Montresor Revenge Essay

1213 Words5 Pages
Murder, Murder, Sweet Revenge Revenge may be sweet, but how sweet is the taste of murder? Montresor, in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” seems to think it tastes like savory satisfaction. He is vowed to seek out his revenge on Fortunato, who has insulted him deeply. In the beginning of the story, he states, “At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled- but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved was precluded the idea of risk.” ( Poe 233) This risk, of course, is murder. Montresor can only quench his thirst of revenge with murder, and Fortunato is unfortunate enough to get onto his bad side. With his cunning wit, determination, and vengeful spirit, Montresor is able to accomplish murder. Montresor is no doubt a very cunning man. He has meticulously planned out the death of his “friend”, and has prepared everything accordingly. To start off, he makes sure to deceive Fortunato into thinking he is so very friendly and kind, but on the inside, Montresor hates Fortunato for what he has done, and has despised him ever since. In the story, Montresor says, "I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation" (234). Next, Montresor waits until Carnival season to kill Fortunato, for it is a time when…show more content…
He is so obsessed with revenge, that he dedicates so much time, effort and planning into his revenge on Fortunato. His family motto even encourages revenge. “Nemo me impune lacessit,”(236) meaning nobody insults me without impunity. This idea of revenge is taken too far, though, when Montresor decides that the death of Fortunato is the only acceptable compensation. Montresor even believes that his vengeance is honorable, and for the best. In the story, Montresor is almost finished with his task when he hears Fortunato pleading to end his ‘joke’ and return to the
Show More
Related

  • How Did Poe Create Tension In The Cask Of Amontillado

    1485 Words  | 6 Pages

    Whatever "thousand injuries" could be caused by Fortunato to Montresor, they most probably do not correspond to the cruel nature of the revenge act. Otherwise Fortunato, if he had truly done something horrible to Montresor, would definitely know that, and would not trust Montresor too much. Besides, judging by the amount of human bones in the vaults, Fortunato was not the first to insult Montresor and to be killed by him. The way Montresor "renders justice" is truly horrifying as well - he is calm

    Read More

More about Montresor Revenge Essay

Open Document