THIS IS WHAT I WROTE SO FAR…. Glenn 2
The symbolic in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Montresor have shown that revenge can be a person’s personal karma. Vendetta was on the urge of attacking the victim Fortunato by Montresor. Montresor is a villain because he is a person who destroy to satisfy his own selfish goals.
Critics examines the reason for Montresor’s murder of Fortunato in “The Cask of Amontillado” suggesting that Fortunato is being punished for his arrogance and insulted a man who is superior or equal to him. The reason is not valid insufficient sources for the motive of this crime done by hatred. Montresor dark deed give us the insight of his social behavior. One of the puzzling parts of the story is why did Montresor decide to murder Fortunato in the crypt of his family. Fortunato is possibly looked as the enemy of Montresor’s family.
Montresor is acting patriotic in seeking vengeance on the family’s enemy. The family coat of arms and motto was disrespected by Fortunato adding on the interior turmoil of Montresor. Montresor’s case of defense, is that no one attacks him with impunity. Montresor enjoyed the aggravated distressed from Fortunato. Fortunato was vulnerable and tipsy when he Montresor.
The question is why would Fortunato go to a stranger’s house? Who can be that naïve and gullible? In this case, Fortunato set himself for failure by default. Karma was weighing over the head of Fortunato, like a dark cloud. Over fifty years later, Montresor is still not sensitive for the death of Fortunato. A commenter, has claimed that Poe was using Montresor as his alter ego in pursuing derivative revenge against his literary nemesis; when he wrote “The Cask of Amontillado” and irony of Poe’s creation character Montresor, is thought provoking.
In Latin, “Montresor” means no one provokes me without impunity and in romance languages it means to show fate. These two meanings work together in this story like gears and also expresses Montresor has control over Fortunato fate, as well as being a murderer with impunity. There’s no doubt that Montresor is psychotic and may have killed before. Someone with such deviance don’t have a heart of gold but instead a heart of coal.
Montresor perhaps felt embarrassed when he didn’t know the mason signed of the organization. This is adding insult to injury for Fortunato. Montresor is a mason of the masonry but no one wants to feel or be looked stupidly. ”Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones” (255). Montresor left Fortunato for dead; which makes me think that, Fortunato body and spirit is trapped in the catacombs forever, along with the ancestors of Montresor.
Fortunato can’t rest in peace in this environment. Instead Fortunato spirit maybe tortured and it he never finds a way out. To Montresor, and his family Fortunato death can be looked as a trophy. Fortunato burial is like a décor to the tomb and the last person to be bury there with no disturbance. Karma and revenge has been served to Fortunato. The reason for the death of Fortunato, will always remained unsolved and a mystery.
Karma can be another way of expressing; what comes around goes around and also a spiritual matter. Karma can also be placed in a revengeful way and in the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” a proud wine connoisseur Fortunato falls as a casualty to that. Montresor’s personal karma for revenge is served; and that’s how Montresor is display as a murderer and as a villain that comes with a personal vendetta for those who disrespects him.
