Montresor's Murder

In The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson tells the story of two men, an architect and a serial killer, operating in Chicago during the 1890’s

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.

1. The genetic code (DNA) (the origin of life) 2. Oxygenic photosynthesis (the oxygenation of the Earth) (the only revolution not involving information transmission) 3. The eukaryote cell (the basis for the development of complex, multi-cellular life) 4. Language, which decoupled information transmission from reproduction

Montresor said that he “must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Montresor57). His plan is premeditated, he has everything planned down to the bone. From his staff being gone for the carnival, to the type of wine but also using reverse psychology to lure Fortunato down into the caverns. When they reach the caverns he has also already removed the old bones from the niche in the wall where he plans to keep fortunato for eternity. Montresor was so keen on destroying Fortunato he removed his ancestors from their resting place in the wall to keep Fortunato. Fortunato has no idea what is happening until it’s actually happening which is all a part of Montresor’s plan, to keep him intoxicated enough not to care about anything except for the

Fortunato,” ‘I should like your opinion. But if you are too busy, I will get Luchesi’s advice. If anyone is a good judge, he is’”(Poe 68). The citation shows Montresor's deceitfulness since he is trying to guilt Fortunato to come with him. By saying he would like Fortunato's advice, it’s guilting Fortunato to come into the catacombs; only a brilliant and deceitful man could come up with this proposal. I can deduce that without Montresor's deviance, he would’ve never been able to trick Fortunato into the catacombs and to his death. Montresor's deceitfulness also fooled Fortunato to help him in carrying out his own death. Montresor tricks Fortunato into drinking for his cough, intoxicating him more and more with each sip. “I do not wish to alarm you-but you should take care of yourself. A drink of this Medoc will defend you from the damp”( Poe 69). This cite reveals how Montresor is tricking Fortunato into killing himself practically, and helping Montresor succeed. I can summarize that Montresor planned from the beginning to fool Fortunato into helping him by

"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,

When fortunato insulted Montresor, he indicated he was going to get his revenge. So Montresor tells fortunato everything he wants to hear and gets him drunk. After he gets Fortunato drunk, he lures him into the catacombs to only find out Montresor is trapping him behind a wall to be buried alive. After fifty years goes by, no one has found his remains. Was Montresor too harsh on Fortunato, or did he deserve it?

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.

     In a way, Montressor was very clever. He got everyone to do what he wanted without telling them, and everyone being totally oblivious. Reverse phsycology played and important role in this perfect murder. It helped everything run smoothly with getting the servants out of the house and get Fortunato into the catacombs. Yes, this murder was the perfect consequence for what Fortunato had done. It got him down there and made him die, like Montessor’s reputation and fortune. The slow death would have made him think long and hard about what he had done and how he had hurt Montressor.

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

This misunderstanding may fuel Montresor’s guilt in the future, because while he is in denial it would be hard for him to block the idea that Fortunato did not deserve his cruel end after all. He would have murdered an innocent man, and that idea might have driven Montresor even further into his denial. Furthermore, when Fortunato starts coughing, Montresor states, “My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes” (p. 987) Even though he’s plotting to kill Fortunato, Montresor still calls him a friend. This may indicate that he still feels a bond with Fortunato, and that would make it impossible for him not to feel guilty for his actions. It’s one thing to murder a rival, but murdering a friend would leave an even deeper scar.

Furthermore, Montresor believes that for a crime to be perfect, specifically one of revenge, two elements are required. First, it "must not only punish, but punish with impunity". Second, it is imperative the victim be completely cognizant that he is being punished for the crime. If the victim is unaware as to the what and the why, then the punishment is in vain. In Montresor’s words, “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". Further evidence that Montresor may be feeling guilty is found in the fact that he is telling his story. A confession of sorts in hopes of unburdening a heavy

Propaganda can be seen as any information of a biased or misleading nature that is used to promote a political point of view. The oversized warning with an exclamation mark in a red box on the propaganda suddenly captures the reader’s mind; as the reader gazes at the propaganda they read, “our homes are in danger now!” The propagandas goal is to tell the citizens of the United Stated that there homes are in danger; the symbols used in the propaganda are two army men, one from German and one from Japan, looking at the North America, on the globe, with warfare in there hands. The slogan they use is, “our job, keep’em firing,” intended for the American workers to keep manufacturing the warfare supply. This propaganda elicit an emotional response

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 this story the character of Montresor is revealed through his own words. When he reveals he is going to punish Fortunato for merely insulting him, that he has planned the whole act of vengeance, and that he has been playing as being Fortunato’s friend, we know we are dealing with a deranged personality. His character is also revealed with references to his family. It is almost as if Poe has Montresor’s ancestors tell the reader how nicely he fits into the family tree. His legacy from his family motto “No one attacks me with impunity” and a coat of arms that depicts a serpent whose last wish before death is to poison the foot that crushed it. Does the fruit of ever fall far from the tree? Montresor is as evil as his forebears were. He shows no remorse about what he has done, even in old age. When he says, “May he rest in peace” at the end of the story, the reader gets the feeling he means, “ I hope you stay there and rot” rather than, “I hope you found joy and peace in heaven.”