What Makes Montresor An Effective Murderer

614 Words2 Pages

What qualities allow Montresor to be an effective murderer? Murderer: a name given to Montresor after he committed a brutal crime. What made Montresor so successful in pursuing his plan? Within The Cask of the Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, Fortunato, the victim, offended the murderer, Montresor, making him indignant. Montresor felt the need to get revenge on Fortunato because of the previous event. He believed that the proper way to get the revenge is by making Fortunato suffer and eventually die. This plan required various characteristics in order to be successful. Given that Montresor was an ambitious, clever, and assured individual, he had the ability to murder Fortunato. Within the story, Montresor’s actions demonstrate his ambition to succeed in his plan to murder Fortunato. The reality that Montresor gets Fortunato intoxicated in an attempt to assist with the murder shows his potential in planning and pursuing a mission effectively. “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today! But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado and I have my doubts.” (Poe 2) The way that Montresor words …show more content…

When Montresor is trapping Fortunato, the statements said and the actions done prove this. His self-confidence allows him to continue his plan, even when he may feel guilty and unable to move on. “My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into position; I plastered it up.” (Poe 7) Montresor explains how he feels regretful, though he must still be confident enough to place the last stone into its position. He knows that he contains enough power to continue his mission, so he proceeds on and persists. Montresor’s confidence allows him to persevere through his plan of murdering

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast The Black Cat And The Cask Of Amontillado

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • How Does Poe Use Dramatic Irony In The Cask Of Amontillado

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    Montresor proves not to mess with someone's feeling. He explains, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 372). Fortunato does not know that he is going to die, yet Montresor and the reader do know, making the situation dramatic irony. By punishing him with impunity he is going to get revenge that he has wanted now for years ever since he did wrong to Montresor and now that he finally gets the chance of course he will seek revenge on Fortunato. And it is dramatic irony because Fortunato is oblivious to the situation. Montresor proves that one should be careful on what they say. He speaks, “I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (Poe 372). Montresor is saying

    Read More

  • The Cask Of Amontillado Quote Analysis

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    When he does Montresor tries to be firm in his conviction of revenge, notwithstanding reacting briefly to Fortunato’s desperation, “I hesitated—I trembled” (Poe). After a

    Read More

  • Obsession In The Cask Of Amontillado

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing In The Cask Of Amontillado

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Montresor Character Analysis Essay

    431 Words  | 1 Pages

    Have you ever met someone so clever, determined, and cruel to leave a man to die over an insult? Montresor is the perfect example of these character traits. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor uses all of these character traits to get revenge on Fortunado for insulting his family name. Montresor’s clever planning, determination for revenge, and cruel murder are the perfect combination for his unequaled revenge.

    Read More

  • Motive In The Cask Of Amontillado

    1579 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his article “On Memory Forgetting, and Complicity in “the Cask of Amontillado”” Raymond DiSanza suggests that an act of wrongdoing is always at the heart of good horror stories. (194) DiSanza’s article on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes Poe’s writing in a way I didn’t think of myself. DiSanza finds Poe’s language in this story to “taste like amontillado: smooth, slightly sweet, and appropriately chilled”. (DiSanza 195) Throughout his article he mostly talks about what possibly could have been Montresor’s motive to kill Fortunato? And why did Montresor wait fifty years to tell the story?

    Read More

  • Revenge In The Cask Of Amontillado

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes how Montresor confesses the sequence of his well-designed or nearly flawless murder or revenge against Fortunato due to he is a threat to him. In his confession of a perfect crime, Montresor, who “vowed revenge” because of Fortunato’s “thousand injuries,” first say that his “heart grew sick” and then immediately add, “ it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so because he believes Fortunato insults him many times that his hatred against him become bigger and bigger. This makes him cannot stand for Fortunato’s behavior anymore as well as the setting completely makes everything prefect as he believes Fortunato deserves the punishment. The nature and family hold a significant role

    Read More

  • Theme of Revenge in Poe's 'The Cask Of Amontillado'

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    The perfect revenge is an action so many scorned have attempted and what so many more have lusted after. Apt punishment for the offender, success without being discovered and fulfillment without regret are all elements for satisfactory vengeance. All were present in "The Cask of Amontillado." However, despite Montresor's actions seeming to be perfect, he does not fulfill the criteria for flawless revenge. Poe doesn't quite allow readers to feel convinced of his main character's peace of mind. Subtle indications are strewn throughout the story that suggest otherwise. Though Montresor intended to cleanse his honor of Fortunato's insults, it may very well be that he only succeeded in creating, for himself, a guilty conscience, forever depriving himself of the sweetness of revenge.

    Read More

  • Montresor's Revenge

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    Having revenge is an intuitive human characteristic. “An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind” (Mahatma Gandhi). In Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor’s revenge is emotional and desirable that demands justice. The plans of a man whose been pushed to the edge of no returning back. Montresor 's murder of Fortunato was premeditated, from the planning of the day, baiting him, and to making sure that his body was never found.

    Read More

  • Who Is Montresor's Pride In The Cask Of Amontillado

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Montresor and Fortunato get down into the vaults, Montresor keeps asking Fortunato to turn around and go back with Montresor because of Fortunato`s bad cough. But Fortunato insisted on going back. This was one of Montresor`s “expert ways” of revenge. Fortunato did not know what he was getting himself into. Fortunato just wanted to taste the Amontillado. In the story, Montresor states “My friend, no. It is not the

    Read More

  • Comparing the Narration of The Cask of Amontillado and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. "The thousand of injuries of Fortunato he has borne as he best could; but when he ventures upon insult, Montresor vows revenge" (Poe 528). As the story unfolds, "Montresor's idea of perfect revenge" is "characteristically precise and logical in detail" as to how he commits his crime (Delaney 1).

    Read More

  • The Use of First Person Narration in The Cask of Amontillado

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because Montresor narrates the story in the first person, the reader is able to perceive his thoughts and understand his motivations and justifications for his ruthless murder in a manner which a third person point of view would not allow. Montresor’s personal narration of the events of the story does not justify his crime in the audience’s eyes, but it does offer a unique opportunity for the audience to view a murder from the perspective of a madman killer. It is Poe’s usage of this unique angle that causes the story to be so captivating and gruesomely fascinating. As the story opens, Montresor explains why it is necessary that he “not only punish but punish with impunity” to avenge for Fortunado’s insult to him. This justification for his crime is a piece of information that the audience is able to learn only because they are permitted inside the mind of the protagonist. In the final scene, when Montresor is carrying out his murder pl...

    Read More

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

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" is similar to the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" in that his obsession with consuming the soul of Fortunato influences his every action. However, it is with Fortunato himself that he is obsessed. He feeds off of Fortunato's pain, unlike the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" who's obsession is with destroying a menacing inanimate object. Montresor's entire conspiracy is focused around making Fortunato suffer, and for him to know just who is causing this suffering. This is why he goes to such lengths to put together this intricate strategy. It could have been so much easier to kill Fortunato in some easier, quicker way. Instead, he dedicates himself to torturing Fortunato. He creates a plan that leads Fortunato into the depths of the catacombs beneath his home, and kills him in an excruciating manner.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado”

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about What Makes Montresor An Effective Murderer

Open Document