Cask Of Amontillado Montresor Unreliable

The story “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about how the narrator, Montresor, secretly murdered his friend Fortunato because of the “insults” he believe Fortunato made towards him. Montresor, the narrator of the story, came from an old, perhaps noble family. He possessed considerable taste in wines, paintings, etc. (The Cask of Amontillado), and it is evident that he is very smart. His entire plan of revenge was so well constructed (right timing (carnival), servants out (cause no suspicion)) ((The Cask of Amontillado)) that Montresor had to be a profoundly gifted person. Although there is no doubt that Montresor possesses considerable intelligence, as a narrator, he is unreliable; due to the fact that he is narrating in first person, the lack of evidence and detail in the story, and that he is mentally ill.

The story uses a first-person narrator, and first-person narrators are never reliable (Introduction to Narratology: Unreliable Narrator). Montresor is dedicated to his own point of view, it is possible that he could have left out details, or they may be remembered

differently (as happens with memory), to make what he does more justifiable and reasonable. In addition, it is a tale of revenge. People do not think properly and are not in a stable mental state when are going to great lengths to get revenge. Mental instability is not reliable.
Since Montresor is mentally ill; it makes him an unreliable narrator. He killed Fortunato because of "The thousand injuries” (The Cask of Amontillado) and the “insults” he claims Fortunato did to him. Everyone has vengeful urges, though, only a few people ever become murderers. Montresor showed his satisfaction when murdering Fortunato when he said: “I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured” (The Cask of Amontillado). And because he murdered Fortunato with enjoyment and panache; with no regret or remorse; it proves that he is mentally ill and unstable. And the fact that he is a killer makes him unreliable.
Montresor is also unreliable because there is no evidence that Fortunato actually insulted him.

“THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (The Cask of Amontillado); Montresor never stated what those injuries are or what the insult was, so this must be a huge exaggeration. If Fortunato did insult Montresor in a way that Montresor had to take revenge by burying Fortunato alive; there is no way that Fortunato would be unaware of it to such a level that he would accompany Montresor into such an unpleasant place in Montresor’s house; so the insult must be an exaggeration and Montresor’s action is based around something he deems worthy of revenge but is not true. This proves that the story is biased to Montresor’s point of view and the narrator (Montresor) is

unreliable.
In conclusion, due to the lack of evidence for the purpose of Montresor’s actions and his mental instability and the fact that the story uses a first-person narrator, the narrator of this story, in this case, Montresor, is unreliable. People with unstable mind do things that they think there is nothing wrong with it but in reality it is wrong and unlawful. Another reason why the narrator is unreliable is because at the end of the story Montresor said: “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them” (The Cask of Amontillado), which means fifty years have passed, and it shows that the story is told fifty years later after the murder; since Montresor is telling the story so long after it occurred, the events may be remembered differently or they may not be remembered well, as memories change throughout time.