Self-annihilation in The Cask of Amontillado
It is now generally common that Poe’s writings draw on his personal problems. William Bittner, the author of Poe: A Biography even suggests that Montresor and Fortunato in the Cask of Amontillado "are two sides of the same man—Edgar Poe" (218). There exist countless interpretations of the story, resulting from Poe’s ability to puzzle his readers and make them rack their brains over the often-ambiguous lines. Disregarding the many explanations that already exist, I will try to point to passages in the story, which could be considered relevant in proving the theory that by killing Fortunato in so monstrous a fashion, Montresor has annihilated his own soul.
Since Poe uses an unreliable narrator, who does not go into detail when it comes to his motive for killing Fortunato, I found it rather difficult to try to reconstruct and arrive at the motivation for his crime. If we consider the theory of self-annihilation true, we need to start looking for some relevant explanation. We learn that Fortunato has done Montresor harm by a thousand injuries, crowned by an insult, which shall be punished with impunity. A man so proud will not let anyone offend his ancestry. Is that, however, the only motive he may have for murdering the man? He says: "You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter" (Poe), giving us a complete list of traits he lacks in his own character. Hence, Montresor is Fortunato’s mirror image. The characteristics that assemble in Fortunato are the ones that Montresor despises and wants to lock away and leave to die. One may wonder, whether these traits are not the very part of himself. In Retapping Poe’s “...
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...raves retribution, a murder transforms into a partial suicide. We are only humans and we cope with some of our issues with help of defense mechanisms. Repression resulting in self-annihilation is possible. I must admit that I have not reached a clear conclusion in the question of Montresor’s real motivation. However, I believe that leaving the door open for imagination to come in is what makes some stories last.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado". Poestories.com, an exploration of stories by Edgar Allan Poe. Web 23 Nov 2013
Bittner, William. "Poe: A Biography", Boston: Little, Brown, 1962., questia.com, Web. 23 Nov 2013
Charles A. Sweet, Jr., "Retapping Poe’s ‘Cask of Amontillado’", eapoe.org, Poe Studies, June 1975, Vol. VIII, No. 1, 8:10-12. Web. 23 Nov 2013
"What Is Schizophrenia?", National Institute of Mental Health. Web. 23 Nov 2013
A main theme presented in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe is that Montresor shows obsession with the murder of fortunato. This is exemplified by Montresor’s precise planning, carefulness and slowness of speed in the process.
Poe, Edgar A. "Short Stories: The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe." Short Stories: The
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.
No matter how well executed, a crime of this magnitude will leave scars on the conscience, thus marring it’s perfection. Conflicting psychological emotions and actions plague the journey causing inner conflict ranging between pity and revulsion by the time the narrator concludes. Notwithstanding the shortage of information on Montresor’s life in the ensuing fifty years since Fortunato’s death; it can be surmised from the events leading to the murder that Montresor does, in fact, have a conscience and that it builds upon itself as the action
In "Cask of Amontillado", Montresor is the narrator. "The thousand of injuries of Fortunato he has borne as he best could; but when he ventures upon insult, Montresor vows revenge" (Poe 528). As the story unfolds, "Montresor's idea of perfect revenge" is "characteristically precise and logical in detail" as to how he commits his crime (Delaney 1).
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
With a premeditated motive to commit such an act, the culprit, Montressor, thinks, constructs and orchestrates a presumed murder against his insulter, Fortunado. “Poe begins by describing, in characteristically precise and logical detail, Montresor’s (and Poe’s) idea of perfect revenge. At the same time, he needed to end his story by telling how his revenge had affected him. When Fortunatosays, “For the love of god, Montresor!” and Montresor repeats, “Yes, for the love of God,” Poe is indicating that Montresor is already experiencing the closure he sought”(Delaney 39) Unbeknownst why he wants retribution, or what it is that his victim has done to compel Montressor to kill him. What is given is a recount of the night under discussion.
Poe, Edgar Allan. “ The Cask Of Amontillado.” Heritage Of American Literature .Ed. james E. Miller.Vol.2.Austin:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,1991.20.Print.
Accordingly, Poe is well responsive to this psychological trait of the human brain. Likewise, Poe employs the perception of perversity and remorse in “The Cask of Amontillado.” The reason of burying Fortunato is not only vengeance, but also a robust reaction that is described in “The Black Cat”. There is a passionate yearning in Montresor to hurt Fortunato even if he has not made any harm to him. Although Montresor asserts that he has been injured several times by Fortunato, he cannot defy calling him “respected, admired, beloved,” admitting his “good nature,” and also calling him “noble” (Little 212). These expressions confirmed that Fortunato is a good quality person and the expression “injuries” used in the first phase of the story is simply a hyperbole that Montresor’s psyche has fabricated. Furthermore, wickedness does not come unaccompanied, but it carries itself a sense of remorse. Even if Montresor reflects himself as the diplomat of his family for deafening down rivals, he suffers remorse while walling up Fortunato. Consequently, Poe’s clasp of unreasonableness and culpability of the human mind is
The first literary device used by Poe in his short story “The Cask of Amontillado,”
Because Montresor narrates the story in the first person, the reader is able to perceive his thoughts and understand his motivations and justifications for his ruthless murder in a manner which a third person point of view would not allow. Montresor’s personal narration of the events of the story does not justify his crime in the audience’s eyes, but it does offer a unique opportunity for the audience to view a murder from the perspective of a madman killer. It is Poe’s usage of this unique angle that causes the story to be so captivating and gruesomely fascinating. As the story opens, Montresor explains why it is necessary that he “not only punish but punish with impunity” to avenge for Fortunado’s insult to him. This justification for his crime is a piece of information that the audience is able to learn only because they are permitted inside the mind of the protagonist. In the final scene, when Montresor is carrying out his murder pl...
As the story begins, Fortunato believes he and Montresor are friends or at the very least friendly. However, Montresor is secretly plotting Fortunato’s murder. Montresor believes that Fortunato has given a “thousand injuries” and it is not until he “insults” Montresor that Montresor springs into action. Unfortunately, it is never explained if these injuries and insults really happened or if they are a delusion. Montresor makes an unreliable narrator and one gets the feeling he suffers from a psychological disorder, such as delusional paranoid personality disorder. This disorder causes the victim to become obsessed with a delusion “involving a phenomenon that the person’s culture could conceivably regard as plausible.” They often believe “they have been injured by friends or strangers, and they tend to see other persons as enemies.” Montresor gives the impression he and Fortunato have known each other for an extended amount of time. Montresor knows more about Fortunato than Fortunato knows about Montresor; possibly because Fortunato is constantly drunk.
Edgar Allan Poe has a style that is dark and morbid. His tone is very gloomy and obscure. The tone of “The Cask of Amontillado” is almost tame compared to the tone of “The Black Cat”, his other work we covered. The tone of that work is almost maddening. “The Cask of Amontillado” tone is very sinister and methodic. Whereas “The Black Cat”, has a pulse to a cadence and rhythm though no clear pattern is established. Poe’s style of writing seems so personal, as a reader I had to remind myself this was fiction. His first-person style of writing is so detailed and intricate it is very easy to become invested in the world he creates. “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” both have themes of revenge where the supposed victim is untimely
Womack, Martha. “Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’” The Poe Decoder. Christoffer Nilsson, 1997. n.pag. Web. 6 Nov. 2011 .
Poe, Edgar Allan. “That Cask of Amontillado.” Ibiblio. U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.d.