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Amontillado Revenge Theme

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When a person that you confided in betrays you and hurts you in unpredictable ways a switch in you gets triggered making you do the unimaginable. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” explores the theme of revenge. It tells the story of two men Montresor and Fortunato; Montresor is tired of Fortunato hurting him over and over again which ultimately leads to Montresor enclosing Fortunato in a catacomb were he dies. The story opens up with the line “THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe 291) He is done with Fortunato furthermore; he will not take any more insults. There is a lot of textual evidence in the story to support the theme of revenge for instance, …show more content…

A man named De Quervain along with other workers performed an experiment to test how the brain reacts to vengeance. The test involved two partners and money it would start of by giving partner A money that would increase in value when given to partner B. Partner B would have the choice of giving all the money back or keeping it and if they decided to keep it partner A would be able to punish partner B. The observation discovered when the subject chose a punishment was that the striatum in the brain consumed more oxygen activating parts of the brain that contribute to feeling good. Another experiment was conducted to show that there are also negative aspects to revenge. People were examined after doing performing an act of revenge and results revealed that they had a high outcome negative mood. In the story Montresor shows a hint of remorse when he says “My heart grew sick”. As Fortunato was dying he felt some guilt but was quick to blame it on the catacomb. Overall, the theme of revenge is commonly seen in literature as well as in real life. In “The Cask of Amontillado” we see a strong theme of revenge right from the start, and it led to death. Revenge can either make a person feel satisfied or full of

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823 Words | 4 Pages

Sometimes a person will go so far with their revenge they can influence pain to others. The imagery in the short passage from The Count of Monte Cristo shows how shocked and regretful The Count of Monte Cristo really is. “Look Edmond Dantes! Said Villefort, pointing to the bodies of his wife and son. Is your vengeance complete now?

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927 Words | 4 Pages

•Montresor does fulfill this definition of revenge. He boasts about how it has been fifty years since his crime and nobody has “disturbed” the catacomb that he has enclosed Fortunato. Regarding the second part, it is questionable. The fact that he is still telling this story a half century later may suggest that he is obsessed (“overtaken”) with his crime. And the third part, he did make himself known to Fortunato because Fortunato cries “For the love of God, Montresor” as he is being enclosed in the catacomb wall.

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1239 Words | 5 Pages

Revenge: A Narrative and Scientific Perspective Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Browning’s “My Last Duchess” both revolve around revenge. We are introduced to men who swear vengeance on other characters. Yet, the mindsets of these men are, in some aspects, very different. To truly comprehend a story, we have to understand why authors make their characters behave the way they do in addition to the message being presented. In the case of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “My Last Duchess,” why do both narrators believe murder is totally necessary?

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

Any fan of the medieval and Victorian eras knows that there are many stories centered around the rectification of lost or sullied honor through varying means of revenge. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is no exception. The story’s protagonist, Montresor, feels that his friend, Fortunato, has insulted his family’s honor and decides to take revenge during a nighttime carnival by luring Fortunato into the Montresor family crypt and sealing him inside to die a slow death. Through the use of irony and symbolism, Poe reveals to readers an intense theme of revenge. Poe’s theme of revenge is illuminated through his application of the three different types of irony: dramatic, verbal, and situational.

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97 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Cask of Amontillado”, Edgar Allan Poe displays the theme of revenge and manipulation. The narrator Montresor pledges revenge on Fortunato for an insult that is never explained. He maintains an appearance of goodwill towards Fortunato and decides to make use of Fortunato's weakness for fine wines against him. During the carnival season, the narrator approaches Fortunato, telling him that he has come across something that could pass for Amontillado a rare and expensive wine. Fortunato being excited about the news insists on accompanying Montresor to the vaults to determine whether it is Amontillado or not.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

The Cunning In the story “The Cask of Amontillado.” Montresor is the narrator of the story as he was the one who murdered fortunato. Considered fortunato a friend Although he only saw him as an acquaintance and because of this he caused Montresor great pain which later turned to montresor leaving fortunato to die. As said in the text, fortunato caused him “THE thousand injuries”( Poe 2). Because of causing montresor this pain that wasn 't explained explicitly.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

Poe’s Use of Unreliable Narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado” The unreliable narrator in the short story “ The Cask of Amontillado” draws the reader's attention. Edgar Allan Poe uses an unreliable narrator in “The Cask Amontillado” and his theme is revenge. Poe’s use of an unreliable narrator in his short story successfully creates a nervous effect for his readers. Poe uses an unreliable narrator by how he is very sneaky with his ways and how he wants to get back at someone for insulting him he is probably going to kill them.

