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The cask of amontillado characters montresor
Common themes in Edgar Allan Poe's work
Reflection on the cask of amontillado by edgar allan poe
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Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Cask Of Amontillado," is a between two enemies. It humorously portrays the foil of Fortunato, as he is led through the catacombs. Poe's humour is dark, sarcastic and very ironic, which quickly becomes a signpost of the tale. Poe sets himself apart from other authors in his works, based on how he depicts and encounters death. It accentuates the notion that at times, your worst enemy will appear as your best friend. Pride is the downfall of every man and the same can be said for witty and daring tale fortunato.
“The Cask of Amontillado” starts out with Montresor, the narrator, saying, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” Simply by reading the first sentence of the story, it is easy to see that Montresor is vengeful and plans to get “revenge” on Fortunato and there is a lot more to come in the story.
Montresor also has a coat of arms which is, “A huge human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel,” with a motto of, “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which stands for no one attacks me with impunity. The coat of arms and the family motto both suggest retribution. The arms symbolize Montresor and Fortunato, Fortunato stepping on Montresor, the snake, and Montresor getting even with Fortunato, the foot. Not only is Montresor vengeful, he is also very intelligent in his actions. In order to bring Fortunato into the wine cellars, Montresor had to make sure that “there were no attendants at home.” Montresor tells the reader, “They had absconded to make merry in honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient; I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.” Montresor knew that by telling his servants that he would be gone until the morning they would go to the carnival whether he had told them to stay home or not.
Montresor was also a mason and used his skill and intelligence to seal the fate of Fortunato. Montresor had hid building stone and mortar in the cellar under a pile of bones, and had carried a trowel with him. He did such a good job sealing the niche in the wall, where Fortunato stood chained, and replacing the bones that, “Fo...
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...ine, to lead him to his own death.
Fortunato is an Italian friend of Montresor's, and his sworn enemy, whom Montresor has planned to ‘‘punish with impunity. ‘‘Although Montresor's explains that Fortunato has committed a "thousand injuries’’ and a final "insult," no details of these offences are given. Fortunato displays no uneasiness in Montresor's company, and is unaware that his friend is plotting against him. Fortunato, a respected and feared man, is a proud connoisseur of fine wine, and, at least on the night of the story, he clouds his senses and judgment by drinking too much of it. What ever Fortunato had done to Montresor or his family must have been so unforgivable to make Montresor do such an evil deed. I believe that Poe is using the old saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer
My conclusion to the story “the cask of amontillado” is that Poe creates a story that makes you want to read on find out if Montressor will succeed in his crime and will he get away with it?. The writer uses very good atmosphere to captivate the reader and make the scene feel chilling and scary. Poe creates a nightmare, guaranteed to give the reader a sleepless night.
For example, Montresor expresses concern about Fortunato and says, "Come, I said, with this decision, we will go back; your health is precious. Montresor does not want Fortunato to die from anything other than his own plan of slow death by asphyxiation. Symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado" This story by Poe has numerous examples of symbolism. For example, the manner in which Fortunato is dressed is ironic for a man with societal prominence. Fortunato is a man of stature who is “rich, respected, admired” (Baym).
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
In the Cask of Amontillado, our narrator’s situation is one he is quite happy being in. Our narrator is Montresor, an Italian man rich with pride, and you quickly learn through his narration that he is intelligent, conniving, and extremely sinister. Throughout the story, everything Montresor does is motivated by one thing, his own thirst for vengeance. Montresor explains his actions are a result of Fortunato constantly abusing him and finally going too far, but he never explains anything Fortunato has done to insult him. When we meet Fortunato, he is extremely friendly towards Montresor, albeit a little intoxicated, so much that he makes Montresor’s story of “a thousand injuries” seem unbelievable (Cask 1). Compared to Gilman’s narrator whose spiral out of control was triggered by her forced seclusion from the outside world, it seems that Montresor’s insanity come from inside his own head. There is no evidence that suggest any attempts by Fortunato to belittle or insult Montresor in any way. I believe that Montresor may have been jealous of Fortunato’s success in life, and that is what drove him to vengeance. For example, on their way to the catacombs Fortunato makes a hand gesture of the Masons, a secret brotherhood, which Montresor doesn’t understand. Fortunato ask if Montresor is a Mason and for him to prove it, and Montresor lies and shows his trowel (Cask 5). This proves that
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor made up in his mind that he would carry out his act of revenge on Fortunato. Whatever offense Fortunato committed against Montresor drove him to the brink. The hatred inside was somewhat poetic. Montresor schemed to every detail how to carry out his revenge. The setting of the story is a dark, gloomy night at a celebration during carnival season. Montresor would be detailed in describing the monetary status of his enemy, his wardrobe or costume he wore to the celebration. He would set the mood as cheerful. Despite the ill feelings he has towards the now drunken Fortunato, Montresor pretends to care for his company to lure him towards his cunning plan. He strokes Fortunato’s ego and his love for wine to draw him towards the cellar. The dark, damp halls, the claustrophobia, and the human skeletons lying about the earth were all a foreshadowing of Motresor’s plan for the drunken Fortunato. It enhanced suspense to the story, building up to the climax which would be Fortunato entering into his grave. As they further enter the hal...
