A second example of Montresor’s calculated insanity is when he presents Fortunato with the tool of his demise. While going through the catacombs, Fortunato’s “eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle [of De Grave] upwards with a gesticulation that [Montresor] did not understand” (229). When Fortunato recognizes Montresor’s confusion, he mocks Montresor’s status, stating Montresor is “not of the brotherhood” (229). Fortunato is referring to the Freemasons, a very old and prestigious group of men which Montresor has clearly not been invited to join. Montresor then claims to be a member of the masons, to which Fortunato replies with indignation. As a sign of the masons, Montresor then produces “a trowel from beneath …show more content…
Montresor, wanting to devote all his attention to Fortunato’s despair, stops his task of immurement and basks in the desperate sounds from within the niche. Once finished with the seventh tier, Montresor again pauses and shines the light of the flambeaux towards his victim, and is met with “[a] succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, [which] seemed to thrust [Montresor] violently back” (230). For a moment Montresor has a taste of fear himself, worried Fortunato has freed himself. He reassures himself Fortunato is still secure in his eternal prison, and then, as he tells us he, “reapproached the wall; [he] replied to the yells of him who clamoured. [He] re-echoed, [he] aided, [he] surpassed them in volume and in strength. [He] did this, and the clamourer grew still” (230). Montresor, as mad as he is, “is fully aware of the horrors of enclosure and enjoys them, after having planned to make them as terrifying as possible” (Sova 43). Montresor completely immerses himself in the pain of Fortunato’s immolation, enjoying every second of the revenge he has been plotting for so …show more content…
Insanity does not mean someone is a babbling idiot incapable of coherent thought, but there is a “’reasonableness in lunacy’, that [the] thoughts [of the insane] are coherent and ought to be heeded” (Porter 160). Montresor’s excruciatingly detailed plan for Fortunato’s fate demonstrates this. According to J. Clemans in Irresistible Impulses: Edgar Allan Poe And The Insanity Defense, “Poe’s familiarity with the scientific/medical accounts of insanity of his day has been well established” (626). Edgar Allan Poe’s own thoughts on insanity can be viewed in his response to a murder trail which took place in 1840, in which James Wood was acquitted on grounds of insanity of murdering his own daughter. Poe’s thoughts are
Montresor was seconded guessing himself, instead of feeling about the murder him and having relief, he would instead feel guilt. Montresor set his plan by sending his servants away to the carnival. He did this to make sure he had an alibi. While two of his men stay behind as they explore the deep vaults that are full of dead bodies of the Montresor family. He wants to bring Fortunato back to his house, but he refuses. Fortunato is accepting wine even though he is starting to get a cough. “The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled” (Page. 175, Line 51) Fortunato make this hand movement, that is apart of the masons. This is a secret handshake with the masons, but Montresor swears up and down that he knows mason. Montresor doesn't even know the handshake, but Fortunato wanted proof. Montresor shows him the handshake, but Fortunato doesn't buy it. So both of them went on there way.
This must impact Montresor, as it reveals that from generation to generation in his family, it is taught to value revenge and to never accept being attacked. new paragraph Following the mention of the motto, Edgar Allan Poe provides even more evidence to explain Fortunato’s egotistical character. When Montresor mentions that he is a member of the brotherhood of masons, Fortunato chuckles, “You? Impossible! A mason?” (1120), as to say that in his opinion, there is no way that Montresor could be a mason. Back in the early 1800s, the brotherhood of masons was a highly-esteemed organization and only included well-respected men. make sure to cite a source here This proves that Fortunato clearly didn’t hold Montresor in high regard and surely believed that he couldn’t be a mason. From Montresor’s point-of-view, it makes sense why Fortunato’s failure to recognize his skills in this exchange would offend him. This exchange just adds fuel to the fire and serves to reveal just how even if he doesn’t quite mean it confusing wording , Fortunato’s actions just naturally come off as being offensive.
