Saturday, March 19, 2011

In "The Cask of Amontillado," what can you conclude about Montresor's feelings toward those who have allegedly wronged him?

"The Cask of Amontillado" opens with Montresor's claim to seek revenge upon those who have wronged him.  He claims that he has borne "a thousand injuries" from Fortunato, but he does not go into detail about what these supposed injuries actually are.  Later in the story, there are some suggestions as to what these injuries may have been--Montresor makes references to his family crest and the freemasons leading the reader to assume that Montresor's family may not have been as wealthy as others around, namely Fortunato's family.  Thus, Montresor feels socially inferior to Fortunato, and rather than dealing with his own perceptions of self, he projects his anger onto Fortunato.  Montresor feels wronged by Fortunato (and those in the upper class whom for Montresor Fortunato represents), so he feels justified in taking revenge on him.

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