Thursday, May 9, 2013

What is your evaluation of the ending of Poe's story "The Cask of Amontillado"?

At the end of the story The Cask of
Amontillado
, by Edgar Allan Poe, we find Montressor and Fortunato inside the
former's (Montressor's) catacombs in a quest for a cask of Amontillado wine, which is
quite precious and is one of the very rich possessions of Montressor. This wine is meant
as bait for Fortunato--a man who enjoys his drink--since Montressor is planning his
horrid murder. Therefore, Montressor wants Fortunato to be drunk with wine so that he
can bury Fortunato alive within the catacombs.


What strikes
the reader the most is that Montressor, as he narrates his actions, still has the gall
to call Fortunato his "friend," even as he builds the walls within which he is to trap
Fortunato alive. The last time Montressor calls Fortunato his "friend" is the moment
when he leads Fortunato straight to the "bait," which was the
wine.


readability="7">

[MONTRESSOR]: The Amontillado!” ejaculated my
friend [Fortunato], not yet recovered from his
astonishment.



Soon after this
incident, the deed begins to take place, and we see the coldness with which Montressor
continues to narrate his actions. This is the part that is shocking and morbid, even
sadistic, to the average person.


readability="8">

[MONTRESSOR]: My heart grew sick; it was the
dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I
forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I
re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed
them. In pace
requiescat!



Here
we see more sadistic behavior. He is unmoved by his crime. He blames the dampness of the
catacomb for the "sickness" of his heart. He hurries up to finish his work and ensures
that it is done correctly. In a more sociopathic twist, he even offers his respects to
what will be Fortumato's remains and wishes that the man may rest in peace. What this
shows is a disturbed, confused, and sick mind that finds pleasure in his task. Nothing
more than the behavior of a sociopath and psychologically deranged
man.

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