The first-person point of view allows readers to become intimately familiar with the
brutal and conniving mind of Montresor, a murderer. After all, he tells us in the very beginning
of the story,
I must not only punish, but punish with
impunity.
His vindictive nature is only fully known
because we are able to discern his motives and scheming as the plot progresses. Montresor
explains how he carefully plotted his words and deeds so that Fortunato would not suspect
anything was amiss:
It must be understood that neither by
word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will.
We also become acutely suspicious of the Montresor's motives for murder. Although he
claims he has a grievance with Fortunato, he never specifically outlines what that is. It seems
reasonable that a person plotting murder would provide some sort of concrete motive for such
drastic actions. Interestingly, at one point, our narrator comments to his
soon-to-be-victim,
You are rich, respected, admired,
beloved; you...
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