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In Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, the narrator, Montresor, had successfully carried out the execution of his greatest enemy, Fortunato. By reading the story it can be reasonably determined that the tactics and methods used to kill Fortunato were skillfully thought out and pre-planned. It was not a spur of the moment murder, but a In The Cask of Amontillado, the main character, Montresor purposely postponed the execution of Fortunato until the supreme madness of the carnival season. At first the carnival may seem to be irrelevant towards the planning of Fortunato's murder, but it was actually a prime moment for Montresor to seek his revenge upon Fortunato. He had waited for the carnival season, for a particular reason, so he would not be detected luring Fortunato to his death. Everyone attending the carnival was dressed in a costume.
Montresor himself was disguised by a black mask of silk and a roquelaure (117) as was Fortunato in a clown suite. Further the people at the carnival were under the influence of alcohol. When you put the costumes and the drunk attendants of the carnival together, it would be impossible to find a credible witness to pin point Montresor and Fortunato Another carefully planned tactic used by Montresor was the use of his servants. He had skillfully used his servants in such a way that they aided him in the murder of Fortunato.
Montresor had purposely planned for his servants not to be home on the night he killed Fortunato. He stated this by saying there were no attendants at home... I had told them that I should not return until the morning... I had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient... to ensure their immediate disappearance...
as soon as my back was turned (117). Montresor had used his servants in two ways. First their disappearance meant that there was no material witnesses at his home linking him and Fortunato to the underground catacombs. Secondly he used the servants as an alibi to his crime. If the authorities came to Montresor's house investigating Fortunato's disappearance.
The servants would have little choice, for fear of reprisal from Montresor, except to say that they were home all night under their masters orders and that they did not see Montresor with Fortunato. Besides planning the murder of Fortunato during the carnival season and using his servants as an alibi. There are other facts within the story concluding that Montresor had pre-planned the murder of Fortunato. While Montresor and Fortunato where deep into the damp catacombs it was stated by Montresor that the feeble light did not enable us to see (119). Though he could not see, Montresor fettered Fortunato to chains within a moment and secured them with a padlock.
This task was performed without light and with great speed. It can be reasonably assumed then that Montresor had practiced securing the chains in the dark before he brought Fortunato down there. It can also be reasonably concluded that the chains and padlock used to secure Fortunato were placed in the catacombs recently. This can be determined because the catacombs were wet and damp.
If the padlock had been there for a prolonged period of time, it would have been The theory of premeditated murder can be strengthened even more by the materials used to bury Fortunato. Once Fortunato was secured to the wall, Montresor uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar (119) from beneath a pile of bones. Because the mortar was already mixed and readily available for use, it can be determined that Montresor had placed it in the catacombs only hours before burying Fortunato. This can be determined because mortar dries quickly and is rendered useless within a few hours. More so the building stone used to make Fortunato's cask must have been brought Through the evidence presented it can be reasonably concluded that the Murder of Fortunato was Premeditated and skillfully constructed. Montresor had concealed every aspect of the crime, including an alibi.
The murder was not a crime that just happened to Fortunato for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact Fortunato was at the right place and at the right time in history when the story is looked at in the eyes of Montresor. It was a crime of passion that was carefully planned with exact precision and Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Cask Of Amontillado Carnival Season
