Deception In The Cask Of Amontillado

Nobody thinks that it will happen to them, yet many people will find themselves as the victim of some type of criminal deception within the next year. According to the American Psychological Association, an estimate of 30 million Americans become the victims of fraud each year, whether that be by losing their retirement savings to a deceitful financial advisor or falling for an internet scam (Miller). Not all the world’s crooked people use their clever trickery with the intent for financial gain, yet some lie seeking revenge. Victims become manipulated to believe that they are talking to honest people, while the perfidious scoundrels are happily exploiting them. The greatest terror derived from this is that anyone can become a victim, and be

This is not demonstrated within the stories in which the wicked Iago or Montresor belong, instead these characters continue living their lives without remorse. Poe’s story takes place fifty years after the atrocious incident in which Montresor masterminded. As “The Cask of Amontillado” is read, it can be understood as a confession of Montresor to the reader. This is a false interpretation, rather Montresor consequently shows gratification because of his malignant activities. Montresor exclaims that his heart has grown sick, leading the reader to believe it is because of his actions, but when the narrator concludes with on the account of the dampness of the catacombs it becomes clear that Montresor feels satisfaction about his monstrous deed even after fifty years (Baraban). It is not because of the evil murder that he is at fault for, rather he says this because his health is diminishing from the inhaled air of the catacombs. As tragic as this story is, this seems to be an isolated case of Montresor’s darkness. In the more elaborate tale of tragedy chosen, Iago does not use his trickery solely against his final victim, Othello, rather he plans to use Roderigo and Cassio for his evil-doing as well. He uses these people as pawns in his game of cruelty, planting seeds into their minds as

They are not limited to telling little lies, rather they ponder elaborate stories, quite often cleverly integrating some extent of truth into them. Both characters show obvious signs of psychopathic tendencies, and one of those signs is their belief that they are above everyone else. They are self-entitled and have oversized egos. Shakespeare may have decided to name his evil-doer because of this, as “Iago” resembles the word “ego”, and an egoist is a person whose first or only thought is of him or herself (Raatzsch). Iago’s ego is hurt as Othello chooses Cassio as his lieutenant. Poe’s disgruntled villain Montresor has a large ego as well, with obvious intent of revenge against his victim, Fortunato. Montresor admits this damage to his ego as he says “when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe) Montresor further explains the reason when he speaks his family motto, “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which translated for Latin means “No one insults me with impunity.” (Poe) Because of his family motto, concrete to his way of life, Montresor feels that the evil actions he carries out against his gullible victim are justified. Although possessing an ego doesn’t necessarily make people a psychopath, these characters show added and related traits. The two characters are