Edgar Allan Poe's mind seems to be a confusing and dark place. From his stories to his poems you can see the lurking insanity in his writings. The way Poe writes his stories and the events that take place and the way he thinks to wright, one might think his head is a strange place. Take “The Cask of Amontillado” for an example. This story has the twisted sense that killing someone is the best way for revenge, and the way Fortunato was buried alive in a cement wall seems like a heavy punishment for a little teasing. Each of Poe's writings displays some twisted, and somewhat sickening to some, ways inside his mind. The following is different stories he has written that exposes the insanity within.
In Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe displays the revenge that can consume oneself by taking over. In the story, Montesor was to get his revenge and he said, “Neither by word nor by deed did I give Fortunato cause to doubt my good will toward him. I smiled in his face, as always, and he did not know that now I was smiling at thought or the punishment sure to be his.” (Pg. 1). Montesor was sure he was to get his revenge on
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He changed from an animal loving man to this person; “Our friendship lasted, in that manner, for several years… I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others… I not only neglected, but ill used them.” (Pg. 3). The narrator went from a man with an extreme love for animals and his wife to having hatred toward them even the most loyal. Suppose that anyone can transform under any influence. In the story, the narrator transformed because of alcohol, but friends, family, and work can transform someone if they let it. Cutting out a cat's eye, then hanging it from a tree to write such a thing, one would have to be mad. It's somewhat dark to be able to think how someone could be so
Edgar Allan Poe published in The Cask of Amontillado in 1846. He is known for his gothic and dark writing style. In The Cask of Amontillado, the main character Montresor seeks revenge on Fortunato. The story follows Montresor’s plan for revenge and ends with the murder of Fortunato. Montresor’s actions are bizarre and uncalled for, especially after he never explains the motive for the murder. After analyzing Montresor’s actions and examining his mental state, and the crime he committed, I have concluded that he suffered from Antisocial Personality Disorder. “A personality disorder that is characterized by antisocial behavior exhibiting pervasive disregard for and violation of the rights, feelings, and safety of others starting in childhood
“The Cask of Amontillado” starts out with the narrator, later discovered to be Montresor, positioning himself as a victim of Fortunato. In the opening line, he states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (714). Instantaneously one feels sympathetic towards a person that has withstood a thousand inflictions. Montresor goes on to tell a parable of sorts about vengeance, and “when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (715) he has lost. In this instance Poe has set Montresor apart from being at the least an unsuspecting
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato
Humans have always struggled against confinement and toward freedom. However, they choose not to recognize that history has proved time and again that too much freedom incites anarchy and too much confinement invites tyranny. It’s the nature of all animals to desire freedom and resist confinement. Many times the animal struggles so blindly it does not recognize it is destroying itself or condemning itself to further confinement. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato and Montresor are symbols of how human nature manifests differently in different people in varying combinations of psychological and physical freedom and confinement.
Poe's, The Cask of Amontillado is a story about fear and revenge. The story begins with Montressor's vow of revenge, foreshadowing future actions. "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult vowed revenge..." Montressor had to be sure not to raise suspicion of what he was going to do Fortunato. Montressor knew that Fortunato had a weakness that he could use towards his advantage.
Accordingly, Poe is well responsive to this psychological trait of the human brain. Likewise, Poe employs the perception of perversity and remorse in “The Cask of Amontillado.” The reason of burying Fortunato is not only vengeance, but also a robust reaction that is described in “The Black Cat”. There is a passionate yearning in Montresor to hurt Fortunato even if he has not made any harm to him. Although Montresor asserts that he has been injured several times by Fortunato, he cannot defy calling him “respected, admired, beloved,” admitting his “good nature,” and also calling him “noble” (Little 212). These expressions confirmed that Fortunato is a good quality person and the expression “injuries” used in the first phase of the story is simply a hyperbole that Montresor’s psyche has fabricated. Furthermore, wickedness does not come unaccompanied, but it carries itself a sense of remorse. Even if Montresor reflects himself as the diplomat of his family for deafening down rivals, he suffers remorse while walling up Fortunato. Consequently, Poe’s clasp of unreasonableness and culpability of the human mind is
Revenge can be a primitive justice. Paying someone back for their harmful actions can feel quite rewarding at times. In “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe creates a mood of dread and horror to accompany his theme of revenge. First of all, Poe flourished his loathing and terror mood through his vivid imagery.
End of the story is horrifying and shocking: Montresor traps and entombs living Fortunato behind the brick wall. The victim cries to the executioner: "For the love of God"(Poe, 214) but the only respond is ironical repeat of his own words. The story contains very strong and drastic images. Live burial practice is beyond any critic and "was once a practiced form of capital punishment. The historical context of this practice may indicate that Fortuanto wounded profoundly his friend. This wound must have been remembered and reconsidered since the end of the story reveals narrator's very strong emotions: hidden hatred, and cold anger. "Montresor implies that his rival, a member of the Freemasons, is responsible for his loss of status, happiness, love, and respect: "You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was"(Platinzky, par 3). But this is a very vague explanation because the author doesn't give and specific details.
Why do so many people take vengeance into their own hands? Perhaps it gives them a feeling of justice and a way to cope with their injuries. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” the main character Montresor acts out his sweet revenge on an unsuspecting Fortunato. In this story written by Edgar Allen Poe, the author creates a mood of horror and despair to accompany his theme of revenge.
“Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest of intelligence,” Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is famous in the writing world and has written many amazing stories throughout his gloomy life. At a young age his parents died and he struggled with the abuse of drugs and alcohol. A great amount of work he created involves a character that suffers with a psychological problem or mental illness. Two famous stories that categorize Poe’s psychological perspective would be “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Both of these stories contain many similarities and differences of Poe’s psychological viewpoint.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America’s most celebrated classical authors, known for his unique dealings within the horror genre. Poe was a master at utilizing literary devices such as point of view and setting to enhance the mood and plot of his stories leading to his widespread appeal that remains intact to this day. His mastery of aforementioned devices is evident in two of his shorter works “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Does the narrator show weakness through this mental illness or is it a sophistical mind of a genius? This is the question that must be answered here. Throughout this discussion we will prove that the narrator is a man of a conscience mind and committed the crime of murder. Along with that we will expose Poe’s true significance of writing this short story, and how people were getting away with crime by justifying that they were insane.
Widely regarded as E. A. Poe's finest story, "The Cask of Amontillado" depicts a deed so horrific that for many it defines evil. Edmund Clarence Stedman said of Poe's writings: "He strove by a kind of divination to put his hand upon the links of mind and matter, and reach the hiding-places of the soul". Even though 20th century theories of psychology would not be formulated until many years after Poe's death, he nevertheless delved into the realm of abnormal psychology instinctively and perhaps never with a more terrifying outcome than in the character of Montressor, a man so bent upon revenge that he walls his enemy up in a crypt and leaves him to die. Is Montressor a madman, or is he evil personified? Is Fortunato merely the unfortunate victim of a deranged murderer, or did he entice Montressor to commit the deed? By applying 20th century psychological guidelines, one can speculate that Montressor is not insane per se but is afflicted with a malignant narcissistic disorder which, when aggravated by Fortunato's egotism and naiveté, drives him to commit his violent act.
Poe starts out with a man, by the name of Montresor, wanting revenge on another man, named Fortunato. Most of the story takes place deep in the Montresor family catacombs. As Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs, he chains Fortunato up to a small hole in a wall, bricks it over, and leaves Fortunato to die. Even through the traits of anger, hatred, and revenge, as the story progresses on, Montresor, the main character in “The Cask of Amontillado”, starts to show signs of feeling guilty for wanting to murder Fortunato.