Montressor's Fact or Fiction

The Cask of Amontillado is just one of Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories that explore the depths of terror that is inflicted on the psychological level. The dark events in Poe’s life (being abandoned at a young age and battling the life-long demons of alcoholism and loneliness brought on by these events) led to the dark and unique style of writing he used.  Many classify Poe for as a detective fiction writer for the suspense and terror used in his plots, while others believe he is one of the first truly modern writers because of his exploration of the mystery of the individual. In The Cask of Amontillado, Poe used his signature style of a protagonist who is evil, and plot that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat in this story of rivalry between two men, Montresor and Fortunato, which causes Montresor to seek revenge. One main literary element used to introduce and tell the story to us is Point-of-View. This element is the perspective that the story is told form.

Point-of-View is very important in all forms of literature because it shows how the story is told and controls how much and which information we are given.  One example of the Point-of-View in this story is that we are told that Fortunato hurt and insulted Montresor, but we never read any dialogue or descriptions of the act. We never find out if the revenge sought by Montresor is warranted or a meaningless vendetta against an old acquaintance.  Another example of Point-of-View the only description of Fortunato we are given is that which is provided by Motresor. (We are told that Fortunato is drunk, conceited, and a little blind to Montesor’s true intentions.) Another event where the information given to us is determined by the Point-of-View is how Montresor justifies his plan of action.  We only see Montresor’s view on the plan to kill Fortunato, where he justifies it by claiming that his friend deserves to be punished for the injuries he has caused.

Using the Point-of-View in literature is very important what information you receive through the text, what portion and side of a story you hear, and the descriptions of events we read all depend on the Point-of-View.  In The Cask of Amontillado, the story is affected by this literary element because it leaves us in suspense of the answers to questions the audience has posed.  Some questions posed as the story is read are: What did Fortunato do to deserve to die? Who is Fortunato as a person in general, and not just what Montresor believes him to be? Does Fortunato really deserve to die? The audience forms these questions because we are only seeing Fortunato from Montresor’s point-of-view. This affects the story greatly because it leaves the audience in suspense, and cause the thought process of each individual to activate because these and other questions are still not answered when the story comes to a close.