Obsession in The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado

Iago's Motivation in Othello Iago is a "moral pyromaniac." Harold C. Goddard writes that Iago consciously and unconsciously seeks to destroy the lives of others, especially others with high moral standards (Goddard 76). However, Iago is more than just a "moral pyromaniac," he is a moral pyromaniac whose fire is fueled by pure hatred. He is a hungry powermonger whose appetite for destruction can only be satisfied after he has chewed up and spat out the lives of others. Iago lusts for power, but his sense of power is attained by manipulating and annihilating others in a cruel and unusual way.

Jack has the power of fear of the unknown, his inner b... ... middle of paper ... ...acbeth's ambition was Power and the will to keep it. To be on top and when that is achieved you’re invincible. Unfortunately that was his flaw, blind ambition and simply being naïve. But above all it’s his greed for power that led to him not to initially think about the consequences of killing Duncan, this lust for power led him to kill innocent people in order to protect his power. With that said he was the one responsible for his guilt and loss of sanity, he let himself be manipulated and controlled.

His superego is telling him all the things that could go wrong, but his ego is telling Montresor to go through with getting revenge by murdering Fortunato. Kevin J. Hayes states in his book The Annotated Poe, that the motivation for Montresor to murder Fortunato was Poe’s own desire to get revenge on a former friend, Thomas Dunn English (Hayes 351). Montresor, like Edgar Allan Poe, felt like he has been wronged and needed to punish that person. Fortunato shows up wearing a motley, similar to a joker’s attire. Scott Peoples says in the book “Social and psychological Disorder in the Works of Edgar Allan Poe” that his belief is that Montresor is committing this murder out of an act of jealousy.

Evidently, this gullible character is manipulated through the words of Iago as he attempts to kill Cassio for a chance at Desdemona. After his failure in doing so, Iago stabs Roderigo, as he is of no use anymore. In giving his trust to the misleading antagonist, Roderigo leaves himself completely vulnerable. This demonstrates how ruthlessly Iago uses this foolish character, as his longing for Desdemona is the cause of his death. The other victim, Othello, is the main target and falls furthest into this manipulative villain’s layers of lies.

These characteristics are first seen when Montresor vows revenge on his rival, Fortunato for a simple insult. Of course, this revenge is the murder of his rival. However, before proceeding any further, an important note should be made, that is, the beginning of Montresor’s descent into insanity as a result of these uncontrollable emotions. This idea is apparent when Montresor goes about plotting the perfect revenge (murder). The narrator, Montresor wants to not only get away with killing his rival, but he wants to do so in a way that prevents the man from knowing of the narrator’s cruel ... ... middle of paper ... ...the points mentioned if one was to go back to the question is there a deeper, darker meaning to Poe’s fiction “The Cask of Amontillado”?

Iago manipulated the people, used them to his advantaged and used his brains to get rid of his threats. He also ended up using his reputation as an advantage to trick his enemy so bad they killed themselves. Iago did this all thanks to his traits that made him the villain, responsible for the tragedy of Othello.

Iago is the ultimate manipulator. He set his goal to destroy lives of anyone who is in his way of becoming lieutenant in rage. He accomplishes his ultimate goal in destroying Othello. Michael Cassio is just a fatality for getting Iago’s dream of being lieutenant. This would not be possible without Iago being deceitful about being honest and a friend.

Though killing Banquo is unforgivable, Macbeth’s ruthlessness was more evident when he also sends the murderers to kill Fleance. Macbeth’s ignorance of Fleance being a helpless child who cannot defend himself makes him more ruthless. Banquo could have defended himself from the attack of the murderers, as he is a great and experienced solider. Trying to have Fleance killed is unfair as he had no way of defending himself. Fortunately for Fleance, he was able to escape his death.

Unlike the “Tell-Tale Heart” however, both main characters have an obsession that lead to their doom. The character Montresor is making all his decisions in order to feed his hunger for vengeance. He lets the idea of getting revenge on Fortunato get the best of him and is willing to do anything including murder in order to fulfill this need. “At length I would be avenged…I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.” (1109) From this quote alone the audience gathers that Montresor is crazed with the idea of revenge. His obsession for this revenge turns him into a murderer and even though he is never caught, it leads to his downfall.

Readers are enticed by the theme which leaves the protagonist vengeful for much of the story. Montresor’s plot against his enemy is sparked by the irreparable insult made by Fortunato. His quest for revenge strips him from his humanity and becomes a premeditated murderous conspiracy against Fortunato. Montresor strongly desires a feeling of satisfaction. He believes that this satisfaction can be acquired through the demise of his enemy.