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“The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. This
tale of revenge opens with one of the main characters, Montressor, vowing retribution
upon the other main character, his friend Fortunato. What is his true reason for revenge?
Poe opens the story with Montressor saying,“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had
borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” Poe begins
with this line to show the reader why Montressor feels the need for revenge. We never
know exactly why Montressor despised Fortunato so much, but we do know that he held
a grudge against him. Montressor, in his opinion, has endured many injuries from
Fortunato, but when he insults him, it crosses the line. This is a story of premeditated
murder told by the murderer himself.
Montressor has a detailed plan to murder Fortunato and he goes to great lengths to
plot his revenge. He wants to make it look like his intentions are honorable and he is
upholding his family’s motto, "nemo me impune lacessit,” which means, no one "cuts"
(attacks) me with impunity. Montressor has two rules of revenge, “I must not only punish,
but punish with impunity” and “the avenger must make himself felt as such to him who
has done the wrong.”
The crime occurs during the madness of carnival season. The scene is set at the
catacombs that are under Montressor’s home. Montresor begins by preparing the tools
necessary to complete his punishment upon Fortunato and he makes sure his servants are
gone from home. Montressor knows that everyone will be drinking and...
... middle of paper ...
...d answer that question. However, he thinks he finds success with his first
rule of retribution because his crime has gone unpunished for half of a century. It may
have gone unpunished by man, but he has to live with the memories of the crime he
committed for the rest of his life. His second rule goes unfullfilled because Fortunato is
punished by death for insulting Montressor, but he never knows why. Like skeletons in
the catacomb, Montressor has skeletons in his closet. Montressor, whose name means
treasure, buries Fortunato like hidden treasure both in the catacombs under his home and
in the catacombs of his conscience. Rest in peace? Fortunato might, but I doubt
Montressor ever will.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” 1846. Poe Stories. N. p. Web.
November 17, 2013
Between the “Most Dangerous Game” and the “Cask of Amontillado” Montresor is more evil. Something must have happened to Montresor in his childhood life to make him the man he is. If you ever heard that quote “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, that is exactly what Montresor is doing. He will manipulate Fortunato by using all his weaknesses to bring him down. With this in mind Montresor will do anything to get revenge, even if that means someone will have to die.
Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...
takes the form of “an eye for an eye”, meaning that the offender should be punished by an act of
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.
He did not show even by words that he is going to kill. Also, he did not let Fortunato to know that he intended any grudge against him “..neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will... He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation (8-10).” One night while Fortunato was drunk, Montresor told him that he bought a barrel of wine called Amontillado “But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts (25).” He understood that Fortunato “prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine (12).” He attracted him to going to his house to check the drink by saying that he might invite Luchresi to do it, a seeming rival of Fortunato 's, instead “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me (37-38).” When they left, Montresor put on a mask and quickly took the way to his property. He was sure nobody could see them together on Fortunato 's last night. Moreover, Montresor completely knew Fortunato and used the knowledge versus him. He planned his deed carefully and carried it out slowly. It seems that Montresor anticipated his revenge with joy. While they traveled down the cavern, Montresor gives Fortunato many opportunities to leave. Fortunato looks weak against the niter, which is growing on the walls, and repeatedly coughs. Montresor commented on Fortunato 's health and asked
“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.
Montresor, the narrator, successfully murders Fortunato, but ultimately fails when he confesses out of remorse after half a century. He tells the reader that “it is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe 183). Montresor shows Fortunato who killed him and how he was killed, but Fortunato still does not comprehend why he was killed by Montresor (Clendenning). He wanted to kill Fortunato and not get caught for his crime either; however, he gets caught up in his mind and confesses on his deathbed after fifty years of the committed murder. G.R. Thompson points out that "Montresor, rather than having successfully taken his revenge 'with impunity ' ... has instead suffered a fifty-years ' ravage of conscience" (qtd. in Baraban). He argues that Montresor has failed to accomplish a perfectly planned murder. He buried Fortunato alive in the crypt and took the revenge that he sought, but the guilt caught up after five decades. Therefore, Montresor fails to punish Fortunato as he wanted – with
It is believed by many that it is human nature to deem themselves to be tantamount to God. Such is the case when one decides to take revenge against those who wrong him. Though vengeance seems like the perfect way to achieve justice, a sense of equity, in actuality it is merely an unsatisfactory hypocritical action. This is the definitive realization of the protagonist, Edmond Dantès, in Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The protagonist comes to understand that after a lifetime of searching for justice, he really only yearns for justice from himself.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a sociopath as someone who behaves in a dangerous or violent way towards other people and does not feel guilty about such behavior. Sociopaths lack a conscience that allows people to decipher between right and wrong. In A Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator, Montresor, is believed to be a sociopath by many. He kills his friend, Fortunado, after he literally adds insult to a thousand of injuries. Though what the insult was and the previous injuries were never revealed to the reader, it could be assumed that Montresor probably overreacted to the Fortunado’s insult. But in order to answer this question the evaluation upon his motivation, strategy, and Montresor’s feeling and emotion towards
Carefully, cautiously the Montresor plotted precisely how he would exact revenge upon Fortunato. Much time and great energy was devoted to this plan, selecting a time that would be best: during carnival when the town would be celebratory, his servants apt to run off and join the celebration, when the two could silently disappear without notice or question. No detail is forgotten; he allows for no deterrents. He follows through with such a confidence that never does he stumble or hesitate in carrying out his plan. The Montresor indicates that he had never given. To continue with this ploy, he even goes so far as to express false concern for Fortunato as they pass through the catacombs. Blaming the nitre and damp, the Montresor suggests that they turn back as not to compromise Fortunato’s ill health, though he has no intent of doing so. Never once until the very end did Fortunato have cause to suspect that there were any foul plans afoot.
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
...oke about is the consequence of a man gone insane. He truly wanted to kill Fortunato but in a way that wouldn’t leave blood on his hands, so he cemented him into a small corner of the wine cellar. It was an evil act that displayed the ugly face of revenge.
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
...s a person who has a sagacious mind and his meticulousness leads to a successful murder. For example, the “vaults” where he chose to kill Fortanato, and that those ironic conversations that caused Fortanato fall into Montresor’s clutches. He also satirized Fortanato so much in this story, such as his favorite “Amontillado” and his dignity is his undoing. In contrast, Fortanato has a besotted mind, and his cockiness leads him to die. For example, he was not suspicious in the “vaults”, his envious of “Luchesi”, and his exorbitance in appreciating his connoisseurship, these all leads him to die at the end.