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Characteristics Of Montresor In The Cask Of Amontillado

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If you’ve read Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Cask of Amontillado, you know how evil the protagonist, Montresor, is. He expertly carried out a disturbing scheme that left a man buried alive in the deepest part of the Montresor catacombs to die and rot, all for the sake of revenge. We know that Montresor is a very dark and disturbing character, as his own personality was based off of Poe’s. There is no doubt that Montresor committed a heinous crime of which would not be excused in today’s world. However, there are several quotes and pieces of textual evidence to suggest that Montresor might have done the people a favor by killing the not-so-fortunate “fortunate one.” Is Montresor just a selfish evil genius fueled with revenge, or a good samaritan who wants to give the people the vengeance they deserve?
It’s very clear to see why Montresor is the ultimate character of revenge; Montresor indicates that he is going to kill Fortunato, just for the sake of revenge, as seen in this quote, “…He [Fortunato] ventured upon insult, I [Montresor] vowed revenge” (Poe 61). The whole story is based upon the concept of revenge. Revenge is almost always a personal matter, so nowhere in the book does it say anything about Montresor doing a good act, nor committing the will of the people. There is nothing in Poe’s novel that suggests Montresor was committing his crime …show more content…

Absolutely not. Montresor is an evil genius filled with the caustic fumes of revenge and hatred. On one hand, whatever good Montresor may have done for the people of Italy does not excuse murder. However, on the other Montresor unknowingly carried out the will of the people and took out a major problem in the Italian community (or maybe he did know; Montresor is a very smart man). Yet, whatever his intentions were, the end result was a relief to the public and much satisfaction to Montresor. Either way, Montresor is still a disturbed maniac capable of the most horrific deeds

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He wants to seek justice for how Fortunato has wronged him. He maintains this goal as he wants to “not only punish but punish with impunity” (Poe, 1). From Montresor’s point of view, he must enforce revenge on Fortunato, as it is what he believes is right. Ensuring that he wants to “punish with impunity” indicates his relentless pursuit of vengeance and how he must ensure that he faces no consequences for his actions. This way, Montresor reveals his underlying arrogance and belief in his superiority.

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Due to the limited perspective of the first person it is first unclear whether Montresor is the protagonist or the antagonist of the story. However through Poe’s phrasing it becomes clear that Montresor is unjustified in his murder of Fortuno. Through Montresor and Fortuno’s first interaction in the story it becomes obvious that

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•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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“He had a weak point… He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine…” (Poe, 360). Montresor use of verbal irony demonstrates that the murder is premeditated. “... the cough… it will not kill me…” states Fortunato who receives “True-true…” as a response from Montresor (Poe, 362).

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Montresor demonstrates the hatred and malicious intent in all of everyone when he realizes that he doesn't just want him dead he wants him to suffer. Some murders in the stories happen to continue social traditions that have been

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Montressor is very prideful of his family linage and this is where we can understand his actions as he plans and carries out the killing of Fortunato. The retaliation on behalf of his family can be a reason to why Montressor carries out the act of killing his insulter. He leads him into the crypts of his family, only to be continually insulted and questions by his “friend”. Eventually leading him to his death, which we also know as “amontillado”, but unbeknownst to Fortunato, whom believes they are on a venture to seek a famous

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Zaroff kills to fill his need of boredom but Montresor kills for his revenge. These 2 characters both state their reasonings Zaroff says ‘’Hunting had ceased to be what you call a sporting proposition it had become too easy’’. Pg34 Connell. This shows Zaroff's struggle to fill his hunting desires ‘’I must not punish but punish with impunity’’ pg 83 Poe. Showing that Montresor wants to punish with reason to get justice from Fortunato.

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Montresor 's great deal of importance on connoisseurship, led to how he planned his revenge on fortunato, montressor became an expert in observation understanding and combining the two towards manipulation. Through Montresor 's ideals he became an expert in observation. He

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In life, mostly everyone will want revenge on someone they know that did wrong to them. When Montressor wanted revenge, he went insane and planned to kill the person who did him wrong. In the real world, most people do not try to kill someone if they did them wrong. Montressor is insane because of the way he got revenge on Fortunato. Poe proves in this story that some people use different, harsher ways to get revenge on

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To explain, Montresor was insulted by Fortunato, the resolution to this conflict should have been as simple as confronting Fortunato with his hurt feelings. Instead, Montresor decides “[he] would be avenged” (Poe 543). Because of the dramatic way Montresor decides to resolve the conflict between himself and his friend, his character is shifted towards an unruly one. Montresor has no regards for those around him, he has no insight to anyone but himself. As a result of the way he chooses to resolve conflicts, he allows the conflicts to take control of his every action.

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He got Fortunato drunk, (Montresor states this when he says "Drink," I said, presenting him the wine”), then lured him into the catacombs to where he was going to trap him, leaving him there to starve. In conclusion, Montresor should be sentenced to death because he committed a severe crime that hurt a family and friends. There is no other ruly way to punish him rather than killing him. He should receive capital punishment and he should not be allowed to live, because then there is no for sure way to tell if he will murder another person or

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In this story, we observe how a character with such power and intelligence easily turns into a mad man who has devised a plan to murder an innocent man over a plebian conflict the two experienced. In one statement, Montresor says, “I must not only punish but punish with impunity” (Poe 1). In short, Montresor is implying that killing Fortunato is the fair thing to do and that he should be exempt from punishment for doing so. If I were to kill a classmate because he insulted me, I wouldn’t be exempt from punishment. Poe shows us that we can’t hold back our strange and uncivilized urges to get revenge on those who dishonor or hurt us.

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But every action has a cause and effect. Poe focuses mainly on the concept of, is it worth taking revenge for, how far you are willing to go for it, and will you end up regretting your choice. In Montresor’s case, he might’ve ended up with regret in either scenario of him taking or not taking revenge on Fortunato. Either way, I believe Poe’s theme of revenge relates to a much bigger theme in life, choice. The ability to choose is everything we do, decide, and without it, we wouldn’t be anything.

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The act is not purely performed out of revenge, but subconsciously as a way to move past Montresor’s weaknesses. This does not play out for Montresor, because even fifty years after the incident, his account of the event in question is highly detailed. The murder has not left his mind, and it is not bound

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In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor has an evil plan to get revenge on his “friend,” Fortunato. Montresor's plan involves drinking the wine, Amontillado. Fortunato loves wine, and he will do anything for it, or with it. Wine plays a huge role in Montresor's plan. Montresor gets Fortunato to really think that they are “friends.”

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