Why is montresor an unreliable narrator? (2023)

FAQs

Is Montresor a reliable or unreliable narrator explain your answer? ›

Montresor is considered an unreliable narrator because his opinion of Fortunato is biased. Montresor feels greatly wronged by Fortunato, but the exact wrongdoing that Fortunato has committed is never clearly mentioned in the story.

Any critic will tell you that Montresor is “a classic example of an unreliable narrator.” And this is probably true: if he's capable of plastering Fortunato into a vault, we can't trust him. If he's lying, and he didn't kill Fortunato, then we still can't trust him.

An unreliable narrator is an untrustworthy storyteller, most often used in narratives with a first-person point of view. The unreliable narrator is either deliberately deceptive or unintentionally misguided, forcing the reader to question their credibility as a storyteller.

Montresor is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator because he was capable of burying Fortunato into a vault. He vows revenge on Fortunato for an insult. He can't be trusted, even if he'd be lying about Fortunato's death. Fortunato´s name means ¨fortunate¨ which in reality, he didn 't really turn out that way.

First Person (Central Narrator) Montresor is our vile narrator. He is dedicated to his own point of view, which is cold, merciless, brutal, conniving, and vengeful. He doesn't mind telling us about his torture and murder of Fortunato; indeed, he thinks what he did was the just, right way to handle the situation.

In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe's narrator Montresor is unreliable because not only does he use verbal irony, but we only hear how the events unfolded from his point of view.

The definition of revenge is the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you. The main character in the story, Montresor, explains his jealousy of Fortunato. To get revenge, he leads the other man to a slow death and seems to feel he is justified in this.

Image via Paramount. While one could argue that all narrators are unreliable to some degree, the first example of the term being used was in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in his book on literary criticism called The Rhetoric of Fiction.

A good example of this type of unreliable narrator is Pi Patel, the narrator of Yann Martel's Life of Pi. He tells a story of being adrift at sea and sharing his lifeboat with a zebra, orangutan, hyena, and tiger.

If you describe a person, machine, or method as unreliable, you mean that you cannot trust them. Diplomats can be a notoriously unreliable and misleading source of information. His judgement was unreliable. He had an unreliable car.

Is Montresor a woman? ›

Montresor: The Narrator in 'The Cask of Amontillado'

The story is narrated by Montresor, a man with a grudge. He claims that he has suffered many injuries from another man, Fortunato, but when he is finally insulted by Fortunato, Montresor decides it's time for revenge.

What miscommunication happened between Montresor and Fortunato? In the end, Montresor regretted what he had done to Fortunato. Montressor planned on getting revenge on Fortunato, but had to wait until the time was right. The reader knows exactly what Fortunato did to cause such anger on Montresor.

He is a fool to get caught in Montresor's trap. Montresor is an especially effective enemy to Fortunato because he acts like what? "A huge human foot d'or (of gold), in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent (snake) rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."

In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe's narrator Montresor is unreliable because not only does he use verbal irony, but we only hear how the events unfolded from his point of view.

At the end of the story, what makes Montresor feel sick? It's most likely a combination of the dampness of the tunnels and the nitre, or potassium nitrate, in the air. He does not feel sick about what he's done to Fortunato.

How does Montresor's point of view affect the theme in "The Cask of the Amontillado"?   His version of the story demonstrates that vengeful people cannot be trusted to see events clearly.

Montresor sought revenge on Fortunato because he had hurt Montresor for years, and now he has insulted him, and it has come to the final straw.

Now, Montresor is described as an unreliable narrator for a few main reasons. The main one is that Montresor is a murderer, and it's hard to trust someone who kills people especially when his only reason to kill Fortunato is that “he ventured upon insult” (Poe 107).

First Person (Central Narrator) Montresor is our vile narrator. He is dedicated to his own point of view, which is cold, merciless, brutal, conniving, and vengeful. He doesn't mind telling us about his torture and murder of Fortunato; indeed, he thinks what he did was the just, right way to handle the situation.

The definition of revenge is the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you. The main character in the story, Montresor, explains his jealousy of Fortunato. To get revenge, he leads the other man to a slow death and seems to feel he is justified in this.

Why is Montresor name ironic? ›

Montresor's name suggests that he shows Fortunato his fate. We know that Montresor hates Fortunato, but Fortunato does not know about it. The condemned character is unaware that Montresor's friendly attitude is a pretense of good will, that his smile is at the thought of Fortunato's death.

In conclusion, it's likely that Montresor felt some regret over his actions. The way he behaves in the story could be considered proof of that, and the fact that Montresor could be confessing his actions fifty years later to someone makes it seems like he regrets what he did.

Answer and Explanation: In 'The Cask of Amontillado,' Montresor kills Fortunato by building a wall around him in the depths of the wine cellar/ catacombs, sealing him inside. Montresor has plotted and planned his revenge against Fortunato.

Revenge is a central theme in "The Cask of Amontillado". Montresor feels very disrespected when Fortunato insults him and, as a result of that, Montresor vows revenge: “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borned as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe 1117).

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Poe, he sends a message that revenge may blind the eye towards happiness. In the beginning of the story Montresor shows that he is planning revenge on Fortunato and that is the only thing on Montresor mind.

He tricks Fortunato into accompanying him into the catacombs by saying that he would ask Luchesi to taste the Amontillado because he was concerned that Fortunato has a cold. Montresor suggests that the damp walls will make Fortunato ill. But Fortunato insists on going with Montresor to taste the Amontillado.

Montressor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and thoughts of the character, one is able to see him carry out his plan for revenge.

He prides himself on his connoisseurship in wine” (116). Interestingly, Montresor sees Fortunato's pride as a weakness, but he sees his own as a strength. Like the clever man he is, Montresor preys upon this point, creating a nonexistent cask of Amontillado that he knows Fortunato will do anything to taste.