Cask Of Amontillado Montresor Traits

Montresor, the main character in Edgar Allen Poe's well-known short story Cask of Amontillado, is only one of this author's many deeply disturbed and sadistic protagonists in his famous literary works. In this story, Poe focuses on the raw emotions and traits that Montresor exhibits throughout the tale. Although, it is never clearly discussed why Montresor seeks revenge upon Fortunato, he bitterly recounts how Fortunato had insulted him for no apparent reason. Montresor's plan for revenge is to murder Fortunato in a slow, sadistic, and inescapable manner. In the end, Montresor accomplishes his goal of making Fortunato pay for his offensive words and behaviors, thereby demonstrating his lack of empathy, psychopathic tendencies, and persuasiveness.

In the beginning, Montresor shows his lack of empathy when he explains how he wants to get back at Fortunato.

Montresor informs the reader, "I must not only punish, but punish with impunity." Here he reveals his lack of empathy and desire to punish Fortunato. However, he does not wants to be punished himself for committing the crime. In other words, he refuses to accept responsibility for his merciless actions. Another time the reader sees that Montresor lacks empathy is when he is conversing with Fortunato about his Amontillado that lives in the catacombs beneath his home. As they chat, Montresor smiles. He then explains his reasoning for his smiling by offering, " I continued, as was my won't, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile was at the thought of his immolation." This quote contributes by revealing that Montresor cannot put himself in other people's [Fortunato's] shoes, which is another illustration of his lack of

empathy.
In addition to his lack of empathy, Montresor also exhibits psychopathic tendencies. As he continues to reconstruct the wall in front of Fortunato, he describes to the reader, "I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied." It is obvious that no sane person would feel satisfaction from torturing another human being. This demonstrates that Montresor may be a psychopath or suffer from a personality disorder. Another time he reveals psychopathy is when he has almost completed the brick wall imprisoning Fortunato. He momentarily pauses to listen and relish in Fortunato's agonizing screams. As his screaming continues, Montresor reports, "The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction." As one can see, Montresor enjoys his victims pitiful pleads to stop, what Fortunato desperately hopes is a joke that has gone too far. Therefore, it is undeniable that Montresor carries the psychopathic trait.
Lastly, Montresor has uncovered his persuasiveness. To convince Fortunato to enter the catacombs, Montresor suggests that a man named Luchesi would be the best connoisseur to taste the rare wine and enlighten everyone as to its delectability. Montresor says this to Fortunato because he is pretending that he does not want to waste Fortunato's time. He states, "My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement." Here, Montresor is again using reverse psychology to trick his victim into going along with his fatal plan for revenge. Montresor pretends he does not wish to be bothersome towards his victim, or appear desperate for Fortunato's acquiesce. He also suggests Fortunato may have previous plans and pretends that he does not want to interfere with them. Montresor does this to prevent any suspicion from being upon him. Another example of Montresor's persuasiveness is when both men are walking through the deep, dark, damp catacombs underneath Montresor's home. As they continue to walk, Fortunato begins to cough. Montresor seemingly sympathetically suggests, "We will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me, it is no matter we will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchesi-" This illustrates that Montresor is persuasive and can immediately put on an act, pretending to worry about his old friend's health. He then offers to take Fortunato back home, which is ironic, because Montresor needs him to stay in order to carry out his plan for revenge. This is also another example of reverse psychology. Although Montresor is deeply disturbed, he is also very intelligent and skilled with what he was planning to do.
In conclusion, it is clear that Montresor lacks empathy, exhibits psychopathic tendencies, and is persuasive because he successfully completes his goal of making Fortunato pay for upsetting him. He is persuasive because he cleverly lures Fortunato into his well-planned trap. Secondly, Montresor's lack of empathy is displayed when he feels no remorse for what he has done. Lastly, he unveils his psychopathic tendencies by describing the pleasure and satisfaction he gets from hearing Fortunato's screams from behind the solid brick wall. Another key factor is that Fortunato is drunk throughout the story, while Montresor remains sober, an important part of Montresor's plan for revenge. This makes Montresor's deadly task easier to complete. All in all, the dark, sadistic, and disturbed main character, Montresor successfully accomplishes his goal of getting revenge on Fortunato, with impunity.