Essay On The Characteristics Of Montresor

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a poetic tale of an exemplary murder told by Edgar Allan Poe. As a vicious, murderous man, Montresor may be considered to be an unsympathetic character. However, after a close examination of Montresor’s characteristics and personality, it may be concluded that there are many traits that may be reflected on readers, traits which reside along with more uncommon characteristics. The man who Montresor murders, Fortunato, experiences the wrath of these characteristics first hand, and would be the first to call Montresor either evil or insane. But careful scrutiny of Montresor will result in the discovery that Montresor is not simply black or white, evil or insane, but a spectrum of grey and diverse characteristics that aided him in his quest to commit the perfect murder. Montresor did murder Fortunato in a torturous way, but that murder was not unprovoked. Poe writes the reasoning for Montresor’s action in the first line of the story, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I have borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (15). This demonstrates Montresor’s pridefulness, as it enables him to forgive injuries, but not insult. As a prideful man, Montresor may be more sensitive to insult, and in consequence, may be drawn to violence and revenge much sooner. Another trait that may have established the circumstances for Montresor to commit such a violent and revengeful act is his …show more content…
The traits of both Montresor and Fortunato led to Fortunato’s leisurely death, as Fortunato’s characteristics were used against him and Montresor’s were ideal traits for the perfect murder. While Montresor is not solely insane or evil, he has some characteristics of both, and there are some that he does not possess at all. Montresor is an extremely intricate character with many aspects that lead to the atrocity he