Examples Of Manipulation In The Cask Of Amontillado

Have you ever wanted to get revenge but didn’t end up doing anything? Well, Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” gets revenge on a wine connoisseur. He states, “I vowed revenge. It was the nature of his soul.” In the story, Montresor plans his revenge to get back and kill Fortunato. Montresor felt the need to go through with his plan of revenge because of his and Fortunato’s relationship. This short story shows the acts of betrayal, manipulation, vengeance, and cunning personality that helped him lure the fortunate into the catacombs. First, Montresor manipulates Fortunato by using several different forms of manipulation. One of the forms of manipulation is flattery and appealing to vanity, concern, and friendship;

He first flatters Fortunato as an astonishing wine connoisseur with his knowledge of wine. “The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode.” Now Montresor uses concern and friendship by discussing Fortunato’s health and relationship. He then goes on to exploit him by promising him valuable wine from his wine cellar. This works because Fortunato is a wine connoisseur, which creates a sense of urgency. He uses Fortunato‘s excitement to taste the wine to make it urgent, which hurries him along. Then he uses manipulation as he carefully curates his plan for how he leads him further into the catacombs, far from the people no one can find Fortunato. He says, “Proceed; herein is the amontillado, as for Luchresi.” He then manipulates Fortunato in the niche. He was able to pull this off with his masterful manipulation. Secondly, Montresor is vengeful in the cask of Montresor because he is always seeking revenge for Fortunato. The reason for the revenge was a long-standing grudge and betrayal. Montresor says “I have my doubts.” It starts with the grudge that Montresor was holding against Fortunado, even though lots of time went by. He still held this

Montresor “took my arm, and we proceeded.” He specifically chose carnival season, he used betrayal by ruining his friendship with Fortunato, learning him into catacombs, and murdering him. Being vengeful was an important part of who Montresor was in the story. Thirdly, Montresor was also cunning. He was willing to do anything he could to kill Fortunato. He was very sly with his plan for revenge. He created this deceptive façade where Fortunato would see him as a close friend who cared for his well-being. He used Fortunato‘s weaknesses against him. He even toasts to him, “I drink, I said,” “And I to your long life.” He uses Fortunato‘s love for wine as a trap to lure him into the catacombs. This is not an impulsive plan. He strategically planned Fortunato‘s death long before it happened. The cunning and manipulative acts made it even easier to learn Fortunado to his death. In conclusion, Montresor's manipulative, cunning, and vengeful nature made it ten times easier to kill his “friend” in the “Cask of Amontillado.” His strategic planning makes you wonder how much thought went into Montresor’s plan for revenge. The “Loud Shrills” came from the