Proof of Unreliability in the Cask of Amontillado

Michael Ljubsa ID 1790093 Rashmi Jyoti ENGL-103 CU85 Word Count 998 Proof of Unreliability in The gun barrel of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe is an author known for his pieces of literature which capture the element of enigma. some times, scholars debate over the true meaning toilet his texts as they be often written as narratives. This combination of an unclear meaning easy his work and the fact that his stories are narratives often leads to the headspring of, To what extent cigaret the cashier be relied upon? The same issue arises in Poes, The drum of Amontillado.The falsehood is a reflection of the past, involving a plot that evolves into a send off mystery involving two gentlemen, Montresor and Fortunato. The story is told from Montresors point of view, recalling an level(p)t that occured litre years ago. Montresor in secret despises Fortunato due to past revilements that are claimed to be unforgiveable. Montresor demands revenge for these acts and plans Fortunatos murder and by and by tricks him into demise. The story provokes questioning as to whether the narrator of the story behind be relied upon to accurately display the events described.In Edgar Allan Poes, The drum of Amontillado, Montresor does non provide enough sharpness into the information that remains with hidden meaning. He fails to provide significant causes for process due to the lack of description and proof, and the arugment of whether Montresor could be considered insane also arises. Montresor exclusively further confuses the lector by pointing out all the obvious irony surrounding the two main reference points Montresor and Fortunato. Therefore, the narrators accounts cannot be considered reliable.The lack of Montresors ability to logicalise the past and why he feels such(prenominal) a hatred towards Fortunato is why his account of the story cannot be relied upon. The Cask of Amontillado begins with Montresor providing his own intellectual for wish death upon Fortunato. The two first lines read, The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as scoop out I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge(218). proper from the start the reader is confused as to what this insult actually is, as it remains to go unexplained for the remainder of the story. In her article discussing The Cask of Amontillado, Elena V. Baraban asks, Why did he do it? (47) The intrigue of the story comes from attempting to answer this patently simple question. Many stories would provide a motive and reason for such horrendous acts however, Montresor provides no such explanation for the murder he commits. It can be continually questioned as to what this insult was, as no rational person would avenge an insult with murder. The narrators reliabilty is questioned even further considering Montresor withstood thousand injuries borne upon him by Fortunato. It seems as though Montresor was not remotely b separateed by these injuries, which reiterates the quest ion of Why did he do it?What exactly make Montresor take Fortunatos insult in such a disrespectful and hateful way that would gain him wish death upon Fortunato? This confusion proves the narrators unreliability. A second idea support the notion that Montresor is an unreliable narrator is the seemingly apparent insanity of Montresor. Restating the imagination of Montresor murdering Fortunato over an insult supports the idea of Montresor being insane. An instance where Montresor could be viewed as insane would be where he is imprisoning the helpless Fortunato behind a brick argue that he has constructed. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and matte up satisfied. (222) The gratification that comes of ease over Montresor as a result of his murder makes insanity a high possibility for a motif behind his actions. Montressors fulfillment is also shown when he states, My heart grew sick it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so (223). Even after fifty y ears, Montresor feels absolutely no contriteness for his actions. Such a lack of sorrow and guilt, even after fifty years, could only be found with a psychopath. Montresors insanity makes his description even more unreliable.Another aspect of the story that makes Montressor unreliable is all the irony that he brings to our attention. We find that Fortunato is named wryally, as Fortunato, closely resembles the watchword fortunate. This man resembling the word fortunate actually ends up having a very unfortunate death as he is manipulated by Montresor and gets buried alive. Additionally, Fortunato wears a jest costume complete with the cap and bells. This provides early signs that Fortunato is to become a fool. On the other hand, Montresor wears a silk black mask showing the readers that he is indeed the dark, artful figure in the story.Another example of irony is how the setting of the story is initially the carnival, and quickly turns into that of the dark, damp, catacombs. All of these examples make the story sound too humorous in a sense, therefore, its credibility is hard to trust. This, along with other ironic events such as the Montresor family crest meaning, No one insults me with impunity(220), and Fortunato drinking a wine named De Grave (grave), proves this storys undependable plot. It can be clearly seen that the narrator provides a recollection of events that are obviously unreliable.The fact that no reason for cause is shown by the narrator, as well as the likelihood of the character playing the narrator being unquestionably insane, proves that the story is unreliable. These factors, in entree to the confusion resulting of endless irony would make any logical reader question the validity of the narrators accounts. A story such as The Cask of Amontillado shows readers that narratives require some sense of background information and that the character narrating should be viewed as logical, in order to be considered reliable.Also, the plot must not be twisted by some sort of other element, such as irony, which was seen in this story. A combination of such factors will pull up stakes readers to depict the narrators accounts as an accurate portrayal. References Baraban, Elena. The Motive for Murder in The Cask of Amontillado. Rocky Mountain Review of Language and lit. 58. 2. (2004) 47-62. Print. Poe, Edger Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Portable Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing, Eighth Edition. Ed. Michael Rosenberg. Boston Wadsworth, 2012. 218-223. Print.