What is the purpose of the references to writers such as Addison, Arnold, James, and Orwell? This is from the decline of grammar by Gregory nunberg

I would say yes. There is a point that Montresor shows a bit of hesitancy. Guilt? Not sure, but hesitancy for certain. Fortunado picks up the pace of his screaming, and Montresor writes, "For a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess". So, he is a bit worried and startled; he sticks his sword in to try to determine if Fortunado is still standing, or get a sense for what is going on. He hesitates in his plan. However, his hesitation lasted for merely "an instant" before he resumed his work with great satisfaction.The best indication of guilt is at the end. Fortunado has stopped making noises, and is silent. Montresor writes, "My heart grew sick". The thought of Fortunado dying in there, for a moment, makes him sick. However, he blames it on "the dampness of the catacombs" and hurries away. So, his sick heart does make him feel bad probably, but in denial, he blames it on something else and rushed away.