Assignment On Montresor Skilfully Employs Reverse Psychology

Running head: ENC 1102
ENC 1102
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

ENC 11021
Part 1
Montresor skilfully employs reverse psychology both in planning and executing Fortunato’s
murder. As Reynolds opines in his article “Only when Montresor lures Fortunato into a small
niche, quickly chains up his stupefied victim and proceeds to wall up the niche with bricks
and mortar are we overwhelmed by the horrifying fact of live burial” (Reynolds 93). This
sums up how intricately and precisely Montresor has planned out the execution in a manner
that not only results in death but also challenges the basic human instinct of living. Montresor
by his act of burying Fortunato alive, has managed to instil multiple emotional elements in
the human which slowly transitions from primary disbelief to anger to fear of a slow and
painful death, revealing the complex and grotesque psyche of the villain while also
supporting the thesis statement.
Part 2
Montresor cannot be considered a trustworthy narrator. For one thing, a man like Montresor
who is capable of burying his friend alive with bricks and plaster for revenge is not someone
who can be relied upon for a long term. Secondly, as a narrator his discourse is also not clear.
Ne good example is when his fiend asks him is he is not a Mason to which he replies that he
is. It is an ambiguous narration as it can either refer to the fraternity of Freemasons or a pun
on the occupation of Masonry which would be apt given his act of murdering his friend
involved masonry (Reynolds 99). Ergo, it would be unwise to consider Montresor to be
trustworthy.

ENC 11022
Part 3: Thesis Statement
Harlem is the eye piece of Symbolism that enables the readers to visualise the oppressive
Black past in the Urban ‘hoods’.
Part 5
“Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros is a collection of short stories which reflect
the author’s experience of being surrounded by the influences of American society and
culture while still being strongly connected to her Mexican heritage. The text has elements of
feminism scattered throughout and can be specifically identified and displayed. The
characters as portrayed in the text pertain to the stereotypes, the males embodying machismo
and the women depicted as naïve and weak. According to Fitts, Cisneros’ focus on three
feminine clichés namely the passive virgin, the treacherous mother and the sinful seductress
form the base for the feminist interpretation of the text (Fitts 11). As James Phelan also states,
“Graciela, Felice, La Gritona, and of course Cleofilas herself all contribute to Cleofilas's
sudden recognition that there is a life for women beyond the roles of daughter and wife.
While this recognition of course does not alter the material conditions of her life, it does alter
her understanding of what is possible for women” (Phelan 224). Thus there exists strong
rooting for the feminist perspective and interpretation of the text.