Montresor's Downfall

Montresor tells the story in detail of how he leads a man, Fortunato, to his death. Montresor repeatedly expresses the need to kill Fortunato because he has done something to insult him and he must pay for it with his life. Montresor tells readers early in the story that he is going to be lying to Fortunato’s face by acting one way, but thinking about killing him the whole time. He says "I continued, as was my wont, to smile in

Revenge can bring out many people’s inner evil. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado”, the main character, Montresor carefully plans revenge against Fortunato. Montresor is a man who vows vengeance against a professional wine taster named Fortunato. The wine taster insults Montresor, and he had enough of it. The insult sets him off and he plans a deadly and successful revenge. Throughout the story, Montresor attentively plans his revenge against Fortunato just like an expert.

Some people believe that Fortunato should have seen Montresor’s evil plan coming, and that he deserved this fate. At the very beginning of the story, Montresor “The thousand

Montresor is trying to lure Fortunato to his vaults by telling him that Luchresi can just come and taste the Amontillado because he knows best. He knows Fortunato will freak out by this statement, and then show Montresor that he is wrong in saying that. Indeed, this leads Fortunato down into the catacombs, just so he can prove Montresor wrong. That 's when Montresor will take his final step in his plan to end Fortunato. This event leads to the most suspenseful part in the short story. The reader doesn’t know what Montresor’s next step is going to be in his plan, along with what stupid move is Fortunato going to take to leading himself closer to his death.

The lavish black roquelaire absorbed nearly all of the light in the surrounding area which perfectly made a silhouette of Montresor’s figure. The smell of nitre permeated throughout the air like a plague. The smell was so overpowering that I nearly passed out. As I hung there, bound to the wall by cold rusted chains, I could make out the twisted smile of Montresor as he removed his silken mask. I looked him in the eye and could see the hate behind them. It seemed to be more primal and real than anything else I had ever seen. After staring me down, Montresor hastily produced that godforsaken trowel from underneath his cloak and started to lay layer after layer of brick, starting to enclose me into this horrible room. My last view of Montresor

From the very beginning of the story, one can obviously see that Montresor thinks that he has been wronged by Fortunato. His plan for vengeance is easily seen through his actions and his thoughts. "He had a weak

It is indicated that in the past that Fortunato has hurt Montresor many times, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” However, there were never any insults or unkind acts actually mentioned in the story. It is exactly the opposite. Fortunato was friendly and helpful towards Montresor. From the very beginning of the story, one can obviously see that Montresor thinks that Fortunato has wronged him. “He had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared.” This line shows that Montresor’s plan was well thought out. There is not any indication of what Fortunato thinks about Montresor. It can only be assumed that he trusts him do to the fact that he follows Montresor into the catacombs. It is up until the last moment, before the last brick is laid, that Fortunato believes this is all a joke. “Ha! Ha! Ha! – He! He! He! – a very good joke, indeed-an excellent jest.” Montresor is successful in his plan for vengeance. He succeeds in having Fortunato follow him into the catacombs and with great ease, had him up against the wall and shackled. Then tier-by-tier, Montresor constructed Fortunato’s tomb of bricks around him. When Montresor called out to him, he heard nothing and thus his plan was a success. “In pace requiescat!”

In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the main character, Montresor is actually a villain, even though he doesn’t think of himself as one. For instance, the author has Montresor show clear distaste to Fortunato, but never explains why.  In the beginning of the story, Montresor describes Fortunato as a terrible person who he “must not only punish but punish with impunity”, even though Montresor never explains what Fortunato has done. The reason the author did this is to suggest that the Montresor doesn’t even have a reason for torturing and trapping Fortunato behind a wall, which makes Montresor seem like a monster. In addition to this, Montresor also showed characteristics of a villain when he was using irony while

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 beginning of the story Montresor shows that he is planning revenge on Fortunato and that is the only thing on Montresor mind. “ I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”(1) This supports the theme because Montresor holds in a grudge and takes it

    In the short story the characters do not have a massive change during the story and the plan of revenge was not that confident. Montresor wanted Fortunato to think he cared about his health

We soon see foreshadowing of Fortunato's impending doom when the issue of Montresor's shield of arms is brought into the conversation as "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.". Even more appropriate is Montresor's family motto, translated as, "No one wounds me with impunity". Such a visual depiction and mental conviction due to family honor and history creates all the more impetus in Montresor to carry out the punishment that Fortunato deserves for wronging him, and more likely the family honor. When Montresor finally captures Fortunato in the catacombs, the climax of his precisely calculated deed, he revels in the sound of Fortunato's chains rattling, and "that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones". However, his satisfaction soon turns to apprehension when suddenly "a succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back". He hesitates at this moment, when his revenge is sweetest, when he should bask in the suffering of his "enemy", and finds himself contemplating the shrill screams of his captive! He does eventually compose

Later on the story Montresor is offended by Fortunato when the fortuned one tells him that he

Until the end of both short stories, Montresor and Abner both stick to their passion towards revenge, even throughout the result of their consequences. Both Abner and Montresor each their acts of revenge seriously. Montresor’s revenge is brought on from his protection over his family name leading to his act of fooling Fortunato. Abner’s revenge seems to always stay focused towards burning the barns of those who make him mad or even jealous, this truly showing how he reacted towards his overthinking on being treated unfairly.

Montresor has held this grudge against his friend who according to him had given him “thousands of injuries.” This grudge he has makes him vindictive as he seeks revenge against Fortunato for his insult against him. His family’s motto is “Nemo me impune lacessit" meaning “No one attacks me with impunity”. The motto implies that the entire Montresor family history is filled with acts of revenge. Montresor becomes obsessed with his vengeance and when he has Fortunato chained to the wall he mocks at his cries and moaning, “I replied to the yells of him who clamored. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength.” Montrosor never mentions what the insulting act was which can tell us that the actual act wasn’t as important as him just getting some sort of revenge.