Melanie Mischler Beatriz Lorente
Academic Writing 1
Essay 1
Montresor and the expression "my friend"
Would you call someone your friend if you were planning to murder him or her? Montresor the protagonist of Edgar Allan Poe'sThe Cask of Amontillado does. It seems to be even part of his cruel plan of revenge that he is planning on Fortunato. So by using the expression "my friend" Montresor shows his two-faced character.
Montresor calls Fortunato his friend to obtain Fortunatos and the readers trust. At the beginning of the story Montresor tells us that he is planning a cruel revenge on Fortunato because he insulted him. But when Montresor meets Fortunato during the carnival season he introduces Fortunato as his "friend" to the reader. Montresor only pretends to be Fortunatos friend because he knows that Fortunato had been drinking too much and wouldn't notice the trap. But it seems as Montresor even tries to convince the reader that Fortunato is his friend and can trust him with his life, which seems to work out very well because we only realize at the end of the story that Montresor faked to be Fortunatos friend.
English: Edgar Allan Poe's room
Edgar Allan Poe's house in the Bronx. Photo taken ...
English: Photo of Edgar Allan Poe's Monument/Grave...The second time Montresor uses the expression "my friend" he pretends to care about Fortunatos nature. Fortunato wants to go to the vaults of Montresors house to show that he is the only one who can distinguish Amontillado from Sherry. Montresor pretends that he doesn't want to go to the vaults by saying: "My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature." By calling him "my friend" Montresor makes Fortunato believe that he cares about him and his nature as a friend. But Montresor exploits Fortunatos blind trust, because the only thing Montresor seems to be interested in is to pursue his revenge on Fortunato.