Although both “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Most Dangerous Game” are from different times and places, their two main character are alike in their heartless, murderous desire. In Edgar Allan Poe short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is the protagonist who seeks for revenge because of an insult made by his friend, Fortunado. This story happens in streets of Venice, Italy where Montresor plans this terrifying plan to kill Fortunado, most of his plan consist in the catacombs under his house. Montresor commits the crime and gets away without consequences. In the other hand, Richard Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, the principal character is General Zaroff who lives in an isolated island called Ship Trap Island. …show more content…
Montresor shows these characteristics once he starts planning his revenge for Fortunato. Not only does Montresor use his cleverness by making sure that his plan is precise and accurate, but also by having a perfect plan with no mistakes. Since Montresor wants revenge from Fortunato, he must make sure that he “not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 344). This makes evident that Montresor will get revenge without getting caught or seen. Montresor requires himself to plan his revenge without any witness and makes sure to know what to do in case of an accident. Montresor believes that he can not get revenge if he does not get away with it. He uses his brilliance to assure that there are no errors so that he gets to enjoy his revenge afterward. Montresor is thinking ahead of the game and wants to assure that everything goes as he planned it. Thus, it is clear that Montresor is a very perspicacious, intuitive man and is capable of using that knowledge for his …show more content…
Unlike General Zaroff, Montresor hides the fact that he is going to kill Fortunato. He pretends to be his friend all throughout the story. Innocent Fortunato does not notice and is trapped by Montresor’s lie. Montresor uses his knowledge to do this so that Fortunato has no idea that something is coming. Montresor is consistently faking to be Fortunato’s friend, for instance when Montresor tells him, “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well your looking to-day! But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts.” (Poe 346). Not only does his acts as a very close friend my calling him ‘my dear’, but he also complements him on his appearance. Montresor uses irony when he says ‘luckily met’ because they did not, fortunately, meet each other. Instead, Montresor had planned to meet Fortunato without him knowing. He reveals that he has Amontillado and has ‘doubts’. Montresor is really persuading him to come to his house but is hiding the purpose. He does not tell him the real reason for what is for, instead he says is for wine tasting. Overall, Montresor is hiding how he really feels about Fortunato, instead he is pretending to be Fortunato’s
Between the “Most Dangerous Game” and the “Cask of Amontillado” Montresor is more evil. Something must have happened to Montresor in his childhood life to make him the man he is. If you ever heard that quote “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”, that is exactly what Montresor is doing. He will manipulate Fortunato by using all his weaknesses to bring him down. With this in mind Montresor will do anything to get revenge, even if that means someone will have to die.
It is constantly seen that people take revenge on each other in the real world so it comes to no surprise that Montresor is taking revenge on Fortunato. Specifically in this story Montresor will feel better if he “not only punish but punish with impunity” (108 Poe). But further on what I found to even more realistic was that this wasn’t normal revenge, this was pure mastermind torture. Montresor knew that Fortunato was sick with Montresor saying “…but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted”(109 Poe) regarding that he didn’t want Fortunato to come down to his vaults, but Montresor true intentions were wanting Fortunato to fight Montresor request of not coming, and it worked. Montresor also knew how well Fortunato was at differencing wine “I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter” (109 Poe). By Montresor exploiting Fortunato’s sickness and skill of wines, Montresor knew that he could get Fortunato in the vaults where he could execute his revenge. At a first glance this may not seem lifelike because there’s an assumption to be made that people aren’t this immoral. But the truth is that the revenge that Montresor conducted is seen constantly in our culture. It’s undeniably real of the monstrosity that was made by Montresor when comparing it to the wicked
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
In the Cask of Amontillado, our narrator’s situation is one he is quite happy being in. Our narrator is Montresor, an Italian man rich with pride, and you quickly learn through his narration that he is intelligent, conniving, and extremely sinister. Throughout the story, everything Montresor does is motivated by one thing, his own thirst for vengeance. Montresor explains his actions are a result of Fortunato constantly abusing him and finally going too far, but he never explains anything Fortunato has done to insult him. When we meet Fortunato, he is extremely friendly towards Montresor, albeit a little intoxicated, so much that he makes Montresor’s story of “a thousand injuries” seem unbelievable (Cask 1). Compared to Gilman’s narrator whose spiral out of control was triggered by her forced seclusion from the outside world, it seems that Montresor’s insanity come from inside his own head. There is no evidence that suggest any attempts by Fortunato to belittle or insult Montresor in any way. I believe that Montresor may have been jealous of Fortunato’s success in life, and that is what drove him to vengeance. For example, on their way to the catacombs Fortunato makes a hand gesture of the Masons, a secret brotherhood, which Montresor doesn’t understand. Fortunato ask if Montresor is a Mason and for him to prove it, and Montresor lies and shows his trowel (Cask 5). This proves that
Montresor does have some disconnect or mental problem. He wishes to kill Fortunato for insulting him, but he never specifies what insult it was. He also states he has borne a thousand injuries. This is an exaggeration- Montresor only says this because he needs a reason to kill Fortunato. If Fortunato has done anything to deserve a painful death, he would certainly know, but Montresor does not let fortunato know what he has done and states "neither by word nor deed had [Montresor] given Fortunato cause to doubt [his] goodwill." Montresor's madness is also made clear by his method of killing Fortunato; he suffocates him in a wall built in f...