Fortunato,” ‘I should like your opinion. But if you are too busy, I will get Luchesi’s advice. If anyone is a good judge, he is’”(Poe 68). The citation shows Montresor's deceitfulness since he is trying to guilt Fortunato to come with him. By saying he would like Fortunato's advice, it’s guilting Fortunato to come into the catacombs; only a brilliant and deceitful man could come up with this proposal. I can deduce that without Montresor's deviance, he would’ve never been able to trick Fortunato into the catacombs and to his death. Montresor's deceitfulness also fooled Fortunato to help him in carrying out his own death. Montresor tricks Fortunato into drinking for his cough, intoxicating him more and more with each sip. “I do not wish to alarm you-but you should take care of yourself. A drink of this Medoc will defend you from the damp”( Poe 69). This cite reveals how Montresor is tricking Fortunato into killing himself practically, and helping Montresor succeed. I can summarize that Montresor planned from the beginning to fool Fortunato into helping him by
We soon see foreshadowing of Fortunato's impending doom when the issue of Montresor's shield of arms is brought into the conversation as "A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.". Even more appropriate is Montresor's family motto, translated as, "No one wounds me with impunity". Such a visual depiction and mental conviction due to family honor and history creates all the more impetus in Montresor to carry out the punishment that Fortunato deserves for wronging him, and more likely the family honor. When Montresor finally captures Fortunato in the catacombs, the climax of his precisely calculated deed, he revels in the sound of Fortunato's chains rattling, and "that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones". However, his satisfaction soon turns to apprehension when suddenly "a succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back". He hesitates at this moment, when his revenge is sweetest, when he should bask in the suffering of his "enemy", and finds himself contemplating the shrill screams of his captive! He does eventually compose
Montresor gave him a bottle of De Grave, which Fortunato emptied and then tossed the bottle into the air with a definite symbolic gesture. At this point, Fortunato was sure that Montresor didn't understand the gesture because it belonged to the secret order of the Masons, an order that Fortunato was certain that Montresor couldn't belong to, thus hitting Montresor another insult and, unsuspectingly, bringing Fortunato closer to his death. Fortunato then showed him another sign of the masons; a trowel, which he brought with him. This is, of course, a double irony since the trowel is not only an instrument used by real masons, but it is one of the emblems of the Masonic Order, and in this case it will become a tool used in the demise of Fortunato. Fortunato implies that Montresor is not worthy enough to be a member of the Masonic Order. Little does Fortunato knows, in a few moments, Montresor will become a Master Mason.
For example, when Fortunato says he will not die of a cough, Montresor knowingly replies, “True, true.” When Fortunato drinks a toast to the dead lying in the catacombs around them, Montresor ironically drinks to Fortunato's long life. When Fortunato makes a gesture indicating that he is a member of the secret society of Masons, Montresor claims that he is also and proves it by revealing a trowel, the sign of his plot to wall up Fortunato.”(May) Montresor offers De Grave, a wine, to Fortunato; at one point, Fortunato makes an elaborate and —to the narrator's eyes —grotesque gesture with an upraised wine bottle. When Montresor appears not to recognize the gesture, Fortunato asks, "You are not of the masons?" Montresor says he is, and when Fortunato, disbelieving, requests a sign, Montresor displays a trowel he had been hiding.
