The Cask of Amontillado

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Thirdly, Fortunato is punished for mistakes that he is not aware of and even when he begs Monstressor to let him free, Monstressor does not heed to his cries for mercy. Therefore, Monstressor, just like his name suggests, is a monster who seeks to kill an innocent and drunk man rather than acquire reasonable revenge for harm done to him. In rational courts, before punishment is offered, the suspects are usually informed of the accusations leveled against them so that they can deny, admit or at least explain themselves. In the case of the two characters in the story, Monstressor should only have told Fortunato about the insults before murdering him. Nevertheless, he tricks Fortunato and even after building the wall to block him, he does not say why. Furthermore, the murderous nature of Monstressor comes out clear from the fact that he shows no mercy on Fortunato despite the begging and the intoxication. This character of Monstressor shows how unlike Fortunato, he is well aware that his actions may be costly to a life and still goes ahead.

In summary, the story of Allan Edgar Poe is about how Monstressor, one of the main characters in the story exerts revenge against the other main character unfairly. Even though he tries to justify his actions, no evidence shows the insults against him by Fortunato were grave enough to deserve death as a way of revenge. Therefore, Monstressor overreacted. In a fair case, he would have sought justice by reporting the incident to the relevant authorities or at least by insulting the accused the same way he was insulted.

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Reference

Poe, E. A. (2008). The cask of Amontillado. The Creative Company.