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Analysis of Montresor from The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado is a dark and twisted story of revenge. Told from the narrator’s point of view, Montresor. This is a tale of two friends, Montresor and Fortunato and their friendship. All seems fine until Montresor is insulted by Fortunato with a threat unknown to the reader. Just after being insulted Montresor vowed his revenge. Montresor is narcissistic and has sociopathic tendencies, he is planning the murder of a friend because of mere insulted, back when this was first published some would say that Poe’s work showed a satanic/demonic side to humans in the story The Cask of Amontillado by showing the darker side to human nature. Montresor sociopathic tendencies show when the story portrays that he is very careful, precise, and obviously conscious of what he is planning.
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However, there is a line within the first paragraph of the story that says, “You, who so well know the nature of my soul…” (Poe) this shows that the relationship we see now through Montresor used to be something that meant so much to him. Fortunato knew his soul, showing that they had probably been friends for years. Therefore, Fortunato’s insult has torn at the foundation of their friendship. The relationship between Montresor and Fortunato through Montresor eyes has been broken beyond repair. “The thousand injures of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe) In the eyes of the reader at the beginning some would think revenge could be anything. However, no sensible or sane person would have thought about
Edgar Allan Poe published in The Cask of Amontillado in 1846. He is known for his gothic and dark writing style. In The Cask of Amontillado, the main character Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato. The story follows Montresor’s plan for revenge and ends with the murder of Fortunato. Montresor’s actions are bizarre and uncalled for, especially after he never explains the motive for the murder. After analyzing Montresor’s actions and examining his mental state, and the crime he committed, I have concluded that he suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder. “A personality disorder that is characterized by antisocial behavior exhibiting pervasive disregard for and violation of the rights, feelings, and safety of others starting in childhood
It is constantly seen that people take revenge on each other in the real world so it comes to no surprise that Montresor is taking revenge on Fortunato. Specifically in this story Montresor will feel better if he “not only punish but punish with impunity” (108 Poe). But further on what I found to even more realistic was that this wasn’t normal revenge, this was pure mastermind torture. Montresor knew that Fortunato was sick with Montresor saying “…but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted”(109 Poe) regarding that he didn’t want Fortunato to come down to his vaults, but Montresor true intentions were wanting Fortunato to fight Montresor request of not coming, and it worked. Montresor also knew how well Fortunato was at differencing wine “I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter” (109 Poe). By Montresor exploiting Fortunato’s sickness and skill of wines, Montresor knew that he could get Fortunato in the vaults where he could execute his revenge. At a first glance this may not seem lifelike because there’s an assumption to be made that people aren’t this immoral. But the truth is that the revenge that Montresor conducted is seen constantly in our culture. It’s undeniably real of the monstrosity that was made by Montresor when comparing it to the wicked
Fortunato “takes possession” of Montresor’s arm, for which he suffers (716) in order to carry out his plan. Poe’s use of possession and suffer give the impression that Montresor is being afflicted again by Fortunato. Once Montresor reveals this meeting at this evening is no coincidence by divulging he made sure none of his attendants would be home. By giving the direct orders to be home. Poe shows us that Montresor was not respected or feared by his servants’ actions. The servants’ leaving after being given a direct order to stay does give credence to the fact that Montresor must be very methodical and unyielding to his schedule. Only once Fortunato to the catacombs does he betray his own premise. Montresor refers to Fortunato as his “poor friend” (716). At this point Poe has depicted this instigator of a “thousand injuries” as a drunken jester that can barely catch his breath at this point in the story. Now Montresor is showing some sympathy towards him. At this point the transition is complete. Where the two men stopped at the entrance to Fortunato’s tomb, this is the moment that leaves no doubt that Montresor is the villain and Fortunato is the
The author introduces the readers to the narrator who is known as Montresor when he is talking to an unknown audience. In the course of the discussion with the unknown audience, Montresor attests to the fact that Fortunato, who is a close friend of his has morally insulted. Due to the moral insult labeled against him, Montresor intends to revenge. “Part of Montresor's vengeance plan, however, is to ensure that he does not expose himself neither to Fortunato nor to the society at large” (Johnson et.al, 8). To this effect, he does not let open the ill feelings that he harbors against Fortunato. Montresor asserts to the fact that he would consider his vengeance plan a failure if at all Fortunato found out and exerted revenge. That notwithstanding though, he says that he would let Fortunato know that he is the mastermind of all his misfortunes when he will be satisfied that his vengeance plan will not backfire.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
Hoping to obtain revenge, Montresor, the narrator, lures Fortunato, one of his friends, into the depths of his catacombs to be murdered. Montresor says, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge"(149). This is the first line in the story, and this is why Montresor seeks revenge. There is no explanation of the insults that Montresor received, so the reader may infer that Montresor is just lying. The insults that were received could possibly be just outdoing in the business arena. Montresor might be using that excuse for his desire to kill Fortunato, because he may be killing Fortunato out of jealousy. Montresor is likely telling this story to a family member, friend, or his doctor while lying on his deathbed. Montresor says, "…your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter."(150). Montresor just admitted that he knows Fortunato is better than he. Montresor may have been under the influence of jealousy. Redd 4 There are different theories to ...
