Examples Of Antihero In The Cask Of Amontillado

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Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” reveals that true nature of humans, which is seeking revenge for being wronged. Montresor is wronged by Fortunato, and Montresor swears he will take his revenge on him. Montresor keeps Fortunato close and acts to be his friend to make Fortunato trust him. Once Montresor has his trust he take him to his catacombs where Fortunato will never see the light of day again. In the short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” author Edgar Allan Poe portrays Montresor as an antihero in order to reveal what measures humans will go to seek vengeance for being betrayed. To begin, Montresor goes from being a hero to an antihero. First, he is a well behaved citizen who smiles at Fortunato every time they …show more content…
Fortunato claims to be a connoisseur of fine wine, and also like to drink more than what is good for himself. Montresor met Fortunato one night and noticed that Fortunato greeted him more warmly than usually. Poe writes that, “He spoke to me more warmly than was usual, for already he had drunk more wine than was good for him”(110). Montresor notices Fortunato is drunk, so he plans to take full advantage of him. Montresor invites Fortunato to come with him to taste some Amontillado. Montresor says that he is not sure if it is Amontillado, and Fortunato insists that he can tell if it is real. However, Montresor notices that Fortunato is not feeling well, that he has a bad cough. Montresor has sympathy for Fortunato, but Fortunato insists that he is okay. Poe writes, Montresor says, “No, my friend, no. I can see that you are not well. And the vaults are cold and wet.” Fortunato replies, “I do not care. Let us go. I’m well enough. The cold is nothing”(111). Montresor shows sympathy for Fortunato to make him less aware of what is going to happen. Making Fortunato even more enticed by the Amontillado, Montresor takes him to his catacombs. Fortunato does not realize that he will never see the light of day …show more content…
This short story shows how someone can very easily become an antihero. Montresor does so because he commits a murder of someone who has wronged him. However, he does not just commit murder, he makes Fortunato suffer while doing so. He seals Fortunato in a hole while he is still alive. He leaves him to starve to death, or to die from lack of oxygen. He made Fortunato think he was his friend, and that nothing was wrong between them. He did this to lure Fortunato to his trap. Gaining trust of someone , and then murdering them makes Montresor become an