Montresor is truly a connoisseur when it comes to his murder of Fortunato due to the fact that Montresor does the deed at the most opportune of times, makes sure to send away all of his servants, and acts particularly pleasant towards Fortunato before murdering him. For example, Montresor chooses to kill Fortunato during the colossal festivity of a carnival. This is extraordinarily impressive because Fortunato is a connoisseur of wine. Pairing this connoisseurship of wine with a carnival, Fortunato will assuredly be drunk. This shows that Montresor used great expertise in choosing when to kill Fortunato. Not only does Montresor use connoisseurship in selecting the date of the deed, but he also displays great forethought in selecting to send
Montresor killed Fortunato because he supposedly hurt and insulted Montresor. Even if Fortunato did insult him, Montresor should not have killed him. Some people think he should not be punished, but Montresor planned the murder, their was no reason for him to kill Fortunato, and he is sane.
To begin with, Montresor taking revenge on Fortunato is quite evil. When Montresor trick Fortunato down to the cellar by using Fortunato’s ego and taste in wine it is very cool and calculating. In the text Montresor says, “ As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me--.” (Montresor 58) This plays off of Fortunato ego saying somebody else had a better taste in wine then he did. In like manner, Montresor was very happy and excited to see Fortunato during carnival. Which is just an act to lure Fortunato to the catacombs. Montresor says in his head, “ 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.” (Montresor57) Furthermore, Montresor offers many times for Fortunato to turn back because of the cold or of his health. The short story states, “ Come sais Montresor, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was.” This is cruel because once Fortunato gets to the bottom of the catacombs he will never get to turn back.
Montresor is an evil person because he killed a man. In the story Montresor says ¨There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honor of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house.¨ (Poe, 210) Montresor did not decide to kill Fortunato in the moment. He knew that he would kill him before he did it. This is revealed in the story, when Montresor orders his servants to leave his home, so there would be no witnesses to his plan. Another example to prove this is that Montresor brought a trowel with him into catacombs so that he could seal Fortunato into the wall with bricks and the trowel is used to spread mortar onto the bricks. People
In my opinion, Montresor is a very clever man. He not only seek revenge, but he also was able to get this man boozed up and murder him. Montresor continuously asked Fortunato if he wanted to have a glass of wine and his reply was always “yes.” He was an intelligent man and knew how to get Fortunato to say yes. “At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the
“’It is this,’ I answered, prouducing a trowel from beneath the folds of my roquelaure,” (348) Montresor did these actions in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” With their humor, also has an intelligence blended into them.
Moreover, another trait of Montresor's that helps him to plan the perfect murder is his deceitfulness. In the rising action, Montresor tricks Fortunato down into the depths of his catacombs, where he plans to perform the horrible, horrific, homicide . Montresor tells
In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is guilty of the cold-blooded murder of Fortunato and should go to jail for his crime. Montresor speaks of the “thousand injuries” Fortunato caused him and, more recently, the “insult” that Montresor cannot forgive. Vowing to seek retribution, Montresor comments on the importance of ensuring his own innocence throughout the process of revenge. He goes out of his way to be friendly to Fortunato. Other evidence that supports the crime as being preconceived includes Montresor preying on Fortunato’s weakness, his love of wine and his conceited nature. He praises Fortunato on his knowledge of wine and taunts him with the full barrel that he just purchased asking him for his expert opinion. In preparation
Throughout the short story, Montresor appears to be murderous and mentally insane. As Montresor continues to tell his story, the reader learns that Montresor is not only a murder and insane, but he is a narcissist as well. Montresor displays the characteristics for this to be true. When Montresor decided to take revenge on Fortunato, he was persistent in doing it himself for his own satisfaction. As his plan began to go along perfectly, he was very pleased with himself. In addition, the cause for Montresor’s revenge plan was because of an insult. The death of Fortunato was not justifiable by his actions. It was merely a prize for Montresor
The third characteristic we see in Montresor is pride. He isn’t modest and boasts even after fifty years about his perfect crime. His pride is what leads him to seek revenge against Fortunato because he doesn’t want him to think he can go with impunity after insulting him. The murder may have not been just out of anger for the insult but more of because he didn’t want to be seen as weak. Montresor takes pride in his extensively planned out scheme and how he plans out all the details.
Some character traits can be a good thing in some situations, but in this story they caused harm to another character. As readers go through the story they will soon notice that Montresor has three characteristics that stick out the most; sneaky, vengeful, and relentless. Montresor is sneaky in many ways. One, he planned out the murder of Fortunato precisely. He made sure to send all of the servants’ home to make sure no one was around
Montresor most likely has a better noble descent than Fortunato. Fortunato was impressed by the extensive and vast catacombs of the Montresor’s great and numerous family (Baraban). Fortunatoes are those who become “rich and prominent by chance (Fortune), rather than through personal virtue (Baraban). Fortunato’s status on the social hierarchy is disclosed in Montresor’s course of revenge. The Montresor’s motto is “Nemo me impune lacessit” (“No one insults me with impunity”), and therefore, for Montresor, punishing his offender is a matter of honor . . ..” (Baraban).
He was a very calculating and cold person. Readers never know how he is feeling about Fortunato, they just know about those “thousand injuries” (3) and “insults” (3), and that he is waiting for the best chance to kill Fortunato: “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.” (3) He perfectly knows the major weakness of his rival and he takes advantage of it: Fortunato is very proud and follows Montresor to be the first one trying a new Amontillado wine. He also chooses the best moment to commit his crime: the
The first thing Montresor does like an expert is finding his victim’s weak point. As Montresor describes, “He had a weak point-Fortunato...He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine” (Poe 84). Because Montresor found out to Fortunato’s weakness, he was able to follow his plan more smoothly. Throughout the night, Montresor acts counterfeit towards Fortunato, tricking him into thinking they were friends. “My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking today”(Poe 84). After this, Fortunato believes that they are friends and feels more comfortable around Montresor. ( add transition)
Montresor’s actions lend to his vengeful and manipulative nature. He lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home to carry out his plans to kill Fortunato. In the first step of his plan, he boosts Fortunato’s ego by saying that Luchesi was almost as worthy a judge of wine as he. Then Montresor tricks Fortunato into believing that there is an
As for Montresor, he acts calmly from beginning to end. First, he wants to take revenge on Fortunato and plots it carefully in order to avoid the punishment. He knows his “enemy” very well, from Fortunato’s interests to his weakness, so he can easily kill Fortunato. During the process of murder, he is really calm and controlled. Step by step, he lures Fortunato to his gloomy cellar and kills Fortunato. He works in a place filled with bones and feels no terror. He even stops his “labour” just to hear Fortunato’s cry with “more satisfaction”. Though “for a brief moment [he] hesitated, [he] trembled”, he does not tremble for guilt but for the worry that Fortunato may escape. After Montresor take the revenge successfully, he feels satisfied and pleasant. The differences on their psychological changes create a terrified atmosphere which makes readers suffocate.