The mysterious actions, along with Montressor’s mad ways, lead the reader to deem the narrator unreliable. Right away, Montressor begins his story by saying, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 344). As shown in this quote, and with the words following soon after, Montressor does not clearly tell us what the motive behind his revenge is, making the reader feel uncertain. The tone that the story is narrated in also creates a vibe of unreliability, for everything is not explained thoroughly. Immediately, the reader judges the narrator to be not reliable based upon the first paragraph of the story.
In "The Cask of Amontillado," unreliable narrator Montresor describes his revenge on Fortunato during a carnival in Venice fifty years ago. Montresor doesn't like Fortunato on account of the thousands of injuries he has caused, injuries that he bears magnanimously (yes, that's sarcasm), but when Fortunato resorts to insult, Montresor vows revenge, a revenge which excludes punishment and a revenge which makes Fortunato completely aware of who's getting the revenge. Montresor is easily offended, jealous of Fortunato, and a little strange. His propensity for being offended stems from his insecurity, an insecurity that could lead him to invent a story about masterminding the perfect murder/revenge. His jealousy of Fortunato leads him to slant everything in the story to make Fortunato look stupid--his motley dress, his
Poe uses the aspects of dramatic and verbal irony, foreshadowing and symbolism to shape his tale of revenge. Fortunato's fate is death and Montresor tries to make his intentions seem honorable. His intentions were not honorable, just evil. He does however, manage to get what he set out for, revenge.
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 her article, Renee utters that when the thought of vengeance build up in an individual’s brain, it coerces him insane and does not tolerate him to present it a second thought. The first sentence of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge,” clearly describes the whole theme of the story as a deeply enrooted revenge in Montresor’s mind” which is an absolute portrayal of retribution that occurs due to arrogance and jealousy. Author sees himself as a superior individual and was victimized by a superiority complex which is quite visible through the phrases which he wrote in the story that Montressor expresses superiority as showed his victim as a foolish person by attributing weird physical appearance and dress appearance in which he described his dress code of “tight fitting parti striped dress and head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells.”
Poe creates a beautiful, suspenseful, and ominous narrative of revenge through these elements. From the beginning of the short story, he creates suspicion regarding trustworthiness of the narrator through the deliberate ambiguity regarding the motive of the murder and outfitting Montresor in black. Poe is using the Gothic elements of an unreliable narrator and darkness to warn readers that there is a hidden darkness residing inside Montresor. Moreover, the connection of Montresor to the serpent brings not only the Gothic component of evil, but also suggests a connection to the devil; also, Poe does not merely use a serpent, but a fanged serpent in reference to Montresor, which means that the serpent is venomous. Using the venomous serpent to portray Montresor in the coat of arms suggests that Montresor’s strike against Fortunato will be a deadly one. Without the use of Gothic elements to create a dark and suspenseful narrative, this story of revenge might be mistaken for a tale of justice. Removal of the Gothic elements in “the Cask of Amontillado,” would greatly reduce the quality of the work and possibly change the interpretation of the short story. In sum, without using elements of the Gothic, a tale of revenge could not be created because it would lack the darkness needed to craft a quality story of
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).
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous writer in writing detective stories and horror stories. One of his horror stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” was talking about how a man took his revenge to his friend. However, to look deeply in this story, I found that this story was not just simply a horror tale about how a man gets his revenge in the safest way. Instead, it also demonstrates much irony in several areas: the title, the event, the season, the costume, the environment, the characters’ personalities, a man’s dignity and cockiness and at the end, the public order. he are
The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times by saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could…he ventured upon insult…” (Poe). In addition, Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato goes so far that he believes he must kill Fortunato. He mentions this in the story as, “[y]ou, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe). He seems to say that his soul is made of hatred and goes on to say he must give Fortunato the utmost punishment: death. Montresor even shows traits of revenge when he says, “…but when [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” and “...I would be avenged…” (Poe). He is saying that he will get revenge on Fortunato, whom he is angry with and hates for being insulted by.