On average, studies confirm that one spends 14 hours a day trying to figure out how to get sweet revenge. In the story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe. Montresor tells the reader that he was insulted by Fortunato. The story begins when Montresor found his chance to take revenge against Fortunato. Montresor made Fortunato believe that they were going to see an Amontillado, but was actually leading him to his death. He had lead Fortunato to the family catacombs where Montresor buried Fortunato alive. Fortunato makes himself an easy target because he is greedy, foolish, and a jokester. When Fortunato is greedy, we can see how montresor could have taken advantage of him. Due to the face that Fortunato is greedy with his wines, we can see that Montresor could have very easily gotten sick of him. "...but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from his materially: I was skillful in the Italian vintages myself..." (. ) this indicates that Montresor and Fortunato both love wine but Fortunato was more greedy when it comes to the good wine. Montresor said he had just as good of taste for good wine but Fortunato did not think so. It clear from this situation that Montresor is jealous that Fortunato has better wine tasting skills. …show more content…
Fortunato is a jokester which leaves him vulnerable to his enemy Montresor.
The fact that Fortunato is a jokester, it reveals to the reader that he is probably dressed funny in order to get people to laugh at him. "The man wore motley. He had on a tight fitting, parti-striped dress, and his head was surrounded by the conical cap and bells." (6) in addition to Fortunato dressing like a clown, this action shows that he likes to draw attention to himself. Fortunato really draws attention to himself when he is drunk and obnoxious. Thus, Fortunato actions when he is joking around, could lead him to do things that could bother or hurt Montresor in the long
run. Fortunato does not realize that when he is foolish, it makes him and easy target for Montresor. The fact that Fortunato acts foolish when his is drunk, makes it very easy for Montresor to get mad at him. "Ha! Ha! Ha! He! He! He! A very good joke indeed- an excellent jest, we shall have money a rich laughs about it at the Palazzo- He! He! He!- over our wine- He! He! He!" (36-40). This indicates that Fortunato can act very childish when he is drunk. Since he is drunk at this moment, he believes that Montresor is actually leading him to someplace good be he really is not. It is clear from this situation that Fortunato makes mistakes. Based on the evidence in the text, we can see that Fortunato is greedy, foolish, and a jokester which makes him an easy target for Montresor. Looking closely at nor Fortunato acts when he is greedy, we can see how Montresor could take advantage of him. Based on his actions, we can see that Fortunato is foolish, which leaves him vulnerable to his enemy Montresor. Due to the fact that Fortunato is a jokester, he does not realize it makes him an easy target for Montresor to kill. Hopefully, people will learn that revenge is not always the best answer.
He gives very little information about Fortunato, past that he is a wine connoisseur. There is no mention of what Fortunato does for leisure, his family, or even his job. In fact, the only details the reader receives on Fortunato paint him as a fool, with his costume, his drunken attitude, and obliviousness Montresor is focuses on the facts that make Fortunato look bad; he not only wants Fortunato dead but he also wants Fortunato’s name discredited. Montresor tells the reader even less about himself because there is no background to who Montresor is, what he does, or even what kind of contact he has with Fortunato. The only true details of Montresor that are given must be implied and give a sense of intelligence. In addition, he gives little to no details about the carnival, such as where it was, why the carnival was happening, or even why he chose this particular day to enact his plan. From these details, or lack of details, it seems Montresor doesn’t want his audience to know this information. The audience is supposed to simply look at Fortunato a fool and Montresor a genius, the harbinger of death. The facts such as who these people were, the time, or the setting are not important to Montresor’s focus in the
Montresor is putting up a front to Fortunato, but that’s okay. Since it’s carnival season in Italy, that means freedom season for Montresor, so he as impunity. Therefore, that means Montresor can do anything he wants, even if that means getting away with killing Fortunato. So, to get closer to Fortunato, he hangs out with him like they are friends.
Fortunato is a man with stature who is “rich, respected, admired” (Baym). Yet, Fortunato decides to wear a “tight- fitting parti-striped dress, and his head [is] surmounted by the conical cap and bells” for the carnival season (Baym ). In comparison, Montresor is darkly dressed as if a priest giving a funeral
Have you ever met someone so clever, determined, and cruel to leave a man to die over an insult? Montresor is the perfect example of these character traits. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor uses all of these character traits to get revenge on Fortunado for insulting his family name. Montresor’s clever planning, determination for revenge, and cruel murder are the perfect combination for his unequaled revenge.
This man, Montresor is cunning and manipulative, as he'll get what he wants through trickery or deception. Montresor is sly because he notes that Fortunato is proud for being such a renowned wine connoisseur; therefore he utilizes this exploit to lure him into his trap. And so, Montresor appealed to his confidence of wine expertise by saying, “'As you're engaged I am on the way to Luchesi.' ”(133) This stirs up Fortunato's pride and makes him offer to check Montresor's amontillado instead of Luchesi, his supposed rival in wine expertise. Additionally, he plans the date of his murder on the carnival so Fortunato would be drunk as well as being inconspicuous to wear a mask and a costume so nobody would be able to identify the person that went off with Fortunato. When Fortunato arrives at the vault he makes a scene where he seems genuinely caring and toasts him, “'And I to your long life.' ”(135) The irony is that Fortunato won't have to wait long before his demise and that Montresor only said it to advert suspicion from Fortunato. He managed to trick Fortunato until the very end which proves how clever he is.
