Amontillado Thesis

In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the characteristics of the narrator make him an effective villain because he does not define the insult that Fortunato committed. In the beginning of the story, the narrator says: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” He talks about Fortunato insulting him in some way, but does not explain the degree of the issue. Villains usually take action when something harmful is done to them to make them feel enraged. For Montresor, it may have been a tiny mistake that could be easily resolved, but instead takes it to the extreme and tricks Fortunato into locking himself into a chamber in the catacombs and letting

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe depicts Montresor as someone who acts on behalf of his family’s honor and pride rather than someone acting on personal vendetta. In the beginning, Montresor is narrating his own story of how he enacted his revenge by killing Fortunato. According to Montresor, his retaliation against Fortunato seems to be because of previous transgressions on Montresor or his family even though we have no indication of any of Fortunato's actual transgressions against Montresor and his family (White 552). Poe never provides a complete explanation of what Fortunato did to Montresor to warrant his own death, but according to Professor Mustafa, “The exact nature of the ‘insult’ Fortunato has supposedly inflicted upon Montresor remains unclear to us, though it appears that the former has somehow hurt the latter's family or family honor.” Mustafa’s point makes sense because of the many things that Poe uses to hint at the disrespect that Fortunato has shown the Montresor family. One instance that supports Montresor’s actions as being for revenge rather than murder is when Montresor tells Fortunato about his noble ancestry. Fortunato replies saying, “I forgot your arms,” implying that Fortunato believes that Montresor’s family is not worth remembering (Stewart 81). Since Fortunato

Have you ever gotten so mad that you wanted to kill the person that mad you so angry? In Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" Montressor, one of two main characters, did not feel satisfied after exacting his revenge because he did not find that finishing killing Fortunato, the other main character, was not as rewarding as to just keep torturing him. During the beginning when Montressor first took Fortunato into the catacombs Montressor loved tricking so he could lure Fortunato in the catacombs. When Montressor was torturing Fortunato he thought it was fun because Montressor was in total control of what happens to Fortunato. At the end when Fortunato is about to be left to die Montressor got a sick feeling because it brought back memories

The act of revenge means to avenge oneself or another by retaliating in kind or degree. Many people seek revenge for a variety of different reasons. While some situations warrant vengeance, other times it is unnecessary or goes too far. Every person is not the same, so it varies from person to person what initiates the want for revenge. In “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, Fortunato wrongs his friend Montresor, the protagonist. Although what Fortunato does is unknown, Montresor seeks extreme revenge. Montresor completely blindsides Fortunato by doing this as he did not know he was in the wrong. A character analysis of Montresor reveals the theme of desire for revenge through exploitation of Fortunato.

The main characters in Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, are Montresor and Fortunato. Montresor is the narrator, and he describes themselves as being friends, or acquaintances at the very least. Fortunato is presumably a noblemen of sorts, who emphasizes art and gemmary; he is also known as a gifted connoisseur as is Montresor. However, Montresor sees himself as far different as Fortunato, aside from the love of wines. Fortunato supposedly insulted Montresor, so Montresor has a deep seated hate of Fortunato that he has pledged to act on for retribution. This ultimately leads to the death of a drunken Fortunato one day during carnival season.

In Edgar Allen Poe’s “the cask of amontillado” we are introduced to the character Montressor who has been wronged by his foe Fortunato. Montressor in response to this offense vows revenge on Fortuanto. With the use of sweet talk and a delicious wine Montressor leads Forutnato into the catacombs where he encloses Fortunato behind a brick wall to die. This series of events and eventual ending begs questions like whether Was he wrong for taking matters into his own hands? And why does Montressor after years and years go by is he confessing to this murder? Does this make Montressor a sociopath?

He is characterized as nuts through his enjoyment of death. No man should enjoy another's torture, no matter what they did to them. Montresor not only enjoys it, he is the person torturing Fortunato. He is crazy and Poe shows this through how Montresor carries out his revenge. While he is crazy, he was very good at hiding his true intentions. Montresor hides his hatred for Fortunato, he pretends to care for him, and want him to succeed, but he actually wants to kill him. Up until he started burying Fortunato, Montresor did a good job of hiding his ”needs”. He kept acting like he wanted Fortunato to go home and rest, but under all that he was secretly provoking Fortunato to continue. “...to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.” (pg 372). Fortunato not only murdered a man, but he gained trust before he crushed his opponent. He completely tricked and plotted against Fortunato with no remorse or guilt. He is so inhumane that he felt it necessary to act as a friend, to show kindness to only see him die at his hand in the end. Montresor is so deceitful, we know this through Poe's use of characterization. He hides what he really feels only to make the result that much more enjoyable for him. Montresor puts on a fake, happy persona to hide the flame of revenge that burns within him. He not only doesn’t regret his murder, but he enjoys that way he played it out. Montresor likes how

