Montresor, the main protagonist, appears as a dangerous and brutal psychopath “I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will” and “he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.” (Poe 144). As time is passing by in the story, Montresor reveals how obsessive and insecure he is. Montresor decides to get revenge and kill Fortunato just for a mere insult, and only because of his weak and unconfident personality. The insult and the other thousand injures mention before could have been just part of Montresor’s insecure nature. Furthermore, Fortunato does not expect that Montresor is seeking revenge or sees him as a threat. Besides, Montresor plays a great role of a caring friend until the end of the story. Montresor even refers to Fortunato in several occasions as his friends or “My poor friend ” (Poe 147) making Fortunato doubts of…
First, we will speak about Fortunato’s tragic flaw: His ego. We see throughout the story that Fortunato believes himself to be the best at what he does. Believes himself to be the best wine connoisseur there is. It is due to this flaw that Montresor was able…
This article describes the emotional aspects of Montresor, the protagonist in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.” While Montresor seems uncaring and without emotion as he is murdering Fortunato for the insults against his family, Montresor is not as ruthless as he seems. He shows care and concern for his victim in that he gives Fortunato numerous chances to escape his fate by suggesting they head back on account of Fortunato’s cough. He also calls Fortunato my friend and good friend six times as the article points out. In the end, Montresor does…
“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon, I vowed revenge.” Montresor has felt that he has been insulted by Fortunato and he seeks revenge upon him. Since Montresor is seeking revenge Fortunato has to watch out, but that may be hard because throughout the story Fortunato is gullible, full of pride, and is an alcoholic.…
The character of Montresor in, “The Cask of Amontillado” is one who can only be defined with words along the lines of evil, or wicked. He vows to avenge the bold and childish Fortunato, whom Montresor swears did him wrong. Montresor could be described with many bold words, one being guilty. Though he is guilty, he is determined not to get caught. For instance, Montresor declares, “I must not only punish, but punish with impunity” (Poe, 1). Essentially, he is saying he will seek revenge on Fortunato, but he will get away with the vicious crime. Another obvious character trait for the devious Montresor, is dishonest. He claims to have obtained a cask of Amontillado, when the reader can tell through situational irony this is not true. He claims, “...I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, but I have my doubts” (Poe 1). Fortunato unknowingly follows the fiend, and in theory, seals his own fate. Montresor is also quite sneaky. He slyly gets Fortunato into a small inlet in his wine cellar-- also a home for skeletal remains. He hastily chains him up before the poor Fortunato can even realize what’s happening. Explaining the situation, Montresor says, “...finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered...a moment more and i fettered him to the granite” (Poe 4). Lastly, Montresor is just plain mysterious. Readers never know exactly why he decided to go after Fortunato, but it is hinted he offended the killer in some way. When asked about his coat of arms, Montresor blatantly states, “A human foot...the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel” (Poe 3). The motto underneath is “nemo me impune lacessit” (Poe 3). To conclude, Montresor plays not only a degrading character, but one of many…
His emotional response was of controlled anger. Montresor may have had anger but it was hidden anger. Montresor didn’t show it in anyway to hint that he had loathing boiling inside him. He expressed this by saying, “ The thousand injuries of Fortunado I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed my revenge”. Montresor was a very solemn man, for he would not show his greatest anger, but he will avenge what caused it. This is stated when he said, “You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would…
Throughout the entire story one man struggles to control his rage. In Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" Montresor was a victim of being made fun of. During the story Montresor gets Fortunato to follow him all the way down the to catacombs. Once they arrive at their destination Montresor will get his final revenge taken out. Montresor accomplishes a big revenge because he is a good planner, angry, and a bit crazy.…
Montresor actions are similar to a terrorist and murderer. In the article “The Futility of Vengeance”, the author states, “[..] At its most extreme, the desire for vengeance fuels murder and terrorism”(Murphy 2). This quote can relate to Montresor because Montresor planned out his actions and let the dust settle, like other murderers and terrorists. Another big point in the story that Montresor relates to is the idea that most people seek revenge when their honor or their family’s name has been insulted. In the story “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe states,” The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge”(Poe 61). This quotes shows that Montresor feels like Fortunato insulted him, and that is why he seeks…
In "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is exemplified through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of Montressor, one is able to see him carry out his plan for revenge.…
throughout the story, fortunato insults montresor in various ways. before the tale begins, it is said that fortunato had injured before. this could have been a multitude of things and…
The narration in the story gives readers the impression that Montresor is insane. Readers hear this story from the first person, from Montresor himself, and hear the way he perceives every event and every detail in its entirety, all from his point of view without anyone else's interfering. He refers to Fortunato as his friend, a clue that he is not acting in his right mind. If Montresor had a good motive like Fortunato killing someone close to him, he would refer to Fortunato as his enemy. The reader also feels the pain of Montresor when he is erecting the wall over Fortunato; Montresor does not feel right in what he is doing. He even tries to call Fortunato's name before he lays the final stone to see if he is still alive, wondering if he could turn back and change his mind before it is too late and Fortunato is dead.…
Montresor displays several other traits, each of which support the notion that his character remains…
Although “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe contains only two characters, the personalities of these individuals are extremely intriguing. Montresor, the more interesting of the two characters, displays qualities that would easily justify labeling the man a psychopath. According to an author for the New York Times, Montresor could quite possibly be the most insane character Poe has ever created, stating: “In his tales of Gothic horror, Edgar Allan Poe gave the world a fine collection of neurotics, paranoids and psychopaths. But none are quite as deranged as the narrator of ‘The Cask of Amontillado”’ (P. McGrath). Through his impulsive actions, his apathetic nature, his manipulative attitude, and his superficial charm, Montresor proves to be an accurate representation of a psychopath.…
What actions and characteristics of Montresor make him an effective villain one might ask? " I must not only punish but punish with impunity" (Poe, 1199). Montresor desires to punish Fortunato for an unknown crime against him. Montresor took his revenge on fellow nobleman Fortunato during a night of Carnival while he was drunk, dazed, and wearing a jester’s outfit. It would seem that it would be pretty hard to murder a man during a festive occasion. However with the proper approach any kind of covert murder can be committed.…
The first thing I realized about Montresor was his vengefulness, or his desire to harm. At the opening we read that Montresor has vowed revenge against Fortunato. The story opens with “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe, 1). It is there we see the animosity Montresor had toward Fortunato. In the beginning Montressor also said “I must not only punish but punish with impunity” (Poe, 1). That too revealed the resentment he had towards his friend.…