Sane vs. Insane
Revenge can be an act of sanity or insanity. Insanity is a state of mind where a person lacks emotion and the ability for a higher level of thought. Conversely, sanity is a state of being where a person is in complete control of their emotions and cognitive functions. In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the main character, Montresor, murders Fortunato for insulting him. Montresor lures Fortunato into the catacombs under his mansion during Carnival in Italy with the promise of Amontillado. Montresor walls Fortunato into a niche, thereby killing him. Montresor is sane because he is able to think of a plan to kill Fortunato and feel regret after the deed is done.
The ability to make plans and carry
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them out effectively is the mark of a sane person, which Montresor shows through the complexity of his plot to kill Fortunato. Montresor has just arrived at his servant-free house with Fortunato when the text says, “I... had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to ensure their immediate disappearance…” (Poe 214). In this quote Montresor uses reverse psychology on his servants to ensure there are no witnesses to the murder of Fortunato. This shows that Montresor is not only capable of a high level of thinking, but also that he is quite intelligent. Another example of Montresor’s plotting abilities occurs deep in the catacombs, when Montresor begins to carry out the murder part of his plan, “A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples… From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock” (Poe 216). In this quote it is brought to the reader’s attention that Montresor has been planning the demise of Fortunato for a while, shown by the fact that Montresor has exactly what he needs for what he wants to do. The ability to think ahead and make an effective plan is not a trait seen in an insane person, but rather, as mentioned before, in an intelligent person. These two quotes coupled together show that Montresor is sane because he is able to plot and carry out a difficult plan. Yet, despite the immense skill and planning it took for Montresor to kill Fortunato, he feels a slight pang of remorse for what he has done.
When Montresor has almost completed the wall that eventually suffocates Fortunato, Fortunato becomes unresponsive to Montresor’s banter. This upsets some part of Montresor, as shown in the text, “My heart grew sick- on account of the dampness of the catacombs” (Poe 217). This quote shows that Montresor feels regret for killing Fortunato, though he tries to deny to himself that he regrets it. In fact, his denial of his emotions proves that he has them. In the quote, there is a hyphen between where he says his heart is sick and where he says it is sick because of the catacombs. This hyphen shows that Montresor added the second part of the sentence as an afterthought, which means he is trying to deny his emotions. This is significant because when a person tries to explain away their feelings, it is because they do not know how to deal with them. Montresor does not want to feel regret because it means that perhaps he was wrong and killing Fortunato was not the right thing for him to do after all. On top of that, symbolically speaking, the heart is the emotional core of a person’s body. It is not a coincidence that it is Montresor’s heart and not some other part of his body, such as his lungs, that is harmed from this experience. This evidence proves that Montresor is sane because it shows that the death of Fortunato evokes a semblance of
regret from him. Montresor is sane because he has a high capacity for thought and some capacity for emotion. Montresor’s detailed plan shows that he has a higher level of thinking than most people, sane or insane. Insane people lack emotion, which is not true in Montresor’s case, as shown when he feels regret for killing Fortunato. These are just a few reasons why Montresor is sane in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado.”
Revenge is the opportunity to retaliate or gain satisfaction for a real or perceived slight ("revenge"). In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, Montresor, the narrator, is out for revenge. Montressor seeks revenge against Fortunato and thinks he has developed the perfect plan for “revenge with impunity” (Baym). Montresor never tells the reader why he feels Fortunato deserves punishment. He only says that Fortunato causes him “a thousand injuries”until “[venturing] upon insult” (Baym ?). As a result, Montresor plans to bury Fortunato alive.
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
The setting of a story lays the foundation for how a story is constructed. It gives a sense of direction to where the climax is headed. The setting also gives the visual feedback that the readers need to picture themselves into the story and comprehend it better. Determining the setting can be a major element towards drawing in the reader and how they relate to a story. A minor change in the plot can drastically alter to perception, interpretation, and direction of the message that is delivered. These descriptive elements can be found within these short stories: “the Cask of Amontillado”, “The Storm”, “The Things They Carried”, “Everyday Use”, and “The Story of an Hour”.
The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Allan Poe, is a chilling story about two men named Fortunato and Montresor. The story begins with a narrator voicing his anger and resentment towards a man named Fortunato for “a thousand injuries” and insults. Our narrator sees Fortunato and lures him down into his vaults, or “catacombs,” on the premise of verifying that some wine is a certain type. Fortunato was already drunk, and had a cold. Eventually, the men reach a crypt, and the narrator chains Fortunato to the wall. Not stopping there, the narrator begins to trap him in the hole by filling it with bricks. Fortunato is quiet, until the hole is nearly filled, when he screams and then tells the narrator that it was a good joke. The narrator’s name is revealed to be Montresor. Montresor calmly takes the last brick and prepares to slide it into place, but stops and listens. All he hears are the jingling of bells. Then Montresor puts in the last brick, hence sealing Fotunato’s fate. There is chilling irony woven all throughout The Cask of Amontillado. It isn’t until the end of the story that we discover the tale took place fifty years before. Montresor’s vile deed’s motivation can be largely attributed to social class, fulfilling what he considered to be “just retribution” for the unnamed insult that was given him by Fortunato.
In Edgar Allen Poe's “ The Cask Of Amontillado”, Montresor, the narrator is insane. “The Cask Of Amontillado” is a story of revenge. Montresor is mad at Fortunato because he said an insult about Montresor. He got so mad that he plotted an extremely good plan to kill Fortunato. At the end of the story Montresor did eventually go to the catacombs and kill him, but nobody has found out that he is dead and it has been 50 years ago. Montresor is insane because he is pleased by the sound of other people's misfortune and suffering and he wants revenge over an insult.
