Proof of Unreliability in the Cask of Amontillado

Michael Ljubsa ID 1790093 Rashmi Jyoti ENGL-103 CU85 Word Count 998 Proof of undependableness in The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe is an author know for his pieces of literature which punkture the element of mystery. many a(prenominal) times, scholars debate all over the true nitty-gritty behind his texts as they are much written as narratives. This combination of an unreadable meaning behind his work and the feature that his stories are narratives often leads to the foreland of, To what intent basis the narrator be relied upon? The equal issue arises in Poes, The Cask of Amontillado.The account is a reflection of the onetime(prenominal), involving a temporary hookup that evolves into a arrive at mystery involving dickens gentlemen, Montresor and Fortunato. The recital is told from Montresors point of view, recalling an event that occured cubic decimetre years ago. Montresor secretly despises Fortunato due to past vexs that are claimed to be unforgiveable. Montresor demands revenge for these acts and plans Fortunatos polish off and later tricks him into death. The story provokes questioning as to whether the narrator of the story can be relied upon to accurately display the events described.In Edgar Allan Poes, The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor does not fork up enough insight into the discipline that remains with hidden meaning. He fails to provide significant causes for action due to the inadequacy of description and proof, and the arugment of whether Montresor could be considered insane likewise arises. Montresor simply further confuses the reader by pointing out all the obvious raillery surrounding the two main events Montresor and Fortunato. Therefore, the narrators accounts cannot be considered reliable.The lack of Montresors ability to explain the past and why he feels much(prenominal) a hatred towards Fortunato is why his account of the story cannot be relied upon. The Cask of Amontillado begins with Montresor providi ng his own origin for wishing death upon Fortunato. The two first of all lines read, The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as silk hat I could, but when he ventured upon offend I vowed revenge(218). Right from the offset the reader is confused as to what this displease actually is, as it remains to go unexplained for the remainder of the story. In her phrase discussing The Cask of Amontillado, Elena V. Baraban asks, wherefore did he do it? (47) The intrigue of the story comes from attempting to answer this evidently simple question. Many stories would provide a motive and reason for much(prenominal) fear whatever 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 Montre sor was not remotely b new(prenominal)ed by these injuries, which reiterates the question of Why did he do it?What exactly distinguish Montresor take Fortunatos insult in such a disrespectful and hateful dash that would make him wish death upon Fortunato? This surprise proves the narrators unreliability. A second idea reenforcement the notion that Montresor is an unreliable narrator is the plain apparent madness of Montresor. Restating the thought of Montresor murdering Fortunato over an insult supports the idea of Montresor macrocosm insane. An eccentric where Montresor could be viewed as insane would be where he is imprisoning the helpless Fortunato behind a brick wall that he has constructed. I located my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt up satisfied. (222) The gratification that comes of ease over Montresor as a result of his murder makes dementia a high possibility for a motif behind his actions. Montressors fulfillment is excessively shown when he states, My heart grew sick it was the moistness of the catacombs that made it so (223). Even later fifty years, Montresor feels absolutely no compunction for his actions. Such a lack of distress and guilt, even after fifty years, could only be found with a psychopath. Montresors insanity makes his description even more unreliable.Another boldness of the story that makes Montressor unreliable is all the sarcasm that he brings to our attention. We find that Fortunato is named ironically, as Fortunato, tight resembles the word 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 fancy dress showing the readers that he is indeed the dark, artful figure in the story.Another example of iron y is how the setting of the story is initially the carnival, and pronto turns into that of the dark, damp, catacombs. All of these examples make the story salutary too ironic in a sense, therefore, its credibility is hard to trust. This, along with other ironic events such as the Montresor family jacket 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 event that no reason for cause is shown by the narrator, as well as the likeliness of the character playing the narrator being unquestionably insane, proves that the story is unreliable. These factors, in amplification 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 approximately sen se of background information and that the character narrating should be viewed as logical, in clubhouse 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 allow readers to depict the narrators accounts as an accurate portrayal. References Baraban, Elena. The Motive for Murder in The Cask of Amontillado. Rocky Mountain followup of Language and publications. 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.