Classic Book Report For The Count Of Monte Cristo

The book, The Count of Monte Cristo, shows love, revenge, justice, and sorrow in both a good and bad light. The Count of Monte Cristo was written by Alexandre Dumas. It takes place in early 1800s France. It follows the life of a man named Edmond Dantes, who is betrayed by four men. After spending fourteen years in prison he escapes and begins to seek revenge on the men who put him there. Taking up the alias of The Count of Monte Cristo. The character of Edmond Dantes perfectly crafts each of his enemies’ punishments according to what they had strived for in life.

Poe uses gothic diction to create a foreboding and ominous atmosphere. Poe is famous for his use of gothic diction and is known as the father of the modern horror genre. Prince Prospero's Abbey is the setting of the story. The abbey has seven rooms with all but one of them being vibrant and lively: “The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls”(43). The divergence of the dark seventh room from the rest of the vivid abbey creates an ominous ambiance. The morbid room is also in direct contrast to the mood of the jubilant masque. After dusk, lights and fires in large bowls upon tripods illuminated all the rooms of the Abbey. As the night darkened, “the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme… there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts”(44).

With the Count F—‘s arrival the next morning comes the moment of enlightenment for the Marquise of O—. In this passage, the revelation of her rapist’s identity to the Marquise is allegorical of individuals accessing knowledge for the first time. Like the men in the “Allegory of the Cave,” this moment is not what the Marquise expected. Instead, it is a moment of disorientation and intense pain, just as the men whose eyes are encountering light for the first time—and being burnt and blinded from the very thing they were seeking. The Marquise “felt she would sink to the ground from sheer confusion” (109). The moment in which individuals come face-to-face with knowledge and truth is often a moment of confusion and shock. The individual cannot go back to the life he or she

The theme of the enclosed space is a major part of any gothic story and also a reoccurring theme in many of Poe’s short stories, whether it be through a literal enclosed space, such as in the story ‘The cask of Amontillado’ where the narrator traps his friend in a wine cellar by building a brick wall around him or a solitary and airless house, as seen in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. Poe’s clever use of the enclosed space and claustrophobia incite terror not only in his characters but in his reader’s as well.

“I saw-with shut eyes, but acute mental vision-I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the

Energy, kindness, and endurance made itself known throughout the abbey. The masquerades couldn't help but talk and dance and smile and wonder within the walls of the orange room. When one walked by, they could almost feel the warmth seeping through the cracks of the closed door. The candelabrum added to the bright tranquility radiating from the decora from wall to wall to window. As soon as a masquerader walked by, the window would jump out at them inviting, them in. An extreme amount of piquancy, rejuvenation, and spontaneity arose from the walls of the room and blew away the masqueraders with such awe. A room such as this caused a overwhelming feeling unable to be described by the simple mind. Maybe it was the way the room showed exhibitionism, or optimism, or flamboyance, or was it the creative-flare that drew masqueraders in?

Edmond Dantes was a 19 year old man who became captain of a ship name the Pharaon. He was much loved by everyone. He is pretty gullible and becomes vengeful when the one guy he considered his friend betrayed him the other two who he was not to fond of ruined his life. He was a respectable young man who showed that numerous times like when he had to leave Morrel while he was talking to him; he said “I beg you excuse me, Monsieur Morrel (Dumas 5). He was to be betrothed to a girl named Mercedes who he’d loved very much but he loved his father most of all. He felt bad when he found out his father was broke from paying his debt causing him to fall to his knees and said “may God forgive me” (Dumas 9). Dantès is a pretty unique character who

This caused Villefort to go crazy, digging holes in his yard. Edmond reveals himself at this moment, and begins to question whether he really is the embodiment of god’s punishment. He had gotten innocent people involved which he did not thing would happen. “Monte Cristo paled at the horrible sight. He realized that he had gone beyond the limits of rightful vengeance and that he could no longer say, ‘God is for me and with me’”

Just like every great story “The Count of Monte Cristo” has its own particular and mesmerizing settings. Alexandre Dumas not only amazes us with breathtaking and exotic places but he also takes us to the darkest and goriest corners that you could ever imagine, places that could even alter the emotional state of the strongest man. This novel begins at a French seaside town called Marseilles, Edmond’s hometown and home for all his loved ones and all his enemies. The Chateau d’If is a prison completely surrounded by water which is really conventional since it makes it impossible for the prisoners to escape from it. This is the place where our main character spent fourteen years of his life incarcerated and where he met old Abbe Faria.

“The Fall of the House of Usher (1939)”, arguably Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous short story, is a tale centered around the mysterious House of Usher and its equally indiscernible inhabitants. These subjects are plagued with physical and mental degradation – the Usher siblings suffer from various abnormal ailments and unexplained fears, while the house itself seems to be tethering on the edge of collapse. The gothic elements in the story are distributed generously, and the plot is increasingly ridden with the supernatural as it progresses.

Once an English poet, William Shakespeare said, “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?” By comparing these analogies, Shakespeare agrees that revenge is necessary towards the ones who have wronged us.

The Count of Monte Cristo learns much about himself: he learns that love is painful, and when it is not obtained, it can bring about terrible consequences; the truth of who his enemies are gives him the motivation to escape prison; and because of all he suffers there, he learns the truest and darkest part of his

Alexandre Dumas is the author of the adventurous love story The Count of Monte Cristo, used both internal and external conflicts along with imagery. These literary elements enhanced the theme that revenge can drive a man to do the unthinkable. Dumas used these elements to tell the story of France’s history. His bestselling novels are not deep but have spectacular adventure, action, and larger-than-life-characters.

In Treasure and Vengeance, Justin Kaplan speaks about The Count of Monte Cristo in the highest regard. After a brief back story on himself, he quickly transitions into connecting it with the book itself. Kaplan claims that “in a singular sense, [Edmond’s] motive was disinterested: not the means to anything else and with no purpose other than its own fulfillment” (Kaplan). This is a key aspect in Kaplan’s criticism. He adds that his “revenge, driven by the festering sense of injustice” is what drives Edmond throughout the story (Kaplan). The whole story revolves around Dantès’ dire need to get revenge on Fernand, as well as others who have crossed him. In fact, the Count himself says that “for all evils there are two remedies - time and silence” (Dumas 523). His sole mission is to retaliate against Mondego, who was the cause of his wrongful conviction. He intends to get his revenge for his own needs

The central theme of all Gothic novels is the presence and symbolism of the Gothic castle. Depiction of ruinous abbeys, monasteries, subterranean passages, vaults, secret panels, and the trapdoors is a standard method of achieving the atmosphere. Howells sees the Gothic castle as being ‘a shadowy world of ruins and twilight scenery lit up from time to time by lurid flashes of passion and violence ’(6). Therefore, the gloominess of the exterior and interior environment is illuminated by intense emotional and passionate moments of the characters that inhabit the castle. As Sage claims, the castle is ‘the lair of the villain’(166), and it is an accurate reflection of his dark and frightening character. Gloomy, dark, and dangerous, the castle reflects the emotions and psychological experience of many of the novel’s characters.