Montresor

875 Words2 Pages

The story begins with Montresor’s monologue, explaining why he wants to take revenge on Fortunado, actually a friend of him. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge”. Although the writer doesn’t give the detail explanation of what, on earth, Fortunato did by the “thousand injuries”, we can still feel the anger of Montresor, burning in his mind. He wants to revenge, using his own way. “It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile NOW was at the thought of his immolation.” He knew Fortunato’s characteristics well, including the weak point. That is how he did the whole revenge.

The main characters in this story are Montresor and Fortunado. Montresor wants to take revenge on Fortunado. He is a deranged man who seeks revenge. He perfectly planed the whole revenge. Montresor was skillful in the Italian vintages himself. As metioned above, he knows well about his friend Fortunado — Fortunado was crazy about wine tasting and “prided himself on the connoisseurship in wine”. From the beginning to the end, Montresor’s language, his mood, and his action don’t really chance, including the hidden meaning of what he said. His voice has no diversion, no explanation, and even no emotion. His words are full of ironies, like “For the love of the God!” and “to the buried that repose around us.” All of those things indicate that he is a man with his mind full of revenge. He is desperate to kill Fortunato, but in the meantime, he is also careful to take actions.

Fortunato is from Italy. He is a friend of Montresor's, and whom Montr...

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... in an unnamed European city. The location quickly changes from the lighthearted activities associated with such a festival to the damp, dark catacombs. This helps to establish the sinister atmosphere of the story. It seems like all the settings are well prepared for Montresor’s revenge. There are bones and catacombs, and of course the Amontillado. We can tell the strong purpose of Montresor. We can even tell the author’s purpose from this story. The whole story is kind of twisted.

From my point of view, the author wants to show that everybody may have an inside feeling of killing or revenging someone. People will not do it in the real life, but they try to do that in their mind. It indeed happens. The story shows various kinds of human being, including the ego, the sense of self, a flash of anger, a drive to kill, a feeling of hate, and a strong mind of control.

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