In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the characteristics of the narrator make him an effective villain from multiple reasons and sources. One of them comprises not defining the outrage that Fortunato committed. In the story, the narrator says: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” mentioning Fortunato insulting him in some way, but no explanation to the degree of the issue was declared. Villains take action when something harmful is done to them to make them feel enraged. For Montresor, it may have been a tiny mistake that could be easily resolved, but alternatively takes it to the extreme, tricking Fortunato into locking himself into

In the sinister days of Poe, laughter and good times were seldom present. Even during the [], not everyone was happy. These times unfold in front of us as Edgar Allen Poe vividly describes the story. Montresor had been at the wrong end of the joke far too many times. Unfortunately for Fortunato, the cause of these disturbances, Montresor had enough. He birthed a plan for revenge. Revenge has always played a part in society. Sometimes it can get carried away whether you realize it or not.

The main character of this short story “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Poe was a man skillful in the Italian vintages called Montresor. However his character sets out to seek revenge “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe) This problem came as a result of his friend Fortunato who has insulted him. Montresor is determined to seek revenge. Unable to understand Fortunato’s reasoning he states “It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will.” (Poe) Both men were in the same profession and Fortunato was a man to be feared and well respected, but there was no mercy to be shown “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity.” (Poe) Due to Fortunato hurting his friend Montresor saw it fit that he must die.

Unlike Goodman brown, Montresor has the evil intentions for his friend from the beginning. The narrator in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” describes his brutal and immoral revenge on his unfortunate friend, ‘Fortunato’. The main character, Montresor, is offended and enraged by the unclarified activities, ‘‘the thousand injuries’’ (Poe, p. 206), which have been instigated by Fortunato. To avenge the insults he endured, he plans to kill his friend. This signifies the evilness inside his heart. Accordingly, with a hidden agenda, he smiles and greets Fortunato as normal so that no one suspects him of his “good will” for Fortunato: Murder! Further, sickened by the quest of revenge and anger, he vows to “not only punish but punish with impunity”

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a powerful story centered around the element of revenge. Poe has a reputation for being the master of suspense and this story shows the readers just that. The overall question in “The Cask of Amontillado” is why Montressor seeks revenge and where did the hatred for Fortunato originates from. Poe does a terrific job bringing the story to life and really helps the reader feel the grim, dark tone that he has set for the story. From the beginning we see that Fortunato has offended Montressor and that he must get revenge.

Interpreting the Theme of Retribution Throughout various short stories, poems, novels and other forms of literary works, authors commonly choose to interpret the theme of revenge. This theory applies specifically to Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado” because throughout the entirety of the story, the protagonist strives to achieve vengeance upon a man who wronged him by insulting his family. For the protagonist, Montresor, this revenge must come in its ultimate form, meaning that he must murder Fortunato, the man at fault.

“ In The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allen Poe offers a complex and often disturbing portrait of the narrator, Montresor. His desire for revenge has always been a major part of the motive for his actions. Montresor is responsible for the death of Fortunato because Montresor does not allow an insult to remain unpunished. His desire for revenge was so well planed that we can see that Montresor did not waste one second of his time. The Cast of Amontillado is a portrait of taking revenge in a very unpleasant manner.

In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe shows the character Montresor’s response to being insulted and his lack of an explanation to his victim Fortunato. This emotional transition demonstrates the mental instability of a sociopath like Montresor. A sociopath is someone who lies, breaks the law, acts impulsively, or lacks regard for their own safety or the safety of others (Peterson). Throughout the story, Montresor is very deceitful, manipulative, demonstrates risk-taking behaviors, impulsivity, aggression, and lack of restraint, which are the symptoms and signs of a sociopath. In The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor wants to kill and take revenge on Fortunato because he insulted him by using wine to lure him into the catacombs. The story begins with Montresor’s statement, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge… I must not only punish but punish with impunity” (Poe 174). From this quote and the tone of voice, the reader can tell that Montresor is an angry person because right away he begins the story with these hurtful words,