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. Alexandre Dumas was a French play writer and author from the 19th century and was born July 24, 1802 in the Ville-Cotterets in France. He is the son of an inn keeper’s daughter named Mary Louis Labouret and of a general named Thomas Alexandre Davy la Pailletereie. He is the third child born from his mother. Dumas’ father is the …show more content…
He admitted to having dozens of illegitimate children and only claimed three of them. Two of his illegitimate children were there for him in his last years. His son who shared the same name as him was known as Alexandre Dumas fils because like his father he wrote novels. If anyone was to look up his father’s name you would see Alexandre Dumas pere. His daughter that he claimed is known as Madame Petel (Oxenhander 471, “Dumas, Alexandre”). Dumas was a man who wanted to be involved in any way possible. He decided to enlist in the National Guard, where he became a captain. He also took a role in the July 1830 revolution in Bastille where France got its independence (Liukkonen). Before Dumas became the illustrious writer that everyone knew about, he worked a clerk for a couple of years. He began writing at young and wrote vaudeville plays that were light musical comedies. He also started to write historical plays with a close friend named Adolphe de Leuven. His first true plays were written in 1825 through 1826. By 1851, Dumas had written 20 plays either alone or in collaboration (Oxenhander 471). At the age of 27, Dumas wrote Henry III but his first true novel was Captain Paul in 1838 which was a rewrite play. Dumas wanted to write a series of books about the history of France. In his series he wrote the extraordinary novels The Count of Monte
he mood and situtation that he was in. At the end (Act ]I[) John Proctor was
It was a bright