Is There a Reason for Revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado”?
Do I think Montresor has a valid reason to seek revenge on Fortunato? Honestly, No. I tried to figure out what time period they were in, but it was never said, and even if the story took place in a time where making fun of a family name as strong as the Montresor family was a big deal, I’d still say no. Montresor even said in the story that a two wrongs don’t make a right. Especially in a way that would kill the first wrong doer, it doesn’t seem woth it. Also, knowing what we know about Fortunato, he was probably drunk when he laughed at the Montresor family name. Even if he wasn’t, there are much better ways to get revenge, ones that don’t include killing people. Montresor is shown to be much smarter than Fortunato, and I’m sure that he could have come up with a better way to get revenge.
Andrew Gill:
While I do agree with you that killing Fortunato seems a bit extreme, the question was “Do you think Montresor has a valid reason for revenge in ‘The Cask Of Amontillado’?” I think that yes, he does have a valid motive for revenge, provided he is a reliable narrator and that Fortunato actually did insult his family name (among various other implied injustices). On the other hand, Montresor appears a little insane, and since he gives no specific evidence of these other injuries inflicted upon him by Fortunato, it is fairly clear that he is an unreliable narrator, whether Fortunato actually did insult his family name or not (which he very well could have, and most likely when he was drunk, as you pointed out above). In that case, Montresor would have no reason to exact revenge at all, and I do hope that post-story he gets what he deserves. If justice is served to Fortunato, justice might as well be served to him as well.
~Melody Armstrong