Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Cask of Amontillado

Nobody ever put up a post about Cask of Amontillado, so I'm now taking the opportunity to revisit it.

Some of the ideas that I'm presenting are far-fetched, and I don't necessarily believe them, but they came to me in a fit of divine inspiration during math class today; and, as you all know, I am not one to defy the whims of the Power. Apparently the Power wants me to play devil's advocate—go figure.

CASK OF AMONTILLADO:

One has to admire Montresor for the amount of self control he exercises in carrying out his revenge. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “in cold blood,” you’ll agree that it applies to Montresor’s actions. As Montresor says, “It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. 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.” Though Montresor intended to kill Fortunato for a rather emotional reason, Montresor plans the dirty deed calmly and coolly. To a certain extent, Montresor removes his emotions when planning the death of Fortunato: Montresor doesn’t immediately act upon his anger, but rather, plans a punishment for Fortunato which will not result in consequences harmful to Montresor.

Let’s swoon over Montresor a while longer. Montresor masterfully plays to Fortunato’s weaknesses. (I would venture to say that Fortunato has more than one important weakness.) Fortunato proves quite eager to follow Montresor into the dimly lit, Amontillado-containing catacombs because Montresor does not merely use Fortunato’s connoisseurship in wine against him, but also employs reverse psychology to manipulate Fortunato.

On multiple occasions, Montresor entreats Fortunato to turn back, effectively saying, “On second thought, the vaults are damp and full of nitre, so you should turn back.” Ah, Montresor. We see through your clever tricks; you make identifying the Amontillado yet more appealing to Fortunato! Last but not least, Montresor twice gives liquor to Fortunato during their journey through the catacombs. (I don’t believe Montresor was especially clever for using the “get’em drunk” technique, but you can’t fault Montresor for using a tried and true method to decrease Fortunato’s reasoning capacity.)

Finally, here’s an interesting point that we didn’t bring up during class. (I missed this the first time I looked over the packet and figured that perhaps others had overlooked it as well.) Fortunato was drunk even before Montresor had given him liquor. “… I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much.” And, another quote, “He turned towards me and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.”

In closing, I commend Poe for a short story well written, Montresor for a murder well-carried out, and my classmates for actually reading this post.

QUESTION: In Montresor’s mind, Fortunato’s actions did not warrant death until Fortunato insulted Montresor. (He added insult to injury.) Just a thought: what is the difference between insult and injury?

---Danielle

8 Comments:

Blogger caroline cross said...

I agree that many murderers are clever, just as Montresor was.

I have to bring up the insanity question though. Are murderers necessarily insane people or just people who lack morals so much that murder doesn't bother them? I forget who mentioned this in class, but someone said that killing someone for an insult shows insanity. And I would agree that Montresor is insane if the insult was light, but his brain made it up into some huge insult. That would show that his mind takes real life situations and turns them into something unreal (almost like schizophrenia). However, Poe doesn't establish that Montresor is insane, so his reaction to an insult might not be due to insanity, but to an evil personality.

Once my mom and I were watching some show about people in prison (I think I was sick and it's amazing what sick people will actually watch). Some rapist was interviewed and he spoke exactly like a normal person. Unless he had some mental illness that couldn't be detected from an interview, he seemed completely sane. How could he have been able then to commit such atrocious crimes? Because he simply didn't care about morals. Also, this same person was clever. He had been in a fight with another inmate, and he kept telling the police that it was self-defense. This criminal was both sane and clever, the same way Montresor was.

Perhaps if someone is extremely evil and doesn't care at all about morals it can be assumed that the person is insane, but I think it's very possible that sane people can be extremely evil.
--caroline

9:42 PM  
Blogger L Lazarow said...

