In terms of narrators, Edgar Allan Poe had created a variety of voices for his poems and stories. Usually, it is rather simple to see when a narrator is trustworthy or not, their actions speaking louder than their words in most cases. However, we are presented with an unusual case in Montresor. In the “Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor as a character is unreliable due to his over-exaggeration, extreme attention to detail, and cocky attitude, which hinders his ability to give an unbiased viewpoint on what truly happened in the cellar. It is hard to believe that Montresor bore a “thousand injuries [from] Fortunato” during the time they knew each other. What is more believable is that Fortunato insulted Montresor, probably unintentionally, which Montresor perceived as “injuries”. Montresor himself could be considered an exaggeration. His beliefs and insistence on revenge is an embellishment of normal human reactions to problems or wrong-doings. Montresor takes himself to the extreme, even dressing in all black, much like an executor or undertaker.…show more content… For fifty years, Montresor kept the secret of his crime. Despite the time that had elapsed, Montresor still recalls in vivid detail what occurred in the catacombs. He explains everything from the “ornamented sides of the crypt”, the “jingling of bells” from Fortunato, and the “low laugh” seceded by “a sad voice, which [he] had difficulty in recognizing” heard from his friend. Montresor’s extreme attention to details can tell us two things: Montresor may be lying and created these false details over the years, or he relived the event over and over in his mind. With these two very possible reasons in mind, the reader can begin to understand that the narrator we are presented with is unreliable and that taking only his word as truth would be a great disservice to understanding the entire