Poe’s Montresor is admirable because he is also incredibly confident. Before he starts on his journey with Fortunato, Montresor confidently asks Fortunato if he would like for him to get another person to taste the wine. Fortunato replies, “Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry” (1442), (Luchresi being the other wine connoisseur). Throughout their walk through the catacombs, Montresor repeatedly asks Fortunato if he would like to go back. Fortunado, being conceded about his abilities to tell a good wine from an imitation, thoughtlessly agrees to continue to go deeper into the catacombs with Montresor, even though he is sick and seems to be get worse as they go further and further into the dark, damp catacombs. Montresor even asks if he would like to go back because of his health. Fortunato says it “is a mere nothing” (1443) and they continue. A gesture is made by Fortunato pertaining to him being a mason. He asks if Montresor is a mason and Montresor replies, “Yes, yes, yes, yes” (1444). He then holds up a trowel. Fortunato laughs about it but fails to wonder why Montresor has a trowel under his coat. Montresor hints to Fortunato in these subtle ways and Fortunato continues to be unsuccessful in being alarmed by them. His confidence is so great that Montresor asks Fortunato if he
Insanity- the state of being mentally ill. Could insanity be an excuse for an unforgivable crime? In the short story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, we come face to face with a man reliving his killing of an innocent man and learn the chilling state of mind the narrator has decreased to. It is clear he is mentally ill from the start of the story and it is constant throughout the text. The narrator is not guilty for reasons of insanity because he converses and argues with voices in his head, hears nonexistent sounds, and killed an innocent man because he believed his eye was haunting him. Some may claim that there is no excuse for murder, but this man is obviously mentally challenged, therefore should not be degraded any further
This is the man that has so enraged Montressor and is now going to his death, not only willingly, but dressed as a fool of the time. (Lorcher, 2011) Personally, one of the most masterful ironies in this piece, was the conversation about the Masons. Fortunato makes a sign that symbolizes the Masons (Known as the Free Masons). When Fortunato asks
Montresor is trying to lure Fortunato to his vaults by telling him that Luchresi can just come and taste the Amontillado because he knows best. He knows Fortunato will freak out by this statement, and then show Montresor that he is wrong in saying that. Indeed, this leads Fortunato down into the catacombs, just so he can prove Montresor wrong. That 's when Montresor will take his final step in his plan to end Fortunato. This event leads to the most suspenseful part in the short story. The reader doesn’t know what Montresor’s next step is going to be in his plan, along with what stupid move is Fortunato going to take to leading himself closer to his death.
An appearance of insanity can help him accomplish his goals because it would be harder for everyone else to figure out his real motives. In my opinion, his conversation with Horatio and Marcellus proves that he is sane throughout the play because of the aforementioned reasons
Montresor’s actions lend to his vengeful and manipulative nature. He lures Fortunato into the catacombs of his home to carry out his plans to kill Fortunato. In the first step of his plan, he boosts Fortunato’s ego by saying that Luchesi was almost as worthy a judge of wine as he. Then Montresor tricks Fortunato into believing that there is an
In the text montresor says”my heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs”(poe 67). Montresor is saying he feels bad for what he is doing and he feels sick in his heart To where he doesn't want to go through with it. But he thinks to the fact that he has made fun of him. In that case he continued down the catacombs and on with the murder. He thinks he is going to bring justice to himself but he loves the fact that he is taking Fortunato to his death. James F. Cooney says “ He seems to be unaware but the reader is not ,of the gleeful tone of his confession”(Cooney 15 ). At first Montresor acts as though he does not know what he is doing wrong. Suddenly he feels sick and knows he is wrong but thinks to when fortunato mad fun of him and feels no longer
In this story the character of Montresor is revealed through his own words. When he reveals he is going to punish Fortunato for merely insulting him, that he has planned the whole act of vengeance, and that he has been playing as being Fortunato’s friend, we know we are dealing with a deranged personality. His character is also revealed with references to his family. It is almost as if Poe has Montresor’s ancestors tell the reader how nicely he fits into the family tree. His legacy from his family motto “No one attacks me with impunity” and a coat of arms that depicts a serpent whose last wish before death is to poison the foot that crushed it. Does the fruit of ever fall far from the tree? Montresor is as evil as his forebears were. He shows no remorse about what he has done, even in old age. When he says, “May he rest in peace” at the end of the story, the reader gets the feeling he means, “ I hope you stay there and rot” rather than, “I hope you found joy and peace in heaven.”
As for Montresor, he acts calmly from beginning to end. First, he wants to take revenge on Fortunato and plots it carefully in order to avoid the punishment. He knows his “enemy” very well, from Fortunato’s interests to his weakness, so he can easily kill Fortunato. During the process of murder, he is really calm and controlled. Step by step, he lures Fortunato to his gloomy cellar and kills Fortunato. He works in a place filled with bones and feels no terror. He even stops his “labour” just to hear Fortunato’s cry with “more satisfaction”. Though “for a brief moment [he] hesitated, [he] trembled”, he does not tremble for guilt but for the worry that Fortunato may escape. After Montresor take the revenge successfully, he feels satisfied and pleasant. The differences on their psychological changes create a terrified atmosphere which makes readers suffocate.