Analysis of The Cask Of Amontillado Essay

An Analysis of the Cask of Amontillado

By Edgar Allan Poe

The definition of man is defined by many as someone who upholds the values of virtue, pride, and courage. It has been written that the fall of man is usually contributed to either greed or temptation. Both these statements are directly related to our story. Montresor by no means is a perfect human being. Though he has his many faults as our narrator/protagonist; we must wander into his story that reveals just enough reasoning for his actions.

The story reveals a man who has been wounded in a matter that has clearly enraged him. The story follows the cunning execution of this mans revenge towards his friend. Though it has not been specified what the insult was it was enough to finally cause the man to act upon his friend. The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.(page 1) as said by Montresor. It was vital for the story to begin with the quoted line, because it reveals that Montresor has been wronged by Fortunato many times. It allowed me as a reader to sympathize with Montresor as a victim. The importance of said sympathy is rather important to the debate whether Montresor is insane or not. I can understand both sides of the argument, but Montresor shows many redeeming qualities for me to argue against the norm of labeling him as a maniac.

Some of the mentioned qualities of Montresor are qualities that could be respected by many. He has shown a strong sense of pride throughout the story that you could relate to his feelings of insult. Montresor lives by his familys motto. The motto which reads Nemo me impune lacessit ("No one insults me with impunity") (whatever the fuck page this is one) symbolizes the nature of the motive for his actions. Though the time period is not specified it is believed that respect of families back then was something more than just words. People were who they were because of respect for ones name. People were respected by simply being a carrier of a specific name. To add actual evidence of the importance of families; in the story there is a portion where Fortunato questions whether Montresor is part of the brotherhood. Fortunato mocks You are not of the masonsYou? Impossible..(whatever page this is) his mockery expands the idea of what organization or family defined who you were. Montresor upheld these values with such notion that I believe whatever insult made not only insulted Montresor, but insulted the motto. Another quality that proves Montresor not be insane would be his ability to use his logical brain and conscience. You can argue that Montresor angers easily, but you can also argue that subconsciously Montresor was giving Fortunato many opportunities to turn back. He frequently asked Fortunato to turn back because of his apparent illness, but of course to no avail as these warnings fell to deaf ears. We as readers will never know what would have happened if Fortunato actually wished to go back, but we could only conclude to our arguments. Many use the account of Montresor against him, but logically Fortunato must still be in his conscience as the narration felt to me more of a confession. A confession that is masked by pride, but deep down you can sense his troubled conscience. My heart grew sick (pg ) says Montresor; it is this small pause that convinces me that there is a space in his logical poetic mind that is mortified by his actions. Montresor is a deeply flawed man, but he is not insane. One will argue that his murder of Fortunato was enjoyed heavily, and that committed such an act due to an insult. But let us reflect on the fact that Mr. Poe decided not to specify these insults and injuries, and he included specific details enough to question the insanity of Montresor. Rather than view Fortunato as a victim view him as someone who victimized Montresor to a point for him to commit murder.

Fortunato, which derives from the word fortune, is at a fault for his own death. Throughout the story we see how greedy, and how undermining he is. Fortunato is lead all the way down to catacombs out of his own foolish greed of reputation. Montresor says "As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me to which, Fortunato injects "Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry." (pg here). The irony of this quoted section is that Amontillado actually contains bits of sherry. Fortunato is a man who belittles his company, and prides himself on being above his peers. It is this pride that constantly rejects Montresors pleas for returning back. AS mentioned before we dont know where the story would have gone had he accepted the request of turning back, but it leads us with evidence of the type of character Fortunato is. One can only imagine just how constantly he berates Montresor, and you now have an idea into why Poe made it clear not to specify the insult that enraged Montresor.

Edgar Allan Poe was a remarkable writer. It is because he was such a profound writer that you must analyze every little detail of the story. Had he really wanted us without a reasonable doubt think that Montresor was insane he would have specified not only the insults, but also he would have not left a window for a reader to able to relate to his actions. If we are to believe Montresor was truly insane than I am to believe that every human that stands up for him/herself will eventually turn out to be insane.