“The Cask of Amontillado” is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe, and unlike most stories, the narrator may or may not be reliable with the facts he presents. The story is about the narrator, Montresor, who out of revenge tricks his “poor friend” (Poe 109) Fortunato into following him to his own death. As the narrator, Montresor, recites the story, you can see the shift from his mental state of vengeance to the completely opposite feeling of pity. There are many reasons why Montresor would be considered an unreliable narrator, but there are also a few reasons why he would be considered reliable. This article is going to explain the reasons why Montresor could be considered both, and the reasons why Montresor wanted revenge. We'll start by looking at what the critics have to say about the story, and then we'll move on to what I have to say about the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Montresor is a complex and intriguing character whose desire for revenge is the driving force of the story. Given that his family's motto is Nemo me impune lacessit, which can mean "no one insults me with impunity", Poe seems to believe that this motivation is the one that defines his existence. His noble lineage seems to be at least part of what makes him murderous. He says he has reason to take revenge "for the fact that Fortunato insulted and hurt him", but he in no way gives details. The reason for his wounded pride is therefore unknown and may also be imaginary. Montresor indicates his capacity for deception by the way he alludes to Fortunato and by his skill in planning how he sets up the final resting place in the catacombs and drags Fortunato there. Although there is a second that seems to give him pause (when Fortunato screams), he ends up being cold, calculating, and relentless. As previously stated, some critics say that Montresor is a reliable narrator in the information he offers the reader, while others say he is completely unreliable in the information provided. Personally, I agree with both sides of the criticism. I believe that Montresor could be considered both a reliable and unreliable narrator. Throughout this article, we will examine why critics believe Montresor is a reliable narrator and why he is considered an unreliable narrator. We'll also look at my personal reasons why I think it's both reliable and unreliable. To begin, we'll look at why critics think he's a reliable narrator. One critic suggests that everything Montresor says is "best taken literally, because if they are, other details fall into place" (St. John Stott, Graham). So this argument from critics is simply to trust Montresor in his descriptions of what is happening, purely on the basis that it makes the story easier to understand if you don't guess everything that is being described to you. This is the only information I could find on why to trust Montresor as a narrator, but now let's talk about why critics and I consider him unreliable. Now, Montresor is portrayed as an unreliable narrator for several main reasons. The main one is that Montresor is a murderer, and it's hard to trust someone who kills people, especially when his only reason for killing Fortunato is "because he riskedinsult him” (Poe 107). Additionally, when Montresor tells the story, it is difficult to tell if the events that occur take place in chronological order, with one event occurring right after the other. For example, he states that his “poor friend found it impossible to answer for many minutes” (Poe 109). Him saying he didn't respond for a few minutes could have meant he didn't respond for an hour, based on what we know as the audience. Another thing is that Montresor seems to leave out the evidence. Even from the quote above there is a lack of evidence as to why he found it impossible to answer. All he says is that he was coughing, but he never explains where it came from. This leads us to understand why Montresor could be considered a reliable narrator. As Fortunato coughs, Montresor asks if he would like to return to the party they came from several times, but Fortunato refuses saying "I will not die of a cough" and Montresor responds by saying "True" (Poe 109). Right now, Montresor is reliable and doing a bit of foreshadowing because he knows Fortunato won't die of coughing, but he will die of hunger and thirst because Montresor set it up that way. Another time Montresor seems reliable is when he locks up Fortunato. Fortunato shouts to Montresor “for God’s sake, Montresor, have mercy on me!” and Montresor, now that his pent-up fury is dissipating, actually feels pity” (Delaney 39). The fact that Montresor feels pity makes him feel like he has human feelings again, and it gives the reader the idea that maybe he isn't so bad. We will now move on to some critics' opinions on why Montresor wanted revenge on Fortunado. One critic states that "As Montresor himself points out, Fortunado is the golden boy, 'rich, respected, admired, loved,…happy….' » (Gruesser). Unfortunately, Montresor was not so lucky. He states that he once was, but "he lost his status or contentment." For someone who is unhappy like Montresor, Fortunato's happiness is a daily wound” (Gruesser). It is for this reason that Montresor feels the need to create a master plan to bring justice to Fortunato. All critics agree that it was an act of revenge. Personally, I think it was indeed an act of revenge, but for no good reason. If Montresor gives a very solid reason, Poe hides it very well in his writings. I think Montresor was just jealous judging by Gruesser's opinion on the situation. There must be another reason, however. One critic suggests: "He has his reasons for what he does, and they are reasons we should be able to understand." There is a deeper horror in the story” (White). This critic suggests that there must be a good enough reason for what he did so that he could feel justified after doing what needed to be done in Montresor's mind. “Montresor is so convinced of his right to carry out his plan of revenge that he can speak of the assassination of Fortunato as an “immolation” (1257). We need not go so far as to see him assuming the role of a priest performing the ritual murder of a sacrificial victim, as some commentators on the story have done; but we should be able to understand that, given his family imperatives, he might well regard himself as a person fulfilling an almost sacred duty” (White). I agree that there must be a reason why Montresor felt the need to perform this duty, but I also believe that Montresor could very well have just been crazy. This brings us to our next topic.Some critics suggest that Montresor was engaged in a “insane or satanic quest for revenge” (White). After looking through many