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.
When they arrive at the Montresor estate, Montresor leads Fortunato down the stairs into the catacombs. Down here is where the Amontillado Fortunato is going to taste and where the revenge of Montresor is going to take place. As he get closer and closer, the narrator opens up more and more to how he is going to kill his "friend". It sound like it is a premeditated murder. Montresor seems so inconspicuous that he acts like he cares about Fortunato which is still a part of his plan.
They first appear as gentlemen in order to lure the potential victims into their trap, then when the victims believe their lies they reveal their cruelty and violence through a series of events. First, in “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor shows up as a caring friend to approach and beguile Fortunato, when Fortunato has built trust Montresor eliminates him brutally. For example, in the beginning of the story Montresor claims Fortunato’s “‘health is precious’” because he is “‘rich, respected, admired, [and] beloved’”. He wants Fortunato to “‘go back’” (Poe 3) and claims he will find Luchresi for help. Poe uses the interactions between Montresor and Fortunato in the early stage to create dramatic irony as well as an uncertain relationship to attract readers to continue the story. The masterminded Montresor pretends he actually cares about Fortunato’s health to gain trust and keeps on asking if Fortunato would like return, but indeed the caring and questioning are the use of reverse psychology that encourages Fortunato to be more determined to continue the journey. General Zaroff in “The Most Dangerous Game” has similarly shown civilized behaviour and brutality but to an even greater degree. In the story, General Zaroff is a well-educated man, who lives in a luxurious mansion with the finest lifestyle, but he has no ethics and morals. He hunts humans because they are “courage[ous], cunning,” (Connell
He shows absolutely no remorse or any true interest in the effect that his actions will have. Even to go as far to make jokes at the expense of the future murder of his so called “friend.” Like Dr. Stout said, sociopaths can lead people to their impaling doom with much ease. The sheer ease of his master plan of revenge unfolding. His use of reverse psychology on people to have them ultimately do his true bidding. Playing with Fortunado’s trust to his own satisfaction and gain. He exhibits many traits of a sociopath throughout the story. Edgar Allan Poe is well known for doing this in many of his works as seen in classic works like The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart. The protagonists of these stories are also sociopathic, insane, vengeful and blood thirsty people who in reality are in fact the true antagonists. In each of their minds they believe they’re rightfully exacting justice and don’t see any error in their actions or just simply don’t care. They’re also cold, unfeeling, persuasive, and sinister murders who escalate small issues out of proportion. A sinister character is a recurring theme in Poe’s work and Montresor is surely no exception to this
Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" is similar to the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" in that his obsession with consuming the soul of Fortunato influences his every action. However, it is with Fortunato himself that he is obsessed. He feeds off of Fortunato's pain, unlike the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" who's obsession is with destroying a menacing inanimate object. Montresor's entire conspiracy is focused around making Fortunato suffer, and for him to know just who is causing this suffering. This is why he goes to such lengths to put together this intricate strategy. It could have been so much easier to kill Fortunato in some easier, quicker way. Instead, he dedicates himself to torturing Fortunato. He creates a plan that leads Fortunato into the depths of the catacombs beneath his home, and kills him in an excruciating manner.
Montresor is a very manipulative and vengeful person. One would suspect this through his words, "I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong." Through his thoughts, acts and words, we are able to watch his plan for revenge unfold.
Many readers will be entertained by the sinister and frightening settings, characters, and foreshadowing used in both stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Most Dangerous Game”. In both Richard Connell's “The Most Dangerous Game” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” the setting is very unappealing and frightening. However, the authors do this to engage readers and make them want to hear more about this creepy place. By looking at each creepy setting that each author includes throughout the story, readers can chose which seems more enjoyable to them.
The first indirect factor that could contribute to Montresor’s vengeful act, and thus the story’s theme of revenge, is the character of Montresor. Montresor tends to harbor feelings of resentment and has a hard time not taking things out of context (Womack). He also plans the murder of Fortunato in advance and devises it in such a way that he will not be caught. In killing Fortunato, Montreso...
Montresor’s actions are very mysterious. He never goes into depth with what Fortunato had done to him and only gives the reader a brief explanation. Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could…” (Poe 212). According to Montresor, he had tried to deal with or “borne as best [he] could” (Poe) with Fortunato, but had reached his breaking point. On why he killed Fortunato, he says, “…but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 212). Montresor seems to have said that Fortunato was just being himself until he “ventured upon insult” (Poe). Montresor
After having read the stories “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Cask of Amontillado”, “The Most Dangerous Game” is my favorite of the two. Although Edgar Allan Poe is the more famous author, Richard Connell’s story made me think more deeply than did Poe’s story. General Zaroff , in the end, got what he wanted; he won the game. In contrast, Poe’s story held few surprises for this reader. The “thousand injuries of Fortunato” was the only element that befuddled me throughout the story. Montresor never explained the ways in which Fortunato so maligned him or, possibly, the family Montresor so that the narrator’s only recourse was to murder Fortunato in such a malicious, calculated manner. On the other hand, Connell’s