Pride In The Cask Of Amontillado

The struggle that is caused by pride and confidence is one that is experienced by all, for it is natural, but letting it control oneself can be dangerous. This is also true for Fortunato, a character in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado”, and the narrator from James Hurst’s short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, the main character, Montresor, feels that he has been wronged by one of his old friends, Fortunato. Montresor feels that he must exact revenge on Fortunato for these wrongs to be made right, later proceeding to lead Fortunato deep into the catacombs. Along the way, Fortunato is given many signs that something is wrong, but his pride makes him oblivious to those warnings. In addition, in

This is shown through the actions of Fortunato when he is being lured by Montresor deep into the catacombs. Montresor appears to have been insulted by Fortunato, leading him to try and kill Fortunato. Fortunato is a very prideful man, who also happens to have a taste for alcohol. Montresor notices how vulnerable Fortunato is and takes advantage of his weaknesses. Montresor knows that Fortunato thinks very lowly of Luchesi, his wine-tasting rival, because Fortunato is very arrogant and prideful, so Montresor uses reverse psychology to lure him deep into the catacombs by often reminding him that “...[he] is on [his] way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn, it is [him]. [Luchesi] will tell [him]--” (Poe 174). By saying this, Montresor is able to trick Fortunato into following him to his death. Fortunato takes great pride in his wine expertise, and Luchesi is Fortunato’s wine-tasting rival. This reason alone, makes the possibly of Luchesi seeing the Amontillado before him unbearable, because Fortunato would never allow his rival to witness a rare wine before him. This is exactly what Montresor hopes to happen, because it leads to Fortunato following him. This pride ultimately leads to Fortunato’s

Pride can have very positive effects, if it is handled correctly, but too much pride holds many consequences, sometimes even death. This is evident when the narrator feels embarrassed to have a disabled brother, because he fears that Doodle’s physical disabilities reflect shame and humiliation on him as well as his family. This pride helps Doodle walk, but eventually that pride controls the narrator. The narrator starts to develop unrealistic expectations that Doodle struggles to meet. Finally, that pride takes over the narrator completely, causing him to run when “Doodle’s and [his] plan [comes to] naught, and that streak of cruelty within [him] [awakens]” (Hurst 353). The narrator is so prideful that the thought of Doodle and him failing stings more than ever. Pride controls the narrator’s actions; Doodle’s death is a result of those actions. The pride is beneficial when it is controlled, but it quickly leads to Doodle’s downfall when it goes too far, pushing Doodle past his