SparkNotes’ Analysis on Montresor’s motives in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” hurts student’s understanding of the short story by disregarding information in the text. SparkNotes claims that “The terror of ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ as in many of Poe’s tales, resides in the lack of evidence that accompanies Montresor’s claims to Fortunato’s ‘thousand injuries’ and ‘insult.’” (SparkNotes). This presents Fortunato as an innocent victim of Montresor due to the lack of evidence presented. SparkNotes argues that Montresor is an unreliable narrator who kills Fortunato out of perceived wrongs rather than any actual basis for revenge: “Montresor uses his subjective experience of Fortunato’s insult to name himself judge, jury, and executioner …show more content…
in this tale, which also makes him an unreliable narrator.” (SparkNotes). What SparkNotes presents is that Montresor’s actions are unjustified painting Fortunato in a more sympathetic light, however, throughout the story Fortunato continually mocks and belittles Montresor.
Fortunato displays doubt that Montresor can afford a fine wine, saying, "Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!" (Poe). This shows that Fortunato has a low opinion on Montresor’s wealth by insulting him in the middle of carnival. Poe also makes Fortunato out to be a dullard. Fortunato dismisses Luchresi’s ability to judge wine: "Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry.” (Poe). Despite Fortunato’s claims Amontillado is in fact a Sherry. Fortunato’s constant dismissal of Montresor probably hurts his pride more because of Fortunato’s stupidity. Fortunato’s repeated teasing of Montresor shows the “thousand injuries” that SparkNotes claims were not included were indeed in the story. (Poe). By telling the reader that Fortunato had no prior transgressions towards Montresor, SparkNotes misinforms students about the themes of the story. One of the main themes of the story is how revenge is less satisfying than the idea of it. By giving Fortunato a fatal flaw, Poe shows us that revenge is sickening even if the person exacting retribution feels like the aggressor deserves
it. Without proper justification towards revenge throughout the text the reader will likely focus more on the death of Fortunato rather on focusing on how Montresor feels afterwards. Making Fortunato an innocent victim of Montresor removes one of the aspects of revenge which is retribution. As a result of showcasing this black and white morality SparkNotes removes the depth of the story and distorts the theme of revenenge.
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.
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.
The protagonists Montresor wants to get back at Fortunato for deeply insulting him and Montresor vows for revenge. During the fall carnival, he sees his opportunity and is quick to pounce on this and put his plan into place. “With Fortunato intoxicated and falling and stumbling all over the place Montresor knows that the time is now” (Russell 211). Montresor knows Fortunato’s weakness for wine and Montresor tells him he found Amontillado a very rare wine and it is in his vault. Montresor knows how far Fortunato will go for wine as rare as Amontillado and that is what eventually leads to his tormented and revengeful death. Edgar Allan Poe also gives lots of scenes that foreshadow to the future and the plotting about the death of Fortunato and the steps leading up to it. “The great example is putting Montresor into the future fifty years later telling the story and everything that went into the murder that he had committed” (Elliot 268). Poe depicts that revenge is very sweet and even fifty years later, that the deep gothic death and revenge themes still show up in Poe’s writings (Russell
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.
Edgar Allen Poe uses irony and poetic justice all throughout “The Cask of the Amontillado”. The places where irony and poetic justice hold the most significance are the scenes where, Montresor speaks of the wronging done to him by Fortunato, where Montresor and fortunato speak of the coat of arms, and where at the very end when Montresor traps Fortunato in the catacombs and leaves him to die. These scenes clearly show the use of these two tools that Poe used to tell the story of Montresor and
In his article “On Memory Forgetting, and Complicity in “the Cask of Amontillado”” Raymond DiSanza suggests that an act of wrongdoing is always at the heart of good horror stories. (194) DiSanza’s article on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe describes Poe’s writing in a way I didn’t think of myself. DiSanza finds Poe’s language in this story to “taste like amontillado: smooth, slightly sweet, and appropriately chilled”. (DiSanza 195) Throughout his article he mostly talks about what possibly could have been Montresor’s motive to kill Fortunato? And why did Montresor wait fifty years to tell the story?