articles, I saw a pattern in the religious aspect of the story that Montresor was satanic, but one reviewer said, "Montresor unintentionally re-enacted the crucifixion" (Gruesser). One of the main reasons people brought religion into the picture is a line from the story, namely that when Fortunado shouts at Montresor to stop what he is doing, he says "For the love of God Montresor. “Fortunado's cry is both a cry for mercy and a warning to Montresor to remember his own end and think of the afterlife” (Gruesser). According to Gruesser, when Montresor responded, “Yes. . . for the love of God! He made it a point of honor to oppose God, “damning himself forever” (Gruesser). Other critics suggest that Montresor was simply mentally ill. This brings us to the next point in the story, which is when Montresor begins to take pity on the man he is murdering. Montresor gives Fortunado many opportunities to save himself. This makes the reader think that it is possible that Montresor does not necessarily want to end the killing, but he continues to make ironic comments that foreshadow what is to come. “Once he has punished Fortunato to his satisfaction, he can now take pity on his victim. Fortunado's plea is only half stated: the other half is implied. He means in effect: “For the love of God Montresor, have pity on me! and Montresor, now that his pent-up fury is dissipating, truly feels pity” (Delaney). This situation seems completely strange to me because the story is told 50 years later. I thought that since Montresor felt sorry for Fortunado, he would regret what he did at that time, but he shows no remorse in this regard. I think Poe is just showing that Montresor has normal human feelings like everyone else, but he still doesn't regret what he did because Montresor can't let Fortunado escape the "thousand wounds" he caused him already inflicted. The next topic this article is going to cover is all the irony and foreshadowing in the story. We will start by looking at the “The Barrel of Amontillado” tile. The word “barrel” means wine barrel, but it is the root word coffin which means coffin. So one could say that it's somewhat ironic that the word "cask" in the title is meant to figuratively represent Fortunado's coffin. Another ironic aspect is the very name Fortunado. When you say Fortunado, you can easily see that the word "fortune" is inside. This is extremely ironic because when we think of fortune, we think of luck, but Fortunado is absolutely anything but lucky. He is led to his own death and there is nothing he suspects. Another example of symbolic irony is the way Fortunado is dressed. He wears a jester costume. This is extremely ironic because he is tricked into following Montresor to his own death. Montresor gives him numerous opportunities to turn around and foolishly, Fortunado refuses each of his opportunities to escape. It's somewhat comical that he keeps denying these opportunities, because as a reader you can see that Montresor is obviously up to something, but Fortunado is so blinded by it. Another example of irony is when Fortunado asks Montresor if he is a mason, and Montresor responds by saying that he is a mason, but Fortunado meant that the question was asking him if he was part of the Freemasons. When Montresor responded, he did not mean that he was a Freemason, but rather that he was a craftsman who built with stone. It isironic because Montresor will build Fortunado's tomb in stone. Poe also uses a lot of irony in the dialogue between Montresor and Fortunado. For example, the first time Montresor speaks to Fortunado, he says, “My dear Fortunado, you are fortunately met. » It's ironic because, luckily, he is not encountered at all. It looks more like an unlucky encounter. Another example is when Montresor and Fortunado are in the tunnel that leads to where Montresor is going to crush him. Fortunado begins coughing for a reason that is not explained, but Montresor responds to this by stating, "We will go back, your health is in danger." precious. You are rich, respected, admired, loved; You are happy, as I once was. You are a man who will be missed. It’s obviously bullshit to say this, but Fortunado responds by saying, “Cough is nothing; It won't kill me. I won't die of coughing. And to this Montresor responds by saying “true”, because Fortunado is right. He won't die of a cough, but he will die of something much worse. Now it’s time to recap. This article began by questioning whether Montresor was a reliable narrator or not. Ultimately, I have to agree with St. John Stott and Graham when they said that the story "is best taken literally, because if it is, other details come into focus." place” (St. John Stott, Graham). If the story is not told in real time and you cannot trust the narrator, then the whole story is a fiasco because it is impossible to know what is actually true and what is not. . It ruins the whole point of reading a story if you can't trust what you're reading, or if you have to overanalyze every detail of the story to find out what's going on. This takes a lot away from the story, so I think it's best to just trust what the narrator says and move on. While there are many reasons why Montresor could be considered unreliable, it's best to trust what he says as he says it, as it makes reading much easier. Then this article started talking about why Montresor killed Fortunado. As one critic suggested: "He has his reasons for what he does, and they are reasons we should be able to understand." There is a deeper horror in the story” (White). I have to agree with this review, because no one does something for no reason. It just depends on what Fortunado did that made him want revenge to come up with a master plan to eliminate him and put it into action. The only reason Montresor gives you for killing Fortunato is that “he ventured to insult him” (Poe 107). After researching and finding other critics' opinions on why he did what he did, the only reasonable reason is jealousy. "As Montresor himself notes, Fortunado is the golden boy, 'rich, respected, admired, loved,... happy...' » (Gruesser). That's what made me think that. Montresor goes on to say that he was not so lucky. This makes me think that the main reason Montresor decided to do this is because Fortunado's happiness bothered him so much. His jealousy must have driven him enough to kill a man who probably never did him much harm. Furthermore, he may well have been in an ill mental state, as any person worth their salt would not have carried out such a horrible task. After reading The Cask of Amontillado, I immediately believed everything the narrator said, but after thinking about it for a while, my thoughts changed. The reason is that the narrator seems unreliable, at least in most.