The Cask Of Amontillado Pride Analysis
Matthew Manley
Slovak
English 1-1
30 September 2014
How Pride Develops Theme in The Cask of Amontillado
Anne Rice once said, "Pride is the parent of destruction; Pride eats the mind and the heart and soul alive." Pride is called the cardinal sin because it is the character flaw that births all others. The conflict in the Cask of Amontillado develops the theme that, pride can make a person do crazy things.
Montressor's pride helps build the conflict because his motive for motor revolves around it. Montressor states, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (Poe 1082). From this the reader can tell Montressor feels he has been insulted. Fortunato insulted Montressor's …show more content…
pride and that is unacceptable in Montressor's eyes; furthermore he feels that Fortunato must be severely punished. Later Montressor says that in the matter of old wines he "did not differ from him materially" (Poe 1083) and that he was "skillful in the Italian vintages" (Poe 1083) himself. Both Montressor and Fortunato consider themselves wine experts. This shared pride provides Montressor with an excuse to get Fortunato into his cellar with him. While Montressor's pride is the reason he attempts to murder Fortunato , it is not the only reason his plan was successful.
Montressor may have killed Fortunato, but Fortunato's allows him to succeed, while simultaneously developing the theme that pride can make a person do crazy things.
Montressor meets Fortunato at the carnival and to butter him up, he claims that he has "received a pipe of what passes for amontillado" (Poe 1083). He also appeals to Fortunato's pride and vanity by telling him that he was "silly enough to pay the full price" (Poe 1083) without consulting him. He tells Fortunato these things to puff him up and play on his pride. By doing this this he is able to not only convince Fortunato, but to get him to insist they go down to his vaults. We see another demonstration of Montressor playing on Fortunato's pride throughout the story. Montressor claims he "is on his way to Luchesi" (Poe 1083). He also states "if anyone has a critical turn, it us he" (Poe 1083). At the mere mention of Luchesi's name Fortunato is outraged. Saying, "Luchesi cannot tell amontillado from sherry" (Poe 1083). Fortunato's outrage that someone would go to Luchesi over him proves the fact that he is arrogant and prideful. This arrogance and pride allows Montressor to kill him in the end. The two men's pride together have catastrophic consequences. Even though the two men's pride drive the conflict, the conflict itself drives the …show more content…
theme.
The conflict in The Cask of Amontillado develops the theme that pride can make a man do crazy things because it is an integral part of the story.
In the story Montressors states, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 1082). This is the whole point of the story. Montressor wants to punish Fortunato and get away with it. At another point in the story it says that Fortunato is “rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as I once was” (Poe 1083) This shows the reader that Montressor believes he has fallen from grace and is no longer happy. He compares Fortunato to himself and this makes him crazy as his pride allows him to believe it is Fortunato’s fault. On the second to last page of the book it says, “Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it” (Poe 1087). This quote demonstrates Montressor’s willingness to carry out his plan and starts to end the conflict. Again it shows Montressor’s great pride. These quotes show the conflict and how it develops the
theme. Pride is the driving force of the conflict in The Cask of Amontillado. Montressor decides to kill Fortunato on behalf of his wounded pride; on the flip side Fortunato is so easily killed because of his stubborn pride and self absorption. Having this conflict develop around pride creates the theme that pride can make a person do crazy things.
Slovak
English 1-1
30 September 2014
How Pride Develops Theme in The Cask of Amontillado
Anne Rice once said, "Pride is the parent of destruction; Pride eats the mind and the heart and soul alive." Pride is called the cardinal sin because it is the character flaw that births all others. The conflict in the Cask of Amontillado develops the theme that, pride can make a person do crazy things.
Montressor's pride helps build the conflict because his motive for motor revolves around it. Montressor states, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (Poe 1082). From this the reader can tell Montressor feels he has been insulted. Fortunato insulted Montressor's …show more content…
pride and that is unacceptable in Montressor's eyes; furthermore he feels that Fortunato must be severely punished. Later Montressor says that in the matter of old wines he "did not differ from him materially" (Poe 1083) and that he was "skillful in the Italian vintages" (Poe 1083) himself. Both Montressor and Fortunato consider themselves wine experts. This shared pride provides Montressor with an excuse to get Fortunato into his cellar with him. While Montressor's pride is the reason he attempts to murder Fortunato , it is not the only reason his plan was successful.
Montressor may have killed Fortunato, but Fortunato's allows him to succeed, while simultaneously developing the theme that pride can make a person do crazy things.
Montressor meets Fortunato at the carnival and to butter him up, he claims that he has "received a pipe of what passes for amontillado" (Poe 1083). He also appeals to Fortunato's pride and vanity by telling him that he was "silly enough to pay the full price" (Poe 1083) without consulting him. He tells Fortunato these things to puff him up and play on his pride. By doing this this he is able to not only convince Fortunato, but to get him to insist they go down to his vaults. We see another demonstration of Montressor playing on Fortunato's pride throughout the story. Montressor claims he "is on his way to Luchesi" (Poe 1083). He also states "if anyone has a critical turn, it us he" (Poe 1083). At the mere mention of Luchesi's name Fortunato is outraged. Saying, "Luchesi cannot tell amontillado from sherry" (Poe 1083). Fortunato's outrage that someone would go to Luchesi over him proves the fact that he is arrogant and prideful. This arrogance and pride allows Montressor to kill him in the end. The two men's pride together have catastrophic consequences. Even though the two men's pride drive the conflict, the conflict itself drives the …show more content…
theme.
The conflict in The Cask of Amontillado develops the theme that pride can make a man do crazy things because it is an integral part of the story.
In the story Montressors states, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe 1082). This is the whole point of the story. Montressor wants to punish Fortunato and get away with it. At another point in the story it says that Fortunato is “rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy as I once was” (Poe 1083) This shows the reader that Montressor believes he has fallen from grace and is no longer happy. He compares Fortunato to himself and this makes him crazy as his pride allows him to believe it is Fortunato’s fault. On the second to last page of the book it says, “Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it” (Poe 1087). This quote demonstrates Montressor’s willingness to carry out his plan and starts to end the conflict. Again it shows Montressor’s great pride. These quotes show the conflict and how it develops the
theme. Pride is the driving force of the conflict in The Cask of Amontillado. Montressor decides to kill Fortunato on behalf of his wounded pride; on the flip side Fortunato is so easily killed because of his stubborn pride and self absorption. Having this conflict develop around pride creates the theme that pride can make a person do crazy things.