The Deception of Fortunato One of the themes of The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is deception. Webster states that the definition of deception is to cause another to believe in an untruth. Fortunato did something to Montresor; so Montresor deceives Fortunato to make things even, but he took it too far and murdered Fortunato. Montresor states in Amontillado, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (3). As we could see in the following quote Montresor is going to punish, but punish with impunity. This means that Montresor is going to get at someone but without hurting them, he is going to trick the other person into doing or going somewhere with him. Fortunato is the guy Montresor is trying to get back at for causing him …show more content…
so much pain “It was understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will.’ He did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation” (3). Montresor is scoping Fortunato and planning to deceive him in a way that he will not know he is seeking his revenge against Fortunato. Montresor wants to sacrifice Fortunato in a way that is not harmful, and when he does punish Fortunato he wants him to see that Montresor was the one that did it. As said in the text Fortunato was very “quack and in the matter of old wines he was sincere” (3). Meaning that Fortunato knows all drinks and the quality of it as well, such as taste, brand, and how much it might’ve cost. Before Montresor approach Fortunato, he had been drinking “he accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking too much” (3). Montresor tells Fortunato that he paid full price for an Amontillado without consulting him in matter. Montresor invites Fortunato over to have a cup of wine while they take a walk through the vaults. There’s a sense of deception, we could see that, because Fortunato has been drinking and Montresor is finding a way to convince him to check out a drink he paid full price for.
Fortunato doesn’t want to go over “it is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted.’ The vaults are insufferably damp.’ They are encrusted with nitre” (4). Fortunato sensed that Montresor is inviting him over to get back at him for the thousand injuries he has done to him. Montresor plan is to get him in the vaults and slowly as they keep walking through the catacombs, letting the nitre Fortunato is inhaling kill him. As they walk through the catacombs Fortunato starts cough impatiently trying to gasp for air, but let’s Montresor know it is nothing. This shows how Montresor deceives Fortunato into thinking it’s a friendly walk through the catacombs as he is drinking some of the Amontillado he promised to offer him that’s causing Fortunato to have a sever cough. They reach a point in which Fortunato collapses on the ground because it gets hard for Fortunato to breathe, in addition he is super intoxicated. Montresor sees his opportunity and takes advantage to chain Fortunato from his ankle “a moment more and I had fettered him to the granite” (8). While Fortunato is tied up, Montresor builds a wall so he could conceal him in the catacombs “I had completed the eight, the
ninth, and the tenth tier” (10). Montresor was successful into getting Fortunato to take a walk with him in the catacombs and seeking his revenge, harmfully. Montresor did not hurt him physically like he said in the beginning he was going to punish with impunity, and so he did he punished Fortunato by leading him into the vaults, then the catacombs, and Fortunato getting buried alive. Finally we could conclude that Montresor deceived Fortunato, by leading him on into the catacombs and brainwashing Fortunato thinking they were going to drink together and talk like fellow friends. At the end of the short story we do not find out what injuries Fortunato did to Montresor.
Montresor must trick and manipulate Fortunato to accomplish his goal of revenge. He tells Fortunato the reason he is at the ...
Montressor had said “In pace requiescat!”, but rest in peace Fortunato did not. As Fortunato took his last breath he heard Montressor yell his name and then leave. A strange sensation then came over Fortunato and he could sense the energy flowing out of him, a rising feeling held him above the ground as he became a restless spirit. He thought to himself “Why am I not allowed to go? What must be keeping me here?”, and then recalled that it was Montressor that had done this to him, Montressor that had led him into the vaults and then sealed him up to die of pneumonia. Revenge, that was what had drove Montressor to murder, and what was keeping Fortunato in the mortal world. Fortunato realized that he must find Montressor, and exact his revenge before he would be able to pass over. And down there, in the deepest, darkest vault, he planned his revenge.
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
renovating a palazzo his men found the bones of a human. When I got to
...rfeited” (33). Montresor has inquired about Fortunato’s health throughout their walk to the catacombs. It is too late for him to change his mind so all that is left to do is seal him in.