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.
To some of the most fanatic and most creative Poe fans the question may arise: could I reproduce the great Edgar’s works? And if the answer is yes, then how? We might assume that Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognizable authors and poets not only of his age but of the whole modern literature, but still we would face numerous difficulties in trying to imitate his writing. Also, placing him into a certain style or literary movement would give us some really tough hours. Poe can be considered either a Romantic or Gothic writer but we could find a number of arguments and counterarguments for this matter. Poe, in fact, reinterpreted the whole Gothic horror style and created a unique, distinct brew of Gothic fiction, Romanticism and his own gloomy mind. On the basis of A Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart, we can deduct that despite the uniqueness of Poe’s works there are some recurring elements in Poe’s short-stories. Generally, if anyone wanted to write a Poesque short story, here are the ingredients: a fine case of murder, a big spoonful of madness and a pinch of revenge.
In The Cask of Amontillado, the theme of revenge is established at the start of the story, when the narrator states that he suffered irreversible insult by his associate, Fortunato, thus he vowed to avenge this action. This is evident in the following statement in the opening paragraph of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 7). Therefore, it is apparent to the reader from the onset of the story that revenge is a major driving force for Montresor for him to dreadfully murder his acquaintance,...
Paul Babiak addresses, “If psychopaths commit a homicide, their killing likely will be planned and purposeful, not the result of a loss of emotional control; their motive more commonly will involve sadistic gratification” (Psychopathy 7). The revenge Montresor is planning to implant on Fortunato was not by chance. He sought out his plot to manipulate, pathologically lie, and send Fortunato onto his death. Afterward, Montresor felt no sense of guilt or remorse. Montresor didn’t show a lack of empathy towards the situation. He admits, “There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, […]; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, […], that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction” (Poe 9). His satisfaction of the furious vibrations of the noise that he stays concentrating on is merely an act of feeling no sense of remorse, guilt, or empathy towards the suffering he is causing Fortunato (Poe
Montresor proves not to mess with someone's feeling. He explains, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 372). Fortunato does not know that he is going to die, yet Montresor and the reader do know, making the situation dramatic irony. By punishing him with impunity he is going to get revenge that he has wanted now for years ever since he did wrong to Montresor and now that he finally gets the chance of course he will seek revenge on Fortunato. And it is dramatic irony because Fortunato is oblivious to the situation. Montresor proves that one should be careful on what they say. He speaks, “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” (Poe 372). Montresor is saying
1. What can the reader infer about Montresor’s social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator? We learned from paragraph 23 to 24 that Montresor owns a Palazzo and also has lot of retainers based on that evidence, the reader can infer that Montresor is a very wealthy and successful man. About his character, the reader can imply that Montresor is a heartless, cold blooded, sneaky, manipulative, and untrustworthy man, as well as a man who hold on to grudges. Moreover, Montresor is an unreliable narrator, because he reveals in the first paragraph that he intends to have a revenge on Fortunato, but he did not indicate or clearly prove to the readers how Fortunato
While Montresor finishes building up the wall, he takes a second to think over what he is doing, “... the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied” (Poe 165), not only does he feel no remorse for what he is doing, but he is proud of killing Fortunato. Montresor is so fixated on the fact that he scrutinizes Fortunato as better than him, turning him into a sociopath for murdering in cold blood. After Montresor finishes his construction of the wall to seal Fortunato in Montresor determined, “My heart grew sick- on account of the dampness of the catacombs” (Poe 166). This sick thought, is ironic about feeling bad for killing Fortunato, he never felt bad; he is disdain about Fortunato. Even by a “...half of a century” after he sealed him in, “no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” (Poe 166), Montresor feels no regret about killing Fortunato. In Fact, he feels pride that he got away from it. Montresor is delighted by the impunity of killing Fortunato that he feels the need to tell someone of his
Humans have always struggled against confinement and toward freedom. However, they choose not to recognize that history has proved time and again that too much freedom incites anarchy and too much confinement invites tyranny. It’s the nature of all animals to desire freedom and resist confinement. Many times the animal struggles so blindly it does not recognize it is destroying itself or condemning itself to further confinement. In “The Cask of Amontillado” Fortunato and Montresor are symbols of how human nature manifests differently in different people in varying combinations of psychological and physical freedom and confinement.
Gruesser further speculates that Montresor may in fact be speaking to a priest to relieve his conscience of the dread he experienced each day since he murdered Fortunato (130). Such a theory is further demonstrated when Montresor calmly echoes Fortunato's exclamation, "For the Love of God" (Poe, 1597). Fortunato is not just crying for mercy during the last few moments that he has a chance. He is also warning Montresor to think of his own demise and the next world thereafter (Delaney, 130). Therein lies the source of Montresor's half a century of dread. He was so blinded by his hatred and lust for revenge that he failed to think of his own soul. Only when it is too late does he realize to how great of an extent he may have actually affected his own life.
?The Cask of Amontillado? by Edgar Allan Poe is a story about two men at a carnival, the narrator Montresor, who is being eaten by jealousy, and Fortunato, a rich drunk man that has a weakness for wine. It is through deception that Montresor achieves his revenge against Fortunato. He did not believe that killing Fortunato is wrong because of the insults and injures Fortunato brought against him. ?The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne.? (Poe, 75) says Montresor. Montresor brought Fortunato down into the catacomb. This was his chance for revenge.