The Cask of Amontillado” free essay sample

The protagonist of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†, Montresor, appears to be friendly and trustworthy although he actually manipulates Fortunato in an extremely clever way in order to take revenge on him. Thus, Montresors technique consists in hiding his real intentions using the ambiguous and manipulative power of rhetoric, by telling one thing while meaning the opposite, with the purpose of obtaining his desired revenge. Montresor knows to what extent language can be used to manipulate certain people. His cleverness consists in understanding a person’s personality, and using this knowledge to manipulate them by rhetorical means. Montresor, in order to achieve his aims, tries to manipulate everyone around him, even people that have nothing to do with his aim, such as his servants. â€Å"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 turned† (Poe 1594). We will write a custom essay sample on The Cask of Amontillado† or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This lines provide a clear example of the way in which Montresor uses verbal irony, a style of irony in which a persons â€Å"says one thing and means another† or â€Å"uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning†. He commands his servants not to stir from the house while he is absent, in order to obtain the exact opposite reaction from them: he wants them to leave the house so that he can go into the palazzo alone and be free of his actions. The way in which Montresor explains his strategy demonstrates that everything in the story is precisely calculated, and clearly shows the characters ingenuity. Every word he pronounces is thought and chosen. He cleverly uses words to gain what he wants. Montresor does not leave place for improvisation so hes sure his plan will work. Montresor has a clear plan in his head. He knows exactly what he has to do, what he has to say and when. His aim is to be revenged but he does not want to feel guilt. The power of words will help him to escape his guilt. This is what maintains Moldenhauer â€Å"The last irony of the tale is Montresors prayer ‘in pace requiescat’ . . . this irony like the others, has its candid dimension: Fortunatos undisturbed rest has doubly assured his assassins peace of mind† (Moldenhauer 284). This quotation presents the reader with the real nature of the main character of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado†. Montresor really acts in order to gain something, to obtain something from others. To achieve what he desires, he adopts his own clever strategy. Actually, what Montresor wishes to obtain is not always something concrete or material, but, as in the aforementioned quote, could be an abstract goal, such as the peace of his mind. Therefore, Montresor cannot achieve his own peace until he knows that he has taken his revenge. And moreover, what permits this â€Å"peace of mind† to Montresor is that nobody will ever find Fortunato. Hes in peace because he has got his revenge and wont ever be blamed for what he did, he won. As Bloom states â€Å"Particularly intriguing are the brilliantly cruel ploys of Montresor. An adept in what today is called reverse psychology† Montresor is an intriguing character, as we never know what he truly means. We are totally aware of him using reverse psychology but we wonders throughout the reading what is on his mine. For instance, as Bloom truly notices: â€Å"Montresor never once invites Fortunato to his home or his wine vaults†. He tells the opposite to Fortunato because he knows that it will make Fortunado react as he wishes. Bloom tells, in his own words, that â€Å"Instead, he cleverly plays on his victims vanity, so that it is Fortunato who is always begging to go forward into the vaults† (Bloom 36). This passage of â€Å"Blooms Modern Critical Views† by Harold Bloom underlines how the technique of reverse psychology, a â€Å"method of getting another person to do what one wants by pretending not to want it or to want something else or something more† well used by Montresor, is particularly effective with people who are so proud that they allow themselves to fall into the trap of those who wish to cheat them. Montresor understands that Fortunato is the perfect subject to take this manipulative approach to, because of his excessive vanity. There are various passages in the play itself that show the way in which Fortunato yields easily to Montresors sordid tricks. For instance, in a dialogue, in which Montresor threatens to appeal to Luchresi. First, Montresor says apparently, innocently that â€Å"as [Fortunato  is] engaged, [he is] on [his] way to Luchresi†. He clearly knows that it will hurt Fortunatos pride and provoque his direct reaction and is apparently right because Fortunato does not let him finish his sentence,â€Å"He will tell me -† and tells him that â€Å"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry†. Montresor really wants that Fortunato goes on his own choice to his palazzo, as if he chooses his destiny, so, hes friendly to him one more time, and refuses that he takes his time to go and taste the presume Amontillado â€Å"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I percieve you have an engagement. Luchresi ––†. But, certainly hurt in his pride that Luchresi will have the chance to taste it and not himself, persuades – or more precisely thinks he persuades – Montresor to go to the Palazzo â€Å"I have no engagement, – come. †, with this words, Fortunato seals his own destiny. Hubbel even go further about the use of reverse psychology, involving Poes personality, â€Å"I have suggested the need for a study of the part that the dual personality or the divided self plays in the poem and tales. . . . Was Poe aware that there was something of the divided self in his own personality? † (Hubbel 53) The strategy of verbal irony, which is used by Montresor throughout the whole play, implies that the person who adopts it plays a role. In â€Å"the cask of Amontillado, the settings of the Carnival is a metaphor for this ambivalence. Usually when someone plays a role, his personality splits, thus creating two different identities: the first is the one that really characterizes him, while the second is the one that is created at the moment he decides to trick the person he wants to manipulate. Edgar Allan Poe often treats the theme of double personalities in his works. Jay B. Hubbel suggests that Poe himself probably has a split personality. This reflection may arise from the fact that Edgar Allan Poe knows the strategy of reverse psychology well, in addition to the characters involved in it. In fact, this manipulative technique requires knowledge of â€Å"victim’s† weak points, as well as knowlede of the victim’s capacity for resistance. Throughout the short story, Montresor plays with his soon-to-be victim, Fortunato. Hes kind, comprehensive with him and lets him the choice. But, hes in fact a very good actor and calculator. He perfectly uses the rhetoric and verbal irony to obtain what he wants – his revenge – without letting his victim have any doubts of his good intentions. Apparently, hes innocent and has nothing to confess. He does not use physical violence but the power of words bring him exactly what hes looking for. That is what is the most disconcerting : Fortunato decided himself to follow Montresor. Montresor did not push him directly to go but does it implicitly. Montresor is clearly an obscur and very complex character that is aware of a lot of things about human nature and behaviour, and that uses reverse psychology and berbal irony with perfection.