... carnival, so that the narrator would not consult another supposed wine connoisseur about the cask of amontillado, the reader must identify with the dark parts of their character and learn from the mistakes of the characters in this story. Like Montresor, all people have faults and by illustrating this extremely flawed character, Poe allows the reader a glimpse at the flaws in their own. Even Montresor recognizes that he must hares his crime, whether to confess or brag, the story could not die with him. Montresor is a vehicle that allows the reader to identify with their own shortcomings. He was consumed by a thirst for revenge, driven by pride, aided by intelligence, and suffering from a sense of inadequacy which created jealousy. Montresor demonstrates that vengeance and pride are impure motivators that lead to sinister thoughts and actions unfit for judgement day.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor sets out on a vengeful mission that will end Fortunato’s life in an untimely fate. Montresor appeals to Fortunato’s love for wine to tempt the unsuspecting fellow to his impending doom. While Montresor tricks the foolish Fortunato frightfully, it is ultimately Fortunato’s pride that leads to his demise in the crypt. Poe uses several literary devices to foreshadow this murderous exploit of Montresor. Through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery, the story entices readers to delve into the relationships and differences between Montresor and Fortunato.
Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of murder and revenge, “The Cask of Amontillado”, offers a unique perspective into the mind of a deranged murderer. The effectiveness of the story is largely due to its first person point of view, which allows the reader a deeper involvement into the thoughts and motivations of the protagonist, Montresor. The first person narration results in an unbalanced viewpoint on the central conflict of the story, man versus man, because the reader knows very little about the thoughts of the antagonist, Fortunato. The setting of “The Cask of Amontillado”, in the dark catacombs of Montresor’s wine cellar, contributes to the story’s theme that some people will go to great lengths to fanatically defend their honor.
“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
Fortunato was a connoisseur, a critical judge of anything, in wine; this is what he prided himself on the greatest. Montresor feels like this is not only Fortunato’s weakness, but is also one of his own personal strengths. He uses this belief and cunningly creates a nonexistent cask of Amontillado that he knows Fortunato would do almost anything to taste. Montresor then says that he is going to have Luchesi taste the wine because “if anyone has a critical turn, it is he” (237). Montresor had the intent of insulting Fortunato’s pride and he knew that that statement would do the job because just like mentioned earlier, Fortunato prides himself on the belief that he is the best wine taster around. Because Montresor insulted him, Fortunato decides to insult Montresor back, but also insults Luchesi at the same time by saying “You have been imposed upon; and as for Luchesi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado” (237). Fortunato’s pride is so great that he believes he can do anything because of his connoisseurship, which pushes him deeper into the trap that Montresor is laying down for
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.
Amontillado can warp the reality of its drinker, but it is plausible for one’s reality, as revealed to others, to be distorted even without the use of it. Short stories written in the first person point of view, particularly those of Edgar Allan Poe, enable readers to reach insightful conclusions about a narrator’s reliability by allowing for individual interpretations of the text. One of Poe’s prominent works, “The Cask of Amontillado,” tells the morbid story of Montresor, an obsessive narrator who seeks revenge against a jovial oenophile named Fortunato. He avenges himself by luring Fortunato into his palazzo, walling him in the catacombs, which eventually kills him. Therefore, Fortunato’s confinement resembles that of the readers within the narrator’s unreliability, in which they are forced to blindly empathize with Montresor unless they can alter their perspectives from his. Woven in throughout the narrative, Edgar Allan Poe’s intricate character development portrays the narrator’s unreliability through his verbal implications, unique mentality, and abnormal behavior.
The story of “The Cask of Amontillado,” has the lack of evidence that goes along with Montresor’s claims to Fortunato’s “thousand injuries” and “insult.” The story is about revenge and secret murder as a way to avoid using the proper channels for justice. The law is nowhere on Montresor’s mind, and the horror of the story is the fact of punishment without proof. Montresor uses his unfortunate experience of Fortunato’s insult to name himself judge, jury, and executioner in this short story, which also makes him a hard to believe narrator. Montresor confesses this story fifty years after it happens and such a significant time between the event and the story of the event makes his story all the more unbelievable. Montresor’s believability is very low and it makes one question the rational consideration of evidence, such as the specific insult that would necessarily have to come before any guilty sentence in the real world. “The Cask of Amontillado” takes interpretation and the fact that some people interpret things differently, to a terrible end.
The major characteristics of the narrator and main character, Montresor, are anger, hatred, and revenge. In the story, he is angry with Fortunato because he believes that Fortunato has wronged and insulted him many times by saying, “thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could…he ventured upon insult…” (Poe). In addition, Montresor’s hatred for Fortunato goes so far that he believes he must kill Fortunato. He mentions this in the story as, “[y]ou, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat” (Poe). He seems to say that his soul is made of hatred and goes on to say he must give Fortunato the utmost punishment: death. Montresor even shows traits of revenge when he says, “…but when [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” and “...I would be avenged…” (Poe). He is saying that he will get revenge on Fortunato, whom he is angry with and hates for being insulted by.