“Enough,” said Fortunato, “the coughs a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough.” “True—true,” replied Montresor. If only Fortunato had known the irony behind this saying. Montresor, the revenge seeker in “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, will be the main subject of this writing. Montresor has been bothered, in this story, by insults that drove him to wanting revenge. Revenge on a wine tasting friend of his named Fortunato. Montresor, having the family motto Nemo me impune lacessit meaning ‘no one attacks me with impunity,’ felt the need to get his revenge on Fortunato for insulting him. Knowing that Fortunato is dependent on alcohol, Montresor ruses Fortunato into believing he has Amontillado, a type of wine. For that reason, Fortunato follows Montresor into the vaults where Montresor quickly chains Fortunato in a crypt, builds up a stone wall to keep him in, and leaves him there to pass. Montresor accomplishes retribution because of intelligence, pride, and vindictiveness.
Montresor possess the trait of intelligence which strongly benefits him in his search of revenge. “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.” Montresor also makes the statement, “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he.” Both quotes highly prove Montresor’s intellect for multiple reasons. Montresor knows very well of Fortunato’s love for wines. Any wine, especially a rarer one like Amontillado, would most definitely grasp Fortunato’s attention. Also, another example of Montresor’s mass intelligence would be that he uses reverse psychology against...
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..., I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamorer grew still.” Montresor only had revenge on his mind at this point. He was in too deep to turn back now. He had to finish his task he so desperately craved. Only to be left with shred of guilt he pushes away just as quickly as he thought of it.
Thus, one can see that Montresor possess the traits of intelligence, pride, and vindictiveness throughout this story. The importance behind analyzing characters traits is to get into the mind of and think like the character. When one figure out Montresor’s personality, one understands his story better. One can dig deeper into his mindset and perhaps understand his reasoning, ideas, and thoughts. When one puts together Montresor’s personality and you begin to see from his perspective, you see nothing but revenge, revenge at its finest.
Montresor is insane because he is pleased by the sound of other people's misfortune, he says “ …. And then i heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, confesses to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thousand injuries and therefore is seeking revenge.... ... middle of paper ... ... He tempts her by offering to give her independence from them, saying he is her lover, playing into her weakness of men.
Montresor is a man who feels pride in himself and in his family, so when Fortunato—an acquaintance of Montresor— “venture[s] upon insult,” Montresor “vow[s] revenge” against him (1). Montresor hastily decides that he must kill Fortunato, even though his use of the word “venture” implies that Fortunato had not yet insulted him, but nearly did. Montresor’s impulsive need for revenge causes him to formulate a plan to murder his acquaintance. He keeps Fortunato intoxicated by “presenting him…[with] wine,” he “fetter[s] him to the granite,” and he “plaster[s] up… [a wall of] new masonry” to trap Fortunato in the catacombs (39, 71, 89). All of these acts are signs that the need for revenge has made Fortunato insane. A person who has any sense of morals would not commit crimes such as Montresor’s. His impetuous decision to exact revenge caused him to lose his
No matter how well executed, a crime of this magnitude will leave scars on the conscience, thus marring it’s perfection. Conflicting psychological emotions and actions plague the journey causing inner conflict ranging between pity and revulsion by the time the narrator concludes. Notwithstanding the shortage of information on Montresor’s life in the ensuing fifty years since Fortunato’s death; it can be surmised from the events leading to the murder that Montresor does, in fact, have a conscience and that it builds upon itself as the action
Thinking too much of oneself can blind a person of their wrongdoings until it is too late. For instance, Armand found out after the departure of his wife and son that it was he that was not white while purging all things that reminded Armand of his family, “…Armand will never know that his mother… belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” he reads from a stray letter found in his dresser from his mom to his father (Chopin). Fortunato was lustful to death for Amontillado, despite the series of warnings concerning his health. For prime example, “In an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered” although Montresor guided him it was his greed that steered him to his demise (Poe). Both characters faced the harsh reality that their narcissistic ways ultimately ended with the presence of
As Montresor is the one that is not drunk, he acts more normally than Fortunato would and therefore shows more character traits. For example, Montresor shows smartness as he manages to get Fortunato into chains, he also shows manipulation as he manipulates Fortunato into thinking that they are friends as Montresor is drunk for the majority of the story making the reader unable to comprehend how he would like normally when the only part in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” that he is sober is when he has been chained up and about to be buried alive. During this part, the reader still can not understand Fortunato’s character traits as all he does is moan and trash like a normal person would do if they were to be in the same type of
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
In conclusion, Montresor is a very unique and demented character. This story strongly represents three characteristics that Montresor possesses. Montresor’s cleverness is the reason he can irony and detail to the situation. His determination is the driving force for all of his actions in the story. Finally, Montresor’s cruelty is what makes him a one-of-a-kind character with a unique course of action. All of these traits are what answer the question of who is
In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor who has been so humiliated by Fortunato that the only way Montresor can be satisfied is with revenge. So Montresor decides that Fortunato is going to get the worst punishment ever. Therefore the night of the Carnival Montresor invites Fortunato to this palazzo. He tells him that he needs help with an Amontillado (sherry wine) because he has doubts about it. Montresor decides to tease Fortunato because he knows Fortunato has too much pride and he tells him “ I am in my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me.” (Poe 20) There was
The thoughts and feelings of Montresor lead the reader to conclude that he is not successful at revenge. Montresor says in telling his story, "You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however that I gave utterance to a threat" (153). By communicating in this way, the question arises of who Montresor is actually speaking to, and why he is telling this story fifty years later. One can only conclude that it is for one of two reasons: he is either bragging or finally giving confession. As he tells the story, it becomes obvious that he has not yet filled his need to win, and now a half of a century later, is still struggling with his conscience. As Gregory Jay s...
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).
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...
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
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...
This immediate familiarity helps the reader to see inside the calculating mind of Montresor, whom we later learn is a killer. When talking about the past insults of Fortunato, he takes on a cold, determined tone: “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled […] I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe, 618).