which fittingly represents Fortunato.
Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...
“The Cask of Amontillado” starts out with the narrator, later discovered to be Montresor, positioning himself as a victim of Fortunato. In the opening line, he states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (714). Instantaneously one feels sympathetic towards a person that has withstood a thousand inflictions. Montresor goes on to tell a parable of sorts about vengeance, and “when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (715) he has lost. In this instance Poe has set Montresor apart from being at the least an unsuspecting
In the short story " Cask of Amontillado ", written by the famous poet, Edgar Allen Poe, the main character Montressor shows his deceptive side. Montressor wants to kill Fortunado as revenge for something Fortunado did in the past. So he unfolds a plan that he has set up to kill an enemy of his named Fortunado. One instance is when Montressor tempts Fortunado into the catacombs with a cask and wine called amontillado proving his skills in deceit. Montressor must have experience in tempting and deceiving people. He then plies Fortunado with good wine so that he will follow him and be swayed easier to go farther since he is not in the right mindand not recognize his deceit. Another time is when on Montressor asks Fortunado about his health when
Revenge has a thin line which can easily be crossed when the revenge no longer fits the crime. Montresor speaks of this during the first paragraph when he states “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 141). He wants to be exempt from harm as well as from guilt. This would make the revenge sweet, or satisfying. Montresor comments on a satisfying revenge at the end of the first paragraph by saying “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser.
With a premeditated motive to commit such an act, the culprit, Montressor, thinks, constructs and orchestrates a presumed murder against his insulter, Fortunado. “Poe begins by describing, in characteristically precise and logical detail, Montresor’s (and Poe’s) idea of perfect revenge. At the same time, he needed to end his story by telling how his revenge had affected him. When Fortunatosays, “For the love of god, Montresor!” and Montresor repeats, “Yes, for the love of God,” Poe is indicating that Montresor is already experiencing the closure he sought”(Delaney 39) Unbeknownst why he wants retribution, or what it is that his victim has done to compel Montressor to kill him. What is given is a recount of the night under discussion.
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado exhibits a narrative between two characters: Montresor, who is the narrator, and Fortunato, an overtly proud man who fails to see the foreshadowing of his own death by the hand of his friend. Although a short horror story, the ideas of pride and temptation are tossed around frequently. Montresor uses a fictitious cask of wine to ensnare Fortunatos’ wandering and fleeting senses. The downfall of Fortunato is because he held too much pride within himself, and Montresor is trying to show him that in a vengeful way.
Throughout the short story, Poe uses verbal irony referencing Fortunato’s health and life. The use of verbal irony increases the tension. When Montresor says “‘your health is precious’ … ‘you are a man to be missed’” (2), he has a scheme of revenge and an ultimate death. Montresor never intends
In the dark, gothic story of The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator, Montresor, can best be characterized as a revengeful individual. The story begins by Montresor stating that he has been injured and insulted countless times by his friend Fortunato and that he has vowed upon himself to seek revenge. During the carnival, Fortunato encounters Montresor in a drunken state and tells Fortunato that he had gotten himself something similar to that of Amontillado. Fortunato’s wine addiction and pride has aided in Montresor’s death revenge to lure him deeper and deeper within the vaults that will ultimately serve as his death room. Furthermore, with the passage “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which means “No one attacks me with impunity,”
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" Montresor's unstable mental state can be recognized through the unhealthy obsession he has with revenge. He will stop at nothing to satisfy his obsession, even if it means murder. Montresor's revenge stems from a simple insult that Fortunato directes towards him. Once it is obvious that Montresor loathes Fortunato because of this insult, his insanity becomes apparent. It is also undeniable that Montresor does not take disrespect lightly and will kill a person if that disrespect is directed towards him. It does not matter the relation they may have to him; his demented mind craves revenge. Montresor's insanity is demonstrated through his manipulative ways, need for revenge, and the skeletons scattered
Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado is a story about fear and revenge. The story begins with Montressor's vow of revenge, foreshadowing future actions. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult vowed revenge..." Montressor had to be sure not to raise suspicion of what he was going to do Fortunato. Montressor knew that Fortunato had a weakness that he could use towards his advantage.
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).
In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of the Amontillado”, Montresor has always been viewed as a sociopath. He is a man who lured his friend into his family 's catacombs by lying to him. He then got his friend, Fortunato, drunk enough that he did not know what was going on. Montresor then chained his friend to a wall and boxed him in with mortar, all as an act of revenge and justice in his eyes. Although Montresor trapping Fortunato in the catacombs can be viewed as a cold, evil, heartless act, it does not mean that Fortunato’s death was meaningless. Montresor viewed Fortunato’s death as poetic justice, but others can not help but think of the irony of the situation. Poetic justice is defined as a result or occurrence that seems proper because someone
The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is the driving force for the entire short story. The main character, Montresor, vows to take revenge against the other main character, Fortunato, because of an “insult” that Fortunato has apparently made against Montresor (Baraban). This is evident in the opening line of the short story when the narrator Montresor states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge (Poe 1612). This opening line makes it obvious that the insult is what directly led to Montresor’s insatiable desire for revenge, but there are also some underlying factors that could have indirectly led to this revenge as well.
The first-person narration style of "The Cask of Amontillado" is essential in creating the original quality of the story. The reason this is so important in this particular story, is because when a sane killer, Montresor, is allowed to tell the story from his point of view, the reader gets a unique, disturbing look into the calmness of his mind. The audience can more clearly see how he thinks and feels, which the audience does not normally get in mainstream, commercial literature. The reason the narration style is so important to the tone of the story, is because it lets the reader become personally acquainted with the thoughts and intentions of the main character, and since the reader somewhat knows the outcome from the beginning, it allows certain ironies to make sense to the reader. Furthermore, were it told from a different perspective, I do not believe the story would have been as psychologically powerful.
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.