Analyse af 'The Cask of Amontillado'

Revenge is often seen as a way to restore justice. It promises satisfaction and restores honor, offering a sense of control over the forces that have wronged us. However, the desire for revenge often makes people do things that they would not do in a normal state of mind. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado”, the narrator, Montressor, believes that the only way to restore his honor and gain respect to his family is through revenge to his enemy, Fortunato. Edgar Allan Poe shows how searching for revenge can be dangerous and leaves Montresor morally empty. Through manipulation, a dark setting, and Montressor’s unreliable narration, Poe shows how the search for justice turns into a disturbing path to madness.

Edgar Allan Poe’s use of an autodiegetic narrator serves a crucial role in manipulating the readers’ understanding of the story. By allowing Montresor to tell the story from his own perspective, Poe creates an unreliable narrator, forcing the reader to rely on the words of a man who may be psychologically disturbed. Montresor claims that Fortunato has hurt him “a thousand times”, but except for the one time he had laughed at his proud family name, he never specifies any other examples, making his justification for revenge questionable. This can be seen when Montresor states, “Fortunato had hurt me a thousand times and I had suffered quietly. But then I learned that he had laughed at my proud name, Montresor, the name of an old and honored family. I promised myself that I would make him pay for this—that I would have revenge.” (p.1 II 1-9). The uncertainty that the narrator has is an important aspect of understanding Poe’s stories because when Montresor says that he has been hurt and wants revenge, most of the time he will not tell the whole truth about Fortunato. This aligns well with the “madman” where Montresor tries to legitimize and convince both himself and the audience of their innocence while justifying their questionable actions. A madman is also characterized by having an inner conflict with himself and not being able to see his own wrongdoing or instead believing he is acting rationally. He says, “I must not suffer as a result of taking my revenge.” (p.1 II 13-14), showing how he thinks about his revenge without any moral thoughts. The unreliable forces the reader to understand what is real, and what could just be imagination by a man driven by revenge.