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.
Montresor takes full advantage of the fact that Fortunato has a soft spot for fine wines. Montresor seeing that the only opportunity that he would have to exert revenge would be when wine is to be drunk in surplus decides to wait until the Carnival Season. We are told of one evening during the season when Montresor invites Fortunato over to his place. The major reason for the invite is to have Fortunato taste a sample of sherry that he had acquired to ascertain if the s...
As the story opens, an unnamed narrator first says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. ”(164) Montresor who tells the story is taking revenge on Fortunato because he has suffered a “thousand injuries” although he never mentions exactly what happened. Edgar Allan Poe creates a perfect crime in the murder story “The Cask of Amontillado” through the use of a character that exhibits characteristics of a psychopath, a horrifying plot and dramatic irony. Montresor, who confesses his crime without emotion, the story of his killing of Fortunato fifty years before, is a wealthy man living in a large “palazzo” with servants.
Fortunato exhibits extreme narcissism upon himself and fails to see the bigger picture going on around him. Montresor expended a great amount of time in thinking of a way to defeat his prey in his own world. His target had a weakness of lust for wine, in fact he, prided himself in his connoisseurship. Consequently, too much pride can be harmful according to Jessica Tracy, “hubristic pride is related to narcissistic traits like entitlement, arrogance, and egotism” all which Fortunato exemplified (Oprah). Montresor baited Fortunato into his pleasure “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi” though we never meet Luchesi his character is of lesser rank when it comes to wine connoisseurship (Poe). Montresor was very clever in this quiet deed; he even took the time to provide many outs for Fortunato whether it was concern for his prey’s health or warnings of harsh conditions ahead. Drunk and prideful he could care less about his health during the cold trot through the vaults “The cold is merely nothing… and as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” thus his narcissistic ways are even selfish to his own temple (Poe). Fortunato ignores his plethora of coughs and implies to move forward while Montresor ensures him that his health is too precious but again triggers him saying Luchesi is in a
When they are ready to go to the vaults, Montresor shows concern for Fortunato’s health. This I believe is a genuine concern. Montresor says “it is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you afflicted” (142). It can be argued that Montresor is just making another move in his fatal game of revenge, but why would he care so much about Fortunato. When meeting Fortunato at the carnival Montresor says “I was so pleased to see him…”
The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes how Montresor confesses the sequence of his well-designed or nearly flawless murder or revenge against Fortunato due to he is a threat to him. In his confession of a perfect crime, Montresor, who “vowed revenge” because of Fortunato’s “thousand injuries,” first say that his “heart grew sick” and then immediately add, “ it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so because he believes Fortunato insults him many times that his hatred against him become bigger and bigger. This makes him cannot stand for Fortunato’s behavior anymore as well as the setting completely makes everything prefect as he believes Fortunato deserves the punishment. The nature and family hold a significant role
For all he knew, he was being invited to his friend’s place to grab a drink and sort their previous beef out. For both of the characters knew they used to not get along, but as Poe conveys his story, the readers is under the impression that Fortunato is ready to look past their quarrel but Montresor on the other hands, does not let go of arguments very well. When Fortunato arrives at Montresor’s door, he is greeted with a warm and friendly smile, little could he tell what was about to come of him. The reader assumes that Fortunato pretends like the past did not happen and allows Montresor to be so friendly, or so he thinks. In honor of the carnival that was happening this very same night, the two get a drink together, Fortunato more than Montresor. (Foy) Montresor offers him more and more wine. At this point, Fortunato is fairly intoxicated and is very gullible. He is offered some very rare wine by Montresor, and him being the wine lover he seems to be, is all in to get this special wine! Even up to his death, Fortunato seems to be a happy, go with the flow kind of person. He then realizes at the end, that he will be no more in the
Previously the word “greedy” showed up for being a character trait that he has. This is because of the correlation between his greediness and his motivation to get the expensive wine and to not allow Luchesi to get the wine. Fortunato is mainly motivated by proving Montresor wrong that Luchesi cannot tell the difference between two wines. “(...) I am on my way to Luchesi, if anyone has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me-” “Luchesi cannot tell amontillado from a sherry (Poe, 3).” replies Fortunato. The expensive wine, that Montresor supposedly has, is a motivation for Fortunado to go down into the cellar and drink it. Fortunato has no hesitation when it came to him going down stairs into the cellar, allowing the reader to sense that he is very motivated for the wine. “(...) Fortunato possessed himself of my arm. Putting on a mask of black silk, and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo (Poe, 3).” The way Fortunato firmlydoes not want Luchesi to get the wine and that he would risk his life, shows readers how high his motivation and desire
Edgar Allan Poe is known for his murderous stories. All of them are psychoanalyses of his life. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor struggles with his ego and superego just as Poe did throughout his life. The story starts off with the murderer telling what he did with satisfaction. The murderer’s name is Montresor, and he has a brilliant, devious plan to murder Fortunato. He tells his plan step by step of how he commits this dexterous murder. How far will someone go to seek revenge?