The Reliability of a Murderer
The narrators in both “The Tale-Tell Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are very unreliable. The narrators, in addition to being murderers, lie to both the reader and the other characters in the story. Due to the information about the narrators’ states of mind and ability to lie given in both stories, the readers of the stories should not accept what the narrator describes.
Most people who commit murders or other horrific acts have a form of mental disability that makes their actions seem reasonable to themselves. The narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” starts the story by trying to convince the audience that he is not crazy, but the abundance of evidence that is presented within the story overwhelms the narrator’s …show more content…
As I mentioned earlier, the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” was nearly able to convince the police of his innocence. He states, “The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things.” (232) The officers were comfortable speaking with the narrator and were convinced he had done nothing wrong. Someone who we see is able to lie this well to others shouldn’t be trusted. The narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado” is even better at lying. He is able to lure someone who was his friend down deep into the catacombs with the promise of alcohol. Most people wouldn’t go very deep into the catacombs voluntarily, much less follow someone. He also lies about who he is, to which Fortunato believes. Fortunato starts, “'You? Impossible! A mason?' 'A mason,' I replied. 'A sign,' he said, 'a sign.' 'It is this,' I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel. 'You jest,' he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. 'But let us proceed to the Amontillado.'” (314) Even though Fortunato is surprised to see Montressor as a mason, he does believe him, which is why he recoiled from Montressor. Either of these narrators, with the power to lie like they can, should never be trusted by the
The narrators in both “The Tale-Tell Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are very unreliable. The narrators, in addition to being murderers, lie to both the reader and the other characters in the story. Due to the information about the narrators’ states of mind and ability to lie given in both stories, the readers of the stories should not accept what the narrator describes.
Most people who commit murders or other horrific acts have a form of mental disability that makes their actions seem reasonable to themselves. The narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” starts the story by trying to convince the audience that he is not crazy, but the abundance of evidence that is presented within the story overwhelms the narrator’s …show more content…
As I mentioned earlier, the narrator in “The Tale-Tell Heart” was nearly able to convince the police of his innocence. He states, “The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things.” (232) The officers were comfortable speaking with the narrator and were convinced he had done nothing wrong. Someone who we see is able to lie this well to others shouldn’t be trusted. The narrator in “The Cask of Amontillado” is even better at lying. He is able to lure someone who was his friend down deep into the catacombs with the promise of alcohol. Most people wouldn’t go very deep into the catacombs voluntarily, much less follow someone. He also lies about who he is, to which Fortunato believes. Fortunato starts, “'You? Impossible! A mason?' 'A mason,' I replied. 'A sign,' he said, 'a sign.' 'It is this,' I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel. 'You jest,' he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. 'But let us proceed to the Amontillado.'” (314) Even though Fortunato is surprised to see Montressor as a mason, he does believe him, which is why he recoiled from Montressor. Either of these narrators, with the power to lie like they can, should never be trusted by the