Revenge is the opportunity to retaliate or gain satisfaction for a real or perceived slight ("revenge"). In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor, the narrator, is out for revenge. Montressor seeks revenge against Fortunato and thinks he has developed the perfect plan for “revenge with impunity” (Baym). Montresor never tells the reader why he feels Fortunato deserves punishment. He only says that Fortunato causes him “a thousand injuries”until “[venturing] upon insult” (Baym ?).
Montresor’s conscience revealed itself through his heart growing sick. Montresor “…hastened to make an end of (his) labour.” Through, outwitting and entombing Fortunato, Montresor released himself from the chains of obsession but condemned his soul to the forever uncertainty of his conscience. Although Fortunato died “half a century” ago, Montresor has lived with the guilt. In "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allen Poe plunges deep into the mind of deranged man hellbent on revenge and reveals the lasting consequence of a freeing oneself from the mental chains of intense hatred. The act of retribution may seem sweet and promising when stewing in anger and hate but as Poe reminds us, it always comes with a price.
The Cask of Amontillado is centered entirely upon revenge and vengeance. This conflict between the narrator and Fortunato explores his past decision to kill a man based on perceived injustices. Poe uses this conflict to explore the difference between Fortunato and Montresor’s character flaws which led to the major conflict, while simultaneously studying how obsession can control the mind. By studying these downfalls , the story darkly shifts from the carnival celebration to death in the catacombs. The story descends to madness much like how the mind does when it deals with strong fixations.
Leave her to heaven And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge To prick and sting her.” (Shakes... ... middle of paper ... ...y what he deserved. Hamlet at this state is more paranoid, instinctive, merciless, unremorseful, and violent as he completes his final transformation. Hamlet’s metamorphosis is a cycle full of revenge and vengeance composed in three stages. In the first stage is the divine right to achieve revenge, the second stage is his thirst for revenge challenges his mercy, and the third stage is that he lets go his mercy to exact his vengeance. Hamlet’s transformation is a slow but steady process that changes Hamlet, his family and his kingdom forever.
Montressor seeks revenge in an effort to support his time-honored family motto: ?nemo me impune lacessit? or (no one attack me without being punished). Montressor, the sinister narrator of this tale, pledges revenge on Fortunato for an insult. The character of Montressor provides the pinnacle of deceit and belligerence needed to portray the story?s sin. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ntressor?s catacombs, ?I drink to the buried that repose around us,?
Enraged by this and another later said insult, Montresor seeks revenge upon Fortunato, and intends to achieve this by taking Fortunato’s life. In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”, the reader develops an understanding that revenge can become an unrelenting force by examining the symbolism, irony, and settings within the story. To begin, the symbolism in Poe’s “The Cask of
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.
Although Montressor killed Fortunato because he was somehow offended by him, Mary Anne is definitely more disturbing then he is. Montressor is a sociopath driven by his need to “get even”. Montressor said, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best as I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge… I must not only punish but punish with impunity (Poe 1).” Montressor’s great solution after being constan...
As such, Montresor, in his need to avenge his family, crosses over justice’s fine line into the vast territory of revenge. This is furthered by Elena V. Baraban’s “The Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe” as she comments on Montresor’s need to right the wrongs done to his family. Through their works, Baraban and Poe reveal justice and revenge to be a never-ending cycle, especially when the integrity of one’s family hangs in the balance. Works Cited Baraban, Elena V. “The Motive for Murder in ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allan Poe.” Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 58.2 (2004): 47-62.
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”?