I don't agree with the majority of the original post.
Montresor did not show any more self control than it takes to not throw yourself off the nearest cliff. I may likely be exaggerating your statement , however it strikes me as odd that Montresor would require any self control to accomplish his task, because he is a sane, clever, plotting individual.This is how he is, no repression of his nature.
He dose not struggle to contain his mirth at the thought of Fortunato's futile attempts to escape his future restrictions, he coolly appreciates the situation. The presumption that Montresor has to maintain self control comes from the presumption that he is insane, which while the class may have approved of, i think is total garbage. Montresor's very obvious sanity is what is supposed to make this a psychological thriller, if he were some mad man it would completely undermine the plot. Killing someone doesn't make you mad, its faulty logic to believe it dose.

I agree with Caroline that Montresor is sane, but not that he is evil. Back in the olden days people killed each other all the time over trivial matters, its called a dual. The fact that Monty felt unrestricted by some stupid set of aristocratic murder procedures demonstrates vanity and a certain cowardice more than evil. When dueling there is always a chance that you can lose.Even if you win just for facing you in combat you opponent retains his "honor". Montresor instead opts for a total victory situation, he delivers an ignoble death upon Fortunato, at the same time betraying him, robbing him of all hope of survival, and leaving him to die alone and curse his fate. That actually sounds really evil, but I still say its vanity.

To reiterate, Montresor is not some stereotype crazy bad guy who has to dig his long uncut nails into his palms until they bleed, just so he can keep from killing his mark prematurely. He is not evil either, he is vain. His vanity is why this story is even chronicled by him, just like the man in the "Tell Tale Heart" Montresors secret must be known, other wise whats the point of it.
-Adiel

8:33 PM  
Blogger rachel said...

Danielle - I agree with your analysis of the short story, but I just have to say that the most probable reason for Montresor to give Fortunato the liquor was to prolong Fortunato's intoxication. They were in the catacombs for a very long time, and by the time they reach their destination, the effects are already wearing off and Fortunato is becoming a little more aware.

Also, the insult and injury thing: injuries are usually something that one can heal from, something very superficial. Insults reach a deeper point in one's mind and it is usually difficult for one to forget that no matter how silly it may seem to someone else. At least that is how I look at it.

Caroline - I agree that not all murders can be classified as insane, but in this case, it does seem to fit seeing as Montresor is very comfortable with the whole thing (looking forward to his actions and their results) and he revels in his actions some fifty years later. It all strikes as odd that this could be seen as normal behavior. I would think that while recounting the story he would have at least ONE word of remorse. Usually this is not detectable which is why whenever neighbors of a suspected child molester, rapist, murderer, etc. are interviewed they always say and I quote, "They seemed so normal...I would have never thought they could do such a thing." You can always throw a few slang words in for effect, but this is ALWAYS what the neighbors say.

10:44 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I agree with Adiel that Montresor is not entirely insane, and the story's effectiveness would otherwise be ruined. I think detailed analyses are good and useful, but if we were to step back and look at the story in more general terms, we might have a better sense of Poe's intentions or what gels well. Montresor maintaining some level of sanity would certainly better the plot/make it more interesting.

I struggle with characterizing a person as completely evil or insane. Unless Montresor is supposed to be pure evil manifest (as each character in the Fall of the House of Usher represented either the id, ego, or super-ego) I don't think we can dismiss him as having only one mindset or attitude or belief system. As Caroline pointed out, people who commit terrible acts can still seem normal (has anyone seen Confessions of a Serial Killer? Jeffrey Dahmer was seriously articulate). Does this mean that anyone who kills another person is just a human shell filled with dark monsters and demons? No. Montresor is still allowed to have other thoughts that don't deal with murder or vanity or bad, bad things. Maybe this has turned into a rant in which I imply my belief in rehabilitation and prisoners' rights, but um...yes, I just can't definitively call Montresor one thing. I will allow for at least one standard: he killed someone, and it was unwarranted, and it was bad and wrong. I think we can safely establish that. Right?

12:28 AM  
Blogger Kaitlyn said...

Will. I understand where you are coming from about Montresor not being completly insane or evil.

How do you think that someone who commited "terrible acts" and are still articulate are sane? It would be much easier to classify a person as sane if they feel remorse for what they did and at least have those demons in their closet. It is a little unsettling to listen to a person retell their story about how they beat, raped, murdered, and stashed a body without breaking a sweat. To me that is insanity. Just curious. Not an attack.

