On Friday, we talked about why Montresor never said what it was that Fortunato had done to anger him to the point of murder. I think that Montresor's omitting this is extremely interesting. I don't know whether Poe intended this or not, but I think the omission adds something to the story that we didn't talk about: it makes it harder for the reader to justify (or not justify) Montresor's actions. Had the insult of Fortunato been mentioned, I think the reader would have felt either more or less inclined to side with Montresor. If Fortunato's insult had been something terrrible, the reader might have seen the murder as more deserved. By the same token, if the insult had been something small and undeserving of murder, the reader would have been even more appalled by Fortunato's death. What do you guys think?
~Elizabeth
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I agree. I don't think Poe wants us discussing what Fortunato did and whether it is justified. If he mentions it, then it becomes a topic of discussion. The first thing we are going to do is decide if Fortunato deserved to die. Discussing this, makes the story less mysterious. Right now, the story is fairly vague. It deals with a fairly abstract concept: the church versus the masons. We know little definitive details about the characters. Adding the reason, makes the story less about the church and masons and more about the characters themselves. It also adds a focus that takes away from the other conflicts.
ReplyDelete~Becca LaRosa
I feel the same way. If Poe had mentioned what exactly Fortunato did, the reader would be able to think about it and decide whether or not the murder was justified. However, by leaving out any mention of Fortunato's specific offensive actions, we are left wondering just what exactly he did to deserve what he got. Because of this, the story has much more of a psychological impact since it leaves us wondering why such a murder would take place.
ReplyDelete-Bryce C.
I agree with Bryce. Poe, being a Gothic writer, was trying to write about psychological things that would make his readers question why they do the things they do. Like everyone has said, if Poe gave the reason Montresor killed Fortunado, the story would have no real psychological aspects. It would simply be a story about a murder based on either justifiable or unjustifiable reasons. The main focus would be on deciding if murder was necessary instead of on why and how people go to extreme lengths to seek revenge.
ReplyDelete-Alexa
In addition, if Poe included the specific insult Fortunato performed against Montresor, the story would be less timeless and universal. The insult could possibly place the story to a specific time in history because the reader would know the historical context and then the psychological aspects of the story have less of an impact.
ReplyDelete-- tori