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Theme Of Revenge In The Cask Of Amontillado

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When we think of someone who is insane, we think of someone who is unstable in their disordered state of mind. We wouldn’t think of someone who is clever; however, in Edgar Allen Poe’s work of literature “The Cask of Amontillado,” perceptions are changed. The protagonist known as Montresor is cruel, twisted, and ruthless. Through Poe’s gothic style of writing, we see vengeance prevail through the psychopathic character Montresor. Despite Montresor’s psychopathic actions, his strategic ability to lure Fortunato to his death with reverse psychology makes him more clever than psychologically distorted. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” we see Montresor’s deviousness from the start when Montresor says, “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 250). From this, it is evident that Montresor is one who is seeking revenge, and already has a plan to murder Fortunato without any punishment or getting caught. As discussed in “The Motive for Murder in 'The Cask of Amontillado,'” Baraban expresses the type of revenge plan portrayed by Montresor when she says, “Montresor elaborates a sophisticated philosophy of revenge” (Baraban). Because of this idea of “punish with impunity,” Montresor has planned the murder of Fortunato down to every last elaborate detail. Thus, making Montresor clever rather than mentally ill like most psychopaths would be associated with. More

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