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