Predator_And_Prey

Predator And Prey On the surface, the characters portrayed in Poe’s Cask of Amontillado appear to be predator and prey. Montresor’s meticulous planning and clever words seduce the unsuspecting Fortunato to his death. As the story opens, the narrator, Montresor, reveals to the reader that Fortunato has insulted him with a “thousand injuries”(p. 133), and that these injuries would be answered by revenge; however, nowhere in the story does Fortunato seem aware of the injury he has done to Montresor. Without textual evidence, we cannot be sure if Fortunato’s murder was an act of insanity or righteousness. We are left in a gray area where there is not an exact answer to our question. Fortunato is portrayed as a foolishly happy man who enjoys partying, having fun, but also “a man to be feared and respected”(p. 144). The Fortunato we see in the book does not seem as one who would be feared or respected, but the story is told from Montresor’s point of view, so we cannot know what is true and what is not. During their encounter, Fortunato blindly follows Montresor’s guidance for several reasons: he is intoxicated at the time of their predator, prey, fortunato, montresor, story, one, evidence, time, montresor’s, act, whether, told, threatened, sure, should, really, reader, never, murder, man, life, insanity, given, fortunato’s, being, 144, words, warmth, true, text, supporting, supported, seem, righteousness, revenge, reasons, portrayed