6:04 PM  
Blogger caroline cross said...

I too see where Will is coming from. I don't mean to characterize Montresor as entirely evil because I think it's impossible for anyove to be entirely evil. I just believe that Montresor's planning to kill someone reflects evil thoughts, and not necessarily insane thoughts.

I agree with Adiel that Montresor is vain. However, I believe that when Montresor left Fortunato "to die alone," this had to be an evil act as well as one done out of vanity. Perhaps we all have different definitions of what exactly is evil. I personally see murder as evil, although vanity can be, in addition to evil thoughts, the cause of murder. Jealousy and a whole lot of other feelings can contribute to why someone murders someone else, but I don't think someone can murder someone else without some evil thoughts.

Lastly, I still personally think that it's possible for a person to show no remorse after killing someone and still be sane. I think this would be very rare since it's almost impossible for people not to feel remorse after such a terrible crime, but I don't think that people can be assumed to be insane just because they're remorseless.
--caroline

8:43 PM  
Blogger rachel said...

How exactly is everyone trying to say that Montresor was sane? I can't figure out what the exact explanation is, so could someone please clarify. I am not saying that I agree or disagree, I just don't know where this is all really coming from.

I do have to agree with the evil thoughts and vanity issue displayed by Montresor, though.
Rachel

10:37 PM  
Blogger L Lazarow said...

Montresor dose technically fit the definition of insanity, an abnormal mental arrangement, however insanity is in many ways determined on a scale. this scale is the significance of the disorder, if the person is deranged to such a degree that they can't function in a "normal" way. When this state is being determined various circumstantial factors must be considered, it is these that disprove Montresor's insanity.

A) killing even if it is done without remorse dose not imply insanity. There is no sufficient logical connection between the two, only a moral judgment on the part of society. When asked, "but (your name here), how can 30 million people be wrong?" you can say very easily, all of them are exposed regularly to the same stock morals that have existed since moses thought a beard would get him more attention from the ladies. These have been refined over and over, per generation, into the lush form of fear mongering that discourages amorality today, so so a view can be wrong or limited in its scope if its roots are. No matter how many people believe in it.

B)Just Because Montresor lacks remorse for his killing of Fortunato doesn't mean he lacks the capacity for such an emotion. Dose the drug dealer who shoots a man for not paying up always feel remorse? No, he says to himself it was just business and moves on.People find all sorts of ways to avoid feeling remorse, when Montresor turns his planned slaying into revenge he builds an unbreakable bulwark against any remorse he could feel, with just a minor reclassification of his actions. His personal vanity allows him to feel justified.

C) As i said before, people killed each other all the time for trivial matters in duals. Montresor simply chose the path of total victory against Fortunato.Partially because killing him in a socially acceptable way would be unsatisfactory to a man like Montresor. Fortunato insulted Montresor, his better, for that he must be punished, in a manner that suites the severity of his crime. just as montresor's vanity allows him to justify the slaying, it also allows him to disregard procedure and kill fortunato in the fashion of his choosing. Essentially Montresor is cutting through the red tape, an admirable quality to be sure.

D)Montresor is totally lucid, which isn't a sure fire indicator of mental well being. With no other behavioral factors to suggest insanity montresor's lucidity can be used in support of his sanity. Montresors yelling at a trapped fortunato is also not an indicator of insanity, it is not a maddened irrational yelling, but a taunt, which is part of Fortunato's punishment.

That is why montresor is not insane . Abhorrent as his actions may be morality is not a sufficient judge of mental stability. As for the "evil" part i suggest you all avoid such classifications as it will just lead into a black&white quagmire. The world is in shades of gray, and while i love Caroline's, i think it was her, point about evil thoughts vs. evil person, a situational interpretation i would still not use the word. instead i like to use harmful or beneficial,they are essentially neutral words, one indicating a positive and the other a negative. They can be used within case specific contexts to apply a right/ wrong judgment without falling pray to the good/evil clice.
-Adiel
you have time to write when your home sick.

8:57 AM  

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