Why did montresor wait 50 years to say why he killed fortunato?

Answer 1

Montresor's motive, as a character in the story, for telling of this event is not made clear. Some critics postulated that he is confessing his crime to a friend or even a priest, but there is nothing in the story itself to prove this.

As a literary device, however, the use of the 'flashback' manner of telling a story can be effective to bring out the character's feeling and perception of the events in the story. For one thing, the only way the reader is assured that Montresor has exacted the perfect revenge is by a flashback. Montresor states in the opening that a wrong is not avenged unless the avenger is not caught and the person who has committed the offense knows he is paying for it now. If the story took place in present time, the reader would never know whether Fortunato somehow escaped his fate or whether Montresor got away with it. But, with Montresor telling the story fifty years later and confirming that the wall behind which Fortunato now rests has been undisturbed for half a century, it is clear that Fortunato is dead and that Montresor got away with it.

Answer 2

Montresor waited 50 years to disclose his motivation for killing Fortunato as a way to savor his revenge and ensure that it would have a lasting impact. By revealing the truth only after such a long period of time, Montresor emphasizes the depth of his hatred and the meticulous planning that went into his act of vengeance.

Answer 3

There is some speculation that Montresor is confessing his crime to someone close to him, perhaps even a priest, because he uses the phrase "You who know so well the true nature of my soul." The reader knows nothing about Montresor, so it is certainly possible that Montresor is not simply speaking to the reader. Nothing in the story itself identifies the person to whom Montresor speaks.

Answer 4

The Cask of Amontillado is mostly about premeditated revenge, Horror and repulsion. The main character Montresor, thinks that Fortunato should already know why Montresor wants to kill him. It isn't important that we don't know. The first- person narrator, Montresor, is unreliable and is attempting to explain his actions of 50 years before. Montresor skillfully illustrates a confession of a murderer and justification for the actions; hence, a tale of simple revenge becomes a tightly woven work of the narrator's evil mind. Montresor, like the murderers in the previous tales, had no real reason for murdering Fortunato. His insanity helps him rationalize his actions as he incapacitates the victim with wine and buries his old "friend" alive in a wall until he can no longer hear the screams for help.

Answer 5

Because Montresor needs acknowledgment; revenge is useless without it. Even though the reader might see that Montresor thinks his revenge murder is a masterpiece, Fortunato didn't recognize it. To establish that his revenge was successful, he needs an audience to hear him out lest all that he planned was in vain. Just like the emblem of the golden boot bitten by the snake, as hard as the snake may bite, it will not penetrate the golden boot. That's how frustrated Montresor is, his revenge wasn't recognized by Fortunato.

Answer 6

What? I think you need to read your assignment carefully and try to understand what the question actually says so you can ask it in a way we can understand and try to help you answer.