While at the carnival, Montresor bought some of the finest Amontillado wine to use in his vengeful plan to murder Fortunato. He then meets his "friend," Fortunato. Fortunato is wearing "a tight fitting parti-striped dress and head is surmounted by the conical cap and bells" (Poe 528). By him wearing this outfit, makes it great for the narrator because he is going to make a fool out of Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative person. He challenges Fortunato's connoisseurship on wine tasting and leads him to his family estate.
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.
Thompson discusses the significance of Montresor’s family motto, “These details are essential to our understanding of the family imperatives rooted in Montresor 's mind as he plans and carries out the killing of Fortunato. ‘Nemo me impune lacessit.’ Montresor 's family motto has been translated, ‘No one attacks me with impunity’"(Thompson 552). This means that anyone who attacks the family name is warrant for
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a dark piece, much like other works of Edgar Allan Poe, and features the classic unreliable narrator, identified by himself only as Montresor. This sinister central character is a cold ruthless killer that is particularly fearsome because he views murder as a necessity and kills without remorse. Montresor is a character who personifies wickedness. Poe uses this character and his morally wrong thoughts and actions to help the reader identify with aspects of the extreme personage, allowing them to examine the less savory aspects of their own. The character of Montresor detailing the glorious murder he committed is a means of communicating to the reader that vengeance and pride are moral motivators that lead to treacherous deeds and dark thoughts.
For instance, Montresor’s family crest is a serpent biting into an ankle treading upon it. The emblem is symbolic of Montresor’s response to being bitten by Fortunato’s foolish pride. The snake on the crest and the family’s motto, “No one wounds me with immunity,” both address Montresor’s seemingly inherited nature to retaliate. Another instance of symbolism in the story, is the reference to the secret society, the Freemasons. As a sign to prove his fellowship, Montresor pulls out a trowel to show his brotherhood. Ironically, this is the same trowel that will seal Fortunato’s tomb. The final major symbol in “The Cask of Amontillado,” is the Amontillado wine. The way the wine is created is through the deprivation of oxygen, the same way Fortunato is killed. The thought put into the murder portrays Montresor as a genius, but also shows the regard he has for his victim. Montresor sees his victim like a cheap bottle of sherry instead of the fine Amontillado that is revered and mature. Taking it upon himself, Montresor decides to mature Fortunato and views it as a masterpiece. The death of Fortunato is Montresor’s art (Lewis
The motto is translated as “no one can provoke ma and get away with it” (Arp and Johnson, 620). This coat of arms shows that Montresor is a person of revenge and he will obtain it at all cost. Ironically Fortunato’s says “good!” not realizing how bad the interpretation of the coat of arms is for him.
Fortunato “takes possession” of Montresor’s arm, for which he suffers (716) in order to carry out his plan. Poe’s use of possession and suffer give the impression that Montresor is being afflicted again by Fortunato. Once Montresor reveals this meeting at this evening is no coincidence by divulging he made sure none of his attendants would be home. By giving the direct orders to be home. Poe shows us that Montresor was not respected or feared by his servants’ actions. The servants’ leaving after being given a direct order to stay does give credence to the fact that Montresor must be very methodical and unyielding to his schedule. Only once Fortunato to the catacombs does he betray his own premise. Montresor refers to Fortunato as his “poor friend” (716). At this point Poe has depicted this instigator of a “thousand injuries” as a drunken jester that can barely catch his breath at this point in the story. Now Montresor is showing some sympathy towards him. At this point the transition is complete. Where the two men stopped at the entrance to Fortunato’s tomb, this is the moment that leaves no doubt that Montresor is the villain and Fortunato is the
These imply Montresor’s the whole family is filled with acts of revenge. These also illustrate self-esteem or pride hold a critical role in the family that they do not accept anyone try to injure them. If someone does so, they will use their own method to punish their wrongdoings, which they at least find a way to release their discontented against such behavior. Montresor also considers this action as an insult because he perceives that he is not being respect and look down by Fortunato. This is because Montresor is a poor man compared to Fortunato who can afford to buy the entire shipment of Amontilado. Therefore, Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (331). This shows Montresor family’s coat of arms and motto can be the key that leads him wants revenge for being insulted by Fortunato. Since no one is able to clear up the internal injuries that have been in his heart for a while, he deems he should take the risk and punishes Fortunato by himself. In some way, he may think that he helps the society to cut weeds and eliminate the roots by killing all the loose end or
Furthermore, just as Fortunato's words may have caused Montresor years of distress, as does both characters fulfillment of Montresor's coat of arms. Montresor is the heel, crushing and ending the life of a serpent, which fittingly represents Fortunato.
Womack, Martha. “Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” The Poe Decoder. Christoffer Nilsson, 1997. n.pag. Web. 6 Nov. 2011 .
The main reasons for Montresor’s traits are his family arms and family motto. He mentions his family arms as, “[a] huge human foot d’or, in a field of azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (Poe). This quote, to me, means as, “[a] ...