People constantly want to enact revenge on people who disagree with them or wrong them, or

people they just don't like. But they usually don't, or if they do, the consequences aren't too
severe.However, some people do. One person who does this is Montresor in The Cask Of
Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. In this book, it is said that Montresor is insulted by Fortunato,
which makes him want revenge for the insult. Edgar Allan Poe characterizes Montresor in The
Cask of Amontillado as vengeful, manipulative, and determined in order to demonstrate how
revenge can cause someone to turn a blind eye to their morals. 

The first trait is vengeful. This is shown throughout the story through Montresor’s actions, but a
few ways are when Fortunado asks Montersor about the motto of his family. "...’And the
motto?"(Poe 4). "Nemo me impune lacessit. "‘Good!’ he said" (Poe 4). When translated to
English, Montresor’s family motto reflects him and what he does. He believes that Fortunado
has hurt and insulted him, so he takes revenge. Another way is when Montresor makes a
comment about Fortunado saying "he had a weak point-this Fortunato-although in other regards
he was a man to be respected and even feared" (poe 2). This is Montresor commenting about
Fortunado’s weakness, which we later find out is his obsession and pride with wine. Montresor
uses this to his advantage to manipulate Fortunato into doing what he wants.

The second trait, being that Montresor is manipulative, is shown in many ways, one of which is
while Montresor is talking to Fortunado about how he wasn't sure if the Amontillado he bought
was real or not, “‘as you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If anyone has a critical turn,
it is him. He will tell me…’” (Poe 2). By challenging Fortuando's pride and comparing him to
Luchresi, he is using Luchresi as a way to manipulate Fortunato into coming with him. A
different way that Montresor manipulates Fortunato is when he provides a false sense of worry
and care towards Fortunato, which he knows will reassure any doubts about the false
Amontillado being real and also provide Fortunato with a false sense of comfort that Montresor
cares about him.

A third trait of Montresor is determination. It's shown throughout the story. One way is when he
makes sure the house is clear. There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make
merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had
given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew,
to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned "(poe 3).
He tells everyone to not leave the house to make sure that they do leave the house, but he
wants this so no one finds out about his revenge upon Fortunato. A different way that he’s
determined is when he’s burying Fortunato into the wall and "a succession of loud and shrill
screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently
back... but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand on the solid fabric of the
catacombs and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of those who
clamoured. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the
clamourer grew still "(poe 5). He’s determined to carry out his revenge when, despite being
taken aback by Fortunato's loud, violent screams, he still returns to burying him.
Montresor In Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Cask of Amontillado," the main character is
vengeful, manipulative, and determined. This helps prove the theme of how when someone
wants revenge they can turn a blind eye on what's right. This is clearly shown throughout The
Cask of Amontillado through Montresor’s actions when he manipulates Fortunato into coming
with him. When, despite Fortunato’s words and screaming, he still buries him into the wall. Most
people wouldn’t be this extreme with their revenge if they decided to even enact it at all. People
still turn a blind eye to their morals when they want revenge, even if it's minor in comparison to
what Montresor does. However, if he were to step back and realize what he was doing was
extremely wrong and shouldn’t have been done, he could’ve been a good person.