He has over twenty sources; ranging from books on all types of literary work, websites and scholarly articles. One of the sources DiSanza uses is an article written by James E. Rocks called “Conflict and Motive in “The Cask of Amontillado””. DiSanza explains how Rocks convincingly tells us he believes “Montresor regards Fortunato as both a political and a religious enemy and is thus motivated by “a faithful Catholic’s hatred and fear of the brotherhood of freemasonry””. (195) Rocks looks at Poe’s work in a very religious aspect, he points out how in the beginning of the story Montresor refers to Fortunato 's death as an “immolation”. Suggesting the murder to be some sort of religious sacrifice. (Rock 50) Rock also points out that he believes the final words spoken between Montresor and Fortunato reveals Montresor’s motive: “For the love of God, Montresor!” “Yes,” I said, “for the love of God!”. (50) A few sentences later, Rock claims that Montresor’s execution of vengeance against fortunato is because “he believes he must protect God’s word and his church against his enemies and who demonstrates his “love” of God in this deed of sacrifice”. DiSanza also quotes from another article called “Poetic Justice in “The Cask of Amontillado””, which was written by Kent Bales. DiSanza points out that Bales pushes a similar idea which Rock pushes; they look
Despite being urged against it several times; he ventures on willingly to his tomb. The warnings also serve another purpose; Montresor offers his prey a way out in exchange for Fortunato’s pride to be injured. Accepting the invitation of heading back would mean weakness, but possibly would have saved Fortunato’s life for losing his pride.
Carefully, cautiously the Montresor plotted precisely how he would exact revenge upon Fortunato. Much time and great energy was devoted to this plan, selecting a time that would be best: during carnival when the town would be celebratory, his servants apt to run off and join the celebration, when the two could silently disappear without notice or question. No detail is forgotten; he allows for no deterrents. He follows through with such a confidence that never does he stumble or hesitate in carrying out his plan. The Montresor indicates that he had never given. To continue with this ploy, he even goes so far as to express false concern for Fortunato as they pass through the catacombs. Blaming the nitre and damp, the Montresor suggests that they turn back as not to compromise Fortunato’s ill health, though he has no intent of doing so. Never once until the very end did Fortunato have cause to suspect that there were any foul plans afoot.
“The Cask of Amontillado” starts out with the narrator, later discovered to be Montresor, positioning himself as a victim of Fortunato. In the opening line, he states, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could” (714). Instantaneously one feels sympathetic towards a person that has withstood a thousand inflictions. Montresor goes on to tell a parable of sorts about vengeance, and “when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (715) he has lost. In this instance Poe has set Montresor apart from being at the least an unsuspecting
Edgar Allan Poe is one of greatest American authors and poets. He is well-known as a master of using irony in his story. “The Cask of Amontillado” is a horror story about revenge of Montresor upon Fortunato. Fortunato believes Montresor is his good friend, but he ends up with being chained and walled in to the catacombs. There are three types of irony used in this short story: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Using these ironies, Poe wants the readers to understand about Montresor’s “friendship” with Fortunato.
The short story that best utilizes withheld information, unreliable narrator, shocking twist, and foil is, “The Cask of Amontillado”. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” the author utilizes these techniques to create a tense atmosphere that makes the reader want to know more or guess what is going to happen next. “The Cask of Amontillado” utilizes the technique of withholding information. An example of withholding information in the story would be What kind of injuries did Fortunato make to Montresor to make Montresor want to seek revenge so badly. Another example would be why did Montresor decide to bury Fortunato alive in a brick wall?
The reader is slowly shown the sinister thoughts of the Montresor, but we are quite sure why he is getting revenge on the Fortunato. We know the Fortunato has done something for the Montresor, but we are never given an example. This leaves the reader waiting to find out what it is, but it is never revealed. Due to the lack of information, we are led to believe that whatever the Fortunato did was worth the punishment of the Montresor, leaving him to die in the catacombs. Also, the Fortunato’s fate is believable due to the time period they are in.
In the story, Montresor claims “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could..” and after insult, he must enact his revenge. He then baits Fortunato into his cellar with the promise of a rare wine, there he chains him to a wall in an alcove, then seals him inside. As Montresor built the wall, Fortunato tried pleading with him for his release, “‘But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone.’
Unfortunately, Fortunato does not answer, it makes you wonder if he was passed out or did he die from the mold. The sealing of the Fortunato’s tomb was not the end of the story; the end was when Montresor reveals that this had taken place fifty years
The first-person narration style of "The Cask of Amontillado" is essential in creating the original quality of the story. The reason this is so important in this particular story, is because when a sane killer, Montresor, is allowed to tell the story from his point of view, the reader gets a unique, disturbing look into the calmness of his mind. The audience can more clearly see how he thinks and feels, which the audience does not normally get in mainstream, commercial literature. The reason the narration style is so important to the tone of the story, is because it lets the reader become personally acquainted with the thoughts and intentions of the main character, and since the reader somewhat knows the outcome from the beginning, it allows certain ironies to make sense to the reader. Furthermore, were it told from a different perspective, I do not believe the story would have been as psychologically powerful.