Insanity In The Cask Of Amontillado

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

When Fortunato says that Montresor is not of the brotherhood and that him as a mason is impossible it is evident that Montresor's revenge stems from an insult. "Fortunato's statement 'I forget your arms' seems to be a great unintentional insult to Montresor because with this statement Fortunato belittles Montresor's origin and class." (Karadas). The masons are a sore spot for Montresor because he clearly is not one, although he proves to Fortunato otherwise. Part of his crazed plan is to show Fortunato a trowel, a symbol of the masons, which he will later use to kill Fortunato. Montresor's revenge seems irrational at this point because from a sane person's point of view Fortunato did not mean this as an insult, he was just curious. When Montresor explains his family crest to Fortunato because he has forgotten, it depicts a foot crushing the head of a serpent. The serpent is Montresor because snakes are the ultimate symbol of revenge, they bite back almost instantly transforming from the victim to the predator (Saxton). The golden foot is Fortunato and the snake is Montresor, biting Fortunato for his insult. After Fortunato insults Montresor, Montresor instantly hates him and generates a fool-proof plan for his demise. To satisfy Montresor's need for revenge, he murders Fortunato by leaving him chained to a piece of granite, then builds a wall to seal him in. Montresor is a

There are piles and piles of bones that have rotting for years. Throughout the story there are subtle hints that Montresor is the one behind these dead bodies. Montresor states that the Montresor's are a big family, but there are no family members in the story, only his servants. As Montresor and Fortunato descend the catacombs there are numerous pills of bones stacked up along the walls. These are the remains of people Montresor has killed before because they have insulted him. Montresor is unhinged and there is no telling how far he will go with a murder. These bones could belong to family members who insulted him in the past. Montresor has no one to stop him because his plan is well executed and with no family member snooping around he will never get caught. The last thing Montresor says proves that he killed his family along with others. "In pace requiescat! This final phrase of Montresor's is significant, too. Now, indeed, the 'old rampart of family bones' can rest in peace." (Felheim et al. 300). These are the words Montresor tells Fortunato after he chained him to the rock. He implies that he killed his family members because his deranged mind craves revenge to the fullest extent. It did not matter that he was related to them, all that mattered was the revenge he would get on