Examples Of Revenge In The Cask Of Amontillado

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor tells the story of how he got revenge on Fortunato. There are differing opinions on why Montresor is telling the story: is it a confession or is it so he can relive the perfect crime he committed? After close examination of the story, it becomes evident that Montresor is bragging about committing the perfect crime. The story is not a confession because Montresor boasts about his cleverness at luring Fortunato down to the catacombs and taunts Fortunato multiple times without remorse.

"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." With these ferverous words from the introductory paragraph of Edgar Allan Poe's Cask of Amontillado, the story of Montresor's revenge begins. Poe repeatedly stresses the need for revenge due to bitterness and resentment in Montresor's character towards Fortunato, but more importantly, stress is placed on revenge by which the victim realizes their injustice towards the redresser. Unfortunately, it seems that Montresor is denied this pure and encompassing revenge when his victim,

"The Cask of Amontillado" is a story about revenge, but the reader is never truly told exactly what Fortunato did to warrant such vengeance. In fact, throughout the story, the reader gradually realizes that Montresor is an unreliable narrator, and that Fortunato is a friend of Montresor who is unaware that Montresor is plotting to kill him. He is a connoisseur of wine who is enticed by Montresor to sample some rare Amontillado and lured into his trap down into the catacombs. While Luchesi is another wine connoisseur and an acquaintance of Montresor and Fortunato; Montresor urges Fortunato to sample his wine by threatening to allow Luchesi to try it first if Fortunato does not comply. that whatever insult Montresor believes Fortunato committed is probably imagined or exaggerated.

To begin with, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a story of revenge in which Montresor, the protagonist, retaliates to the “1000 injuries of Fortunato” (Poe 1) that he had bore; by meticulously planning the murder of his foe. Montresor seeks to avenge the insults made to his ancestral family name by Fortunato.

The explicit main idea of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is conveyed to the reader through sundry rhetorical strategies. For example Montresor, the malefactor of his friend’s murder, states that, “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” From this, it is clearly seen the main idea is revenge. Furthermore, he tells the reader that in order for his revenge to be satisfactory he must, “not only punish but punish with impunity.” (Poe 1) In other words, he must seek revenge in such a manner that Fortunato will not know about him attempting to gain his vengeance until the last moment.

Samuel Johnson once said, “Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are revenge; crimes are avenged. This quote parallels the events and actions occurring in Edgar Allen Poe's “The Cask of Amontillado”. In Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado,” in this story, the narrator, Montresor, is plotting revenge against Fortunato for some perceived insult. The narrator, Montresor, is reliable and can be trusted to describe the story accurately because he gives readers the setting of the story and censors his feelings towards Fortunado.

Violence is a vice that drives individuals to engage in immoral or criminal behaviors and actions. Often, violent individuals conduct violent acts whose outcomes they had not meant to occur. The literature piece The Cask of Amontillado has its storyline based on a carefully premeditated murder scheme orchestrated by Montresor on Fortunato. Throughout this story, it is made clear to the reader that violence takes not only physical but also emotional and psychological forms of harm. Montresor’s thirst for violent revenge against Fortunato does not just arise from nowhere. The story starts off with a statement offered by Montresor, where he reveals to the

Montresor’s Motives The Cask of Amontillado is a mind boggling story. Montresor the main character tells about his means of revenge to the other main character Fortunato. They have a sort of rivalry. Montresor claimed that Fortunato did an awful thing to him and he wanted revenge because he believed the people who do wrong should not go unpunished.

In the beginning of the story, a man named Fortunato constantly insults a good friend named Montresor. One day, Montresor can’t take enough criticism and decides to take action against Fortunato. In the story, the Cask of Amontillado, three themes occur over time, which are revenge, alcohol, and foolishness. One of the first themes of the story was revenge. The first few lines describe how Montresor wanted revenge over Fortunato for what he has done.

In The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allen Poe displays the theme of revenge. In the story, Montressor narrates the story and feels he has been wronged by Fortunado and vows for vengeance against him. Montressor attempts to justify his future crime to the reader. “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.” (Poe 101) Fortunado is unaware of the wrong he caused Montressor by insulting him. Montressor feels that this is reason enough for his retribution. “The thousand injuries of Fortunado I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed for revenge.” (Poe 101) The thought of revenge is

People are constantly being commanded by the temptation of revenge and demolished by the aftermath of taking it. “I forced the last stone into place; I plastered it up. – For more than a half century no one has disturbed them” (Poe 8). In the story “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor is so hopelessly controlled by his desire for revenge, that he brutally murders his

A wise man once said, “ Destroy what destroys you.” destroying what destroys you is a common theme of revenge. When it comes to revenge, The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe is the story to go to. The whole story and plot itself revolve around one word. Revenge. The story is based on Montresor wanting revenge for the one who wronged him, Fortunato. Therefore, the theme of The Cask of Amontillado is revenge. The author Edgar Allen Poe uses different literary elements to create this theme. The literary elements Poe uses include: foreshadowing, suspense, and irony.

It is often said that revenge is sweet, but that phrase does not hold to be extremely true throughout The Cask of Amontillado. There are various themes and lessons throughout the story, but there is one theme that seems to be shown more than others. The most prevalent theme is that jealousy can lead to vengeance, and ultimately lead to the downfall, or even death, of a person. This theme is clearly evident through the two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato. By looking closer at Montresor’s words and actions toward Fortunato, it is apparent that there is a superfluous amount of jealousy between them. This jealousy that is between them ends up playing a major part in Montresor ultimately killing Fortunato, someone who was thought to be one of his best friends. The author uses the characters and their actions to develop a solid plot line and prove the point that jealousy and revenge can destroy a person, both figuratively and literally.

Sometimes friends can get into an argument and some things can hurt them, but not to a point where they want to hurt each other physically. Vengeance can bring justice to someone, but as well bring pain to the other. Revenge is a horrible emotion which can lead someone to do horrible things. Two companions, Montresor and Fortunato, destinies are controlled by one thing only, vengeance and murder. In the story, the narrator seeks revenge on Fortunato because he mortally insulted him. Montresor succeeds in luring Fortunato to his death without raising any suspicion. A horrible revenge made significantly more awful by the way that the retribution is being taken when no genuine offense had been given. In the short tale, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar A. Poe, the major conflict of revenge is between Montresor and Fortunato, but it is interesting because Montresor is the only one who is aware of the conflict. The author uses the conflict to build suspense and to change the mood of the reader.