. Does one like Montresor feel no remorse or guilt that he has the stomach to hide his crime for 50 years, or does one feel all the repercussions of his act and confess to the murder when given the opportunity? What do the murderers feel after their crime? Is there a sense of guilt? Or maybe even a lack thereof?
Guilt is the manifestation of people’s conscience telling them that they have committed a serious offense. It has the power to take over their mind and allow them to own up to their offenses; however, there are individuals who are so callous, they can get away with the horrendous crimes that they have committed. In Poe’s stories, the three narrators deal with their guilt in separate ways. In Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the caregiver…show more content… Montresor exhibits his madness by his specified planning of the murder. Alluring his enemy into the tombs of his ancestors which also serve as wine cellars, Montresor tells his enemy that he has obtained a valuable barrel of Amontillado and that he wants Fortunato to taste it. Unfortunately for Fortunato, there is no Amontillado hidden deep beneath the ground. Instead, Montresor chains him up to the wall in the catacombs and buries him alive. ”I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With the material and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.” (718) Montresor has become a sociopathic killer. His behavior is shocking and despicable though he believes himself clever because of the success of his plan. The murder of Fortunato demonstrates Montresor’s coldhearted disregard for moral restraint. These restraints keep normal people from committing violence against another person. Through his insanity, Montresor is able to put an invisible mask of respect and friendship. His caring disguise enables him to lure Fortunato into the catacombs and on to his
