Fortunato Thought Montresor example essay topic

In "The Cask of Amontillado" Edgar Allen Poe explores the depths and perversity of the human mind. The protagonist and narrator Montresor endured being the brunt of many jokes and one insult made by his friend Fortunato. Montresor reached the point where he could not take this treatment anymore and reconciled to the idea of punishing Fortunato with impunity. In order to bait Fortunato into his well-devised trap, Montresor remained on the surface an amiable comrade so that Fortunato would not expect the horrific tragedy that waited for him. Ultimately Montresor achieves his goal of punishing the unsuspecting Fortunato by flattering him on his connoisseurship in wine and luring him into the catacombs of the Montresor family. I believe Montresor probably thought he would forget about his sin over time, but he did not.

Fifty years later Montresor cheerfully confesses to the reader that he buried Fortunato alive and escaped punishment. Montresor calculated the murder of Fortunato very well. One can see that he gave serious thought and time to the orchestration of the murder because it was performed flawlessly. Montresor was not apprehended or suspected by the police for he went for fifty years without any penalty. On the surface, the reader may assume that he is guilt free and elated that he achieved his goals of murder and bewildering Fortunato. However, in a criticism of this story, G.R. Thompson says that it is implied that Montresor was tormented for those fifty years.

.".. Montresor, rather than having successfully taken his revenge 'with impunity,' as he says, has instead suffered a fifty-year's ravage of conscience" (19). It is hard to believe that Montresor even had a conscience because of the callous steps taken to entomb his foe. Entombment is a commonality between "The Cask of Amontillado" and his other chilling story, "The Black Cat". In both stories, the narrator / protagonist walls up their obsessions, and then are tormented by their actions after. The only difference is that the nameless narrator in "The Black Cat" inadvertently killed his wife before concealing her body in the walls of his house.

She was granted a quick death, while poor Fortunato had to come to terms with his death sentence. It seems that Poe believed that the worst death would be an anticipated death. To add insult to injury, Montresor taunted Fortunato outside of the tomb while slowly walling up the cavity. Another critic, James W. Garg ano, states that the crime began to possess Montresor and his obsession remained strong for fifty years following the murder. .".. it remains the obsession of his life; the meaning of his existence resides in the tomb in which he has, symbolically, buried himself... Poe leaves little doubt that the narrator has violated his own mind and humanity, that the external act has had its destructive inner consequences" (313). When he is about to put the last brick in place, Montresor states that his "heart grew sick" due to the dampness that covered the walls of the catacombs and not at the thought of the now-silent Fortunato awaiting his death.

Montresor could have ended Fortunato's life instantly by hitting him over the head with his trowel or stabbing him with his rapier. However, an immediate death would not have satisfied Montresor. Montresor states, "Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me" (Poe page unknown). His goal is not to just kill Fortunato, but to make him suffer and wait for death. Montresor was determined to get away with this crime and was aware of the risks involved. In the midst of a holiday celebration, Fortunato unwittingly follows Montresor into the catacombs to meet his impending doom.

Since Fortunato was extremely intoxicated, he did not think it was odd that Montresor was carrying a trowel beneath his cloak or that he was being led into a tomb. Fortunato thought Montresor was making yet another joke about being part of the Masonic faith. He was also foolishly led into a small crevice where he believed the Amontillado was awaiting his approval. Once the intoxication wore off, Fortunato began screaming in terror.

He tried to convince himself that Montresor was merely joking and was going to release him because nothing was making sense. Fortunato did not realize that his thousands of jokes and one insult angered Montresor. Fortunato does not understand what he has done to deserve this torture, and remains silent as Montresor finishes his work. Only the haunting sound of jingling bells is heard from Fortunato's costume. Montresor does not attempt to give Fortunato a motive for his actions or even try to hint to Fortunato what he has done wrong. To Montresor his motive makes perfect sense and is justifiable.

Poe's characters in "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" also believe they are perfectly sane and ask the readers to affirm that their actions are rational. The narrator of "The Black Cat" tries to convince his audience that his pet cat was tormenting him by loving him. He too wants to confess his story so that he can unburden his soul. He believes that everything that transpired was a series of natural causes and effects and that he is not mad. His rationalization of how the large black cat appeared on his wall is farfetched to his audience but makes perfect sense to him.

In the story of "The Tell-Tale Heart" the protagonist is obsessed with ridding himself of an old man and the man's repulsive eye. The narrator too becomes obsessed in achieving his goal and carefully plots out the murder. He too buries the body, and is later driven mad by a beating of the old man's heart, which only he can hear. All three protagonists have a self-hatred they are not aware of and they aim it at other people. They attempt to rid themselves of this contempt by disposing of the things that cause them the most pain while claiming to remain sane. In entombing their victims, they also symbolically entomb themselves and are tormented by their obsessions.

Montresor does achieve his goal of making Fortunato suffer and ponder what he has done to deserve this death sentence. However, Montresor does not have peace of mind because he remains fixated on what he has done and is never sure if Fortunato realizes the error of his ways. The fact that fifty years later Montresor is able to vividly recount the details of his sin shows that he is still a tortured soul. Poe is clearly fascinated with the perversity and the capabilities of the human mind. His chilling stories are intended to warn people of what the mind is capable of. Even the most unassuming man has perverse thoughts and usually controls them out of human decency and / or fear of consequences.

However, there are some like the protagonists in Poe's literature that lose control and act out in inconceivable ways. Readers are then left to imagine and fear how perverse a person is and can become.