StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
Both Zaroff in "The Most Dangerous Game", and Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" are characters who suffer from clearly deviant psychological behavior.It is actually difficult to decide which character is the more insane. There is a certain abnormality to the method by which Montresor kills…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.9% of users find it useful
Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor"

Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Both Zaroff in "The Most Dangerous Game", and Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado" are characters who suffer from clearly deviant psychological behavior. It is actually difficult to decide which character is the more insane. After all, while Zaroff hunts for sport with a gun, showing little passion or care for who or how may people he murders and Montresor only kills one, there is a certain abnormality to the method by which Montresor kills. One certainly cannot say he is dispassionate, but the quiet competency that he brings to creating the wall of bricks is downright eerie.

There is no question that Zaroff is a particularly cruel type; the hunter who kills purely for sport and not because he has to eat or even really cares about showing off his game. Just bringing down a vicious animal would be enough and the memory would suffice as well as a mounted head. Although he speaks about the ridiculousness of romanticizing human life, it seems like a false faade. No one becomes that horrific without sliding into absolute lunacy unless they've suffered tremendous emotional trauma.

That is an exact description of Montresor. Although his eventual method of killing off his enemy is even more gruesome than Zaroff's hunting them for game on a certain level, his enmity is understandable. This is a story of revenge, after all, and who cannot find sympathy with someone who feels they have been slighted. On the other hand, as the recent events at Virginia Tech prove, very often the slights that drive one to such extreme acts are not nearly as terrifying at the revenge itself.

Still, there is a human element to Montresor that simply doesn't exist with Zaroff. Zaroff, like many men who hide behind guns and order people around, is also revealed to be a cowardly type. He coerces his assistant Ivan into the grunt work that he seems to be unprepared and even incapable of doing. At one point he admits he had to resort to the use of the dogs to win his hunt. That's dirty pool plain and simple and it reveals Zaroff to be both a coward and a cheat. His utter lack of trustworthiness is also revealed when he forces Rainfords to fight him even after Rainsfords has actually been the victor.

Although Montresor is hardly a prize himself, he is in many ways preferable to Zaroff. After all, like many killers he has charm and a sense of humor. And by the end it's almost easy to feel sorry for the irony that befalls him when his victim falls dead to a cough rather than to his carefully concocted plan. The use of irony is probably more effective at making Montresor a figure a sympathetic figure than the empathy he engenders because he is on mission of revenge. Both of these stories present men who are clearly deranged.

Despite the fact both commit cold-blooded murder however, it is the presentation of their characters that separate them. Zaroff is entirely disturbing and unpleasant; his cocky quality is smarmy and distancing. By contrast, Poe imbues Montresor with an earthiness that, if it doesn't necessarily make his murder plan understandable, it at least doesn't come across as vicious and cruel. What is perhaps most interesting is that even though both Zaroff and Montresor are decidedly unhinged, the way the stories are approached make one of these insane killers nearly as sympathetic as his victim.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Book Report/Review. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1500032-deviance-in-zaroff-and-montresor
(Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Book Report/Review)
Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Book Report/Review. https://studentshare.org/literature/1500032-deviance-in-zaroff-and-montresor.
“Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1500032-deviance-in-zaroff-and-montresor.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Deviance in Zaroff and Montresor

Social Deviance and Autism

Social deviance and Autism Name University Instructor: Course: Date Submitted: Social deviance and Autism Social deviance is defined as engaging in activities which deviate from the widely accepted social norms, within the context of the culture, geographic segregation and the local view points and observations.... The society does not favor deviance as groups are more likely to work in a unified, product way if there is coherence and conformity in the acts and attitudes of the individual members; however, it is possible to observe positive effects of deviancy in certain cases especially for people who are unable to fit in the defined social structure....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Symbolism in Poe And The Cask Of Amotillado and The Story Of An Hour

This essay discusses the subject of symbolism in the Poe and a Cask of Amontillado, that is a story of humiliation and revenge.... The researcher states that author Poe tries to answer many questions in the story, but still some imagination is left to the readers as well.... hellip; The symbolism is evident in many parts of the two stories analyzed and it gives depth and meaning to it....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

ComparisonContrast Montresor and Fortunato

This essay will discuss the commonalities of montresor and Fortunato and then discuss their differences.... hellip; montresor is obsessed with killing Fortunato and Fortunato is obsessed with the amontillado.... Indeed it must be so due to the obsession of montresor to kill Fortunato.... In this respect I,' meaning montresor,' did not differ from him materially" (748).... In the story, Fortunato is certainly a mason, but it is unclear whether montresor is a mason because while he had the trowel, he did not know the hand gesture....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

The murderer montresor narrates the murder himself.... However, the reader is unable to get a clear picture of what wrong has been done to montresor.... By luring Fortunato who is a connoisseur of wine "in the matter of old wines he was sincere", montresor claims to have found a pipe of Amontillado which has a rare and valuable sherry.... Also the "dusk" in the "supreme madness of the carnival" shows how montresor will be able to conduct his evil plan unnoticed....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

The Cask of Amontillado

It should be noted that pride solely controlled the actions of the main characters, montresor and Fortunato.... The pride of montresor has become his main motivation in plotting his horrific revenge.... Even though the story fails to clearly identify how montresor was insulted by Fortunato, it becomes apparent that the former regards himself very highly enough for his pride to be severely hurt and stung because of this.... Thus, montresor states, that he should not "fail to make himself felt to him as such to him who has done him wrong....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Irony in the cask of amontillado

montresor is a man who is out for revenge.... He seeks out the… Fortunato, an acquaintance of montresor, is in a carnival drunk on wine and suffering from a cold, yet he still celebrates in his final hours. When montresor bumps into Fortunato, he puts on a smile.... montresor is a man who is out for revenge.... He seeks out the end of Fortunato's life for disgracing montresor and his ancestors.... Fortunato, an acquaintance of montresor, is in a carnival drunk on wine and suffering from a cold, yet he still celebrates in his final hours....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Cask of Amontillado

In the story, montresor holds grudge against Fortunado, for insulting him, and he vents out his anger by killing him brutally The story is about a love – hate relationship.... montresor loves himself and he cannot stand the insult by Fortunado; the self-love led montresor to attempt murder....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Exposure of the Mask

The main mask is the one montresor, the main hero wears since making a vow to revenge upon Fortunato, his friend who has been insulting montresor for a period of time.... Important thing is that montresor admits that a revenge is only possible when a mask stays on, and therefore, when society never crimes...
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us