The Montresor in The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Poes (rpt. In Michael Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 9th ed. [Boston: Bedford, 2011] 727) is about a man named Montresor. Montresor explains to us that because Fortunato has mortally insulted him, he has vowed revenge. However, he has hidden his animosity towards Fortunato because he wants to fulfill his vow without placing himself at risk, since the revenge would not be complete if Fortunato were to retaliate or if Fortunato died without knowing Montresor to be his murderer. He maintains an appearance of good will towards Fortunato and decides to exploit Fortunato's weakness for fine wines. Montresor is successful by being vengeful, determined, and intelligent.

First of all, the Montresor is vengeful. We become aware of this character trait when Fortunato insults him, Montresor has had enough. For example, he says, The thousands of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge (727). Montresor has now thought of a plan to seek revenged. He then goes to tell us how he would do all of this. He goes to say, At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely settle but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk (727). Although Montresor is vengeful he doesnt want to lose anything in the act. For example, he says, I must not only punish, but punish with impunity (727). A big part of the story is made up of Montresors vengeance of Fortunato, avoiding impunity, and successfully killing Fortunato.

The second characteristic that describes the narrator is that he is observant. We see that Montresor knows Fortunatos weakness and wants to use that against him. For example, he says, He had a weak point this Fortunato although in other regards he was a man respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine (727). He goes on to describe more about Fortunato actions. For instance he says In painting and gemmary Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially: I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could (727). This is just an example of how Fortunato is and how Montresor is going to use this later on in the story. Being that observant paid off for Montresor as he is planning to kill him.

Lastly, intelligent describes the Montresor. The way Montresor executed his brilliant plan was to lure Fortunato to his home saying that he wanted him to sample a wine by the name of Amontillado. The reason behind this was that he knew that Fortunato was also a connoisseur of wines. Come, I said, with decision, we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as I once was (728). Montresor anticipated that if he appeared to be Fortunato friend who cared about his health, his plan would be flawless. "I shall not die of a cough" (728), to which Montresor replies, "True true" (728). Montresor repeatedly warns Fortunato of the damp and suggests they go back; then, when they come to a niche, he tells his victim that the Amontillado is within. Fortunato enters, and, drunk and unsuspecting, doesn't resist as Montresor quickly chains him to the wall. Montresor then declares that, since Fortunato won't go back, he must leave him. Montresor then remorselessly walls up the niche, entombing his friend alive. At first, Fortunato shakes the chains furiously, trying to escape; Montresor stops working for a while so he can enjoy the sound. Fortunato then screams for help, but Montresor mocks his cries, knowing nobody can hear them; later, Fortunato laughs weakly and tries to pretend it's all been a joke. As the murderer finishes the topmost row of stones, Fortunato yells "For the love of God, Montresor" (731)! Montresor replies calmly "Yes; for the love of God" (731)! and places the last stone.

In the last few sentences, we learn that Montresor has never been caught, and Fortunato's body still hangs from its chains in the niche where he left it so many years before. The murderer, obviously unrepentant, ends the story by quipping:In pace requiescat (731)!

Montresor has success by being vengeful, determined, and intelligent. These actions led him to get revenge without getting caught. This story reminds us that when we stop to think about our actions, as Montresor did not, we would realize that violence is never a good way to solve our problems. Though we often let our anger get the better of us, we must learn that when we feel as though all we can do is to proceed in violence, we must pause and reflect on the horribleness of violence in the past and in the present, and we should always remind ourselves that there are better ways to solve our conflicts.