Of Monsters and Men
Mark Mazza
Professor Mishou
English 111
11 June 2013
Of Monsters and Men
The word “monster” can mean many things to different people. In general a monster is someone or something that terrifies a person. Some might think of monsters as imaginary or fake but in fact they are real. Monsters can be people who commit heinous crimes and transform themselves from being human into something much darker and sinister. In no place can we find more of this type of monster than in fiction. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is the perfect example of a monstrous character masked as a human being. Poe creates his Monster, Montresor, by portraying him as a cold and calculated murderer with an intelligence that makes him both devious and terrifying.
In this story Montresor has planned the murder of his friend or victim Fortunado quite brilliantly. He has every minute detail planned out in his head and some might say he has planned the perfect murder. The murder takes place during Carnival, a festival, where everyone is dressed up and drinking heavily. This allows Montresor to approach a dressed up Fortunado in costume and lead him to his house without anyone recognizing them, or even noticing them, as they are too busy drinking and partying. Montresor is very clever in how he both clears his house of prying eyes and creates his alibi. In the story Montresor recalls to himself, “I told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house”(393). By telling his servants that he will not be home until morning it is almost assured that they will all leave in order to take part in the festivities of Carnival rather than stay at their posts. When asked where he was the night Fortunado went missing he can say that he was out of his house all night and the servants would have no choice but to agree in fear of being fired for leaving their posts. Montresor renders his victim defenseless as he also gets Fortunado
Professor Mishou
English 111
11 June 2013
Of Monsters and Men
The word “monster” can mean many things to different people. In general a monster is someone or something that terrifies a person. Some might think of monsters as imaginary or fake but in fact they are real. Monsters can be people who commit heinous crimes and transform themselves from being human into something much darker and sinister. In no place can we find more of this type of monster than in fiction. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is the perfect example of a monstrous character masked as a human being. Poe creates his Monster, Montresor, by portraying him as a cold and calculated murderer with an intelligence that makes him both devious and terrifying.
In this story Montresor has planned the murder of his friend or victim Fortunado quite brilliantly. He has every minute detail planned out in his head and some might say he has planned the perfect murder. The murder takes place during Carnival, a festival, where everyone is dressed up and drinking heavily. This allows Montresor to approach a dressed up Fortunado in costume and lead him to his house without anyone recognizing them, or even noticing them, as they are too busy drinking and partying. Montresor is very clever in how he both clears his house of prying eyes and creates his alibi. In the story Montresor recalls to himself, “I told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house”(393). By telling his servants that he will not be home until morning it is almost assured that they will all leave in order to take part in the festivities of Carnival rather than stay at their posts. When asked where he was the night Fortunado went missing he can say that he was out of his house all night and the servants would have no choice but to agree in fear of being fired for leaving their posts. Montresor renders his victim defenseless as he also gets Fortunado
Cited: Poe, Edgar A. "The Cask of Amontillado.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 391-96. Print.