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690 Words | 3 Pages

Everybody will eventually want revenge on an old friend or just someone they know. Montressor, similar to many people in the world, wants revenge on one of his old friends, Fortunato. The story opens with, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (Poe 212). In this statement, Montressor tells the reader what the cause of his revenge against Fortunato is. “The Cask of Amontillado”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, tells the story of how Montressor brings Fortunato into the catacombs to bury him alive.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

When people fail to resolve their conflicts and differences, murder often crosses their minds to solve any problems they may have. Murders around the world ruin families and friendships, and leave victims and witnesses irreparably broken. In Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor murders the man who insulted him because he premeditates the crime and expresses remorse for his truculent actions. First, Montresor premeditates the crime of first-degree murder prior to the actual day of the crime. Montresor speaks of getting “…avenged…” after Fortunato insults him, indicating that murdering his friend would give himself revenge (Poe 61).

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1455 Words | 6 Pages

Revenge can be a horrible emotion; it can sometimes lead people to do horrible things. By definition, Revenge means to get retribution for a wrongdoing done to you. In my opinion, revenge is mostly caused by fear and the overwhelming feeling of payback Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and religions, and even the American culture. Though it often leads one to perform criminal acts, Howard argues that it is a necessary component in the functioning of society. He points out that revenge is a threat that acts as a disincentive to undeserved violence.

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996 Words | 4 Pages

Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for the gothic themes he presents in his writings, this was no exception for Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”. Several important ideas are brought up about the story’s central theme of revenge. These ideas can be broken down into 3 parts: the incentive, the extent, and the reaction of the person partaking in revenge. It is essential to consider these ideas while reading Poe’s story, in order to comprehend his views on revenge. It also provides the reader the ability to question their own views on revenge as well as compare it with Poe’s.

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905 Words | 4 Pages

In “The Cask of Amontillado” there are two characters who show strong character traits. Each character has his own way of showing these traits. Montresor shows his through how he deals with Fortunato’s insults. Fortunato shows his through how easily Montresor manipulates him. Throughout the story Montresor and Fortunato show that they are both very clever, but one of them becomes far more clever than the other.

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493 Words | 2 Pages

Mood is what draws a reader’s emotion to a story. The mood sets the scene for a story to play out on. In “ The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe there is a strong mood that drives the story. The mood is dark, angry, and mysterious. Key details and scenes help illustrate the mood.

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243 Words | 1 Pages

The essay “Revenge is Sour” by English novelist George Orwell explains the negative effects of getting revenge. The author talks about his experience in a prisoner of war camp in South Germany just after the second world war. Orwell believes that there is no such thing as true revenge. Seeking revenge is human nature but in the end it just ends up causing more damage to everyone, Orwell says there is no such thing as revenge. When you feel helpless, you want to seek revenge, but once that feeling of helplessness is gone, the desire to take revenge also passes.

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1004 Words | 5 Pages

The first-person point-of-view found in Poe’s "The Cask of Amontillado" is essential in creating the central theme of the story. This style of narration is also important in this particular story, because when a murderous protagonist, Montresor, is allowed to tell the story from his own perspective, the reader obtains a disconcerting look into his mental composure from the initial conjuring of his plan to the end result. The style of narration develops the unsettling tone of the story by allowing the reader to become personally acquainted with the thoughts and intentions of the protagonist. The first person point of view allows certain ironies to become evident, and furthermore, “The Cask of Amontillado” would not have been as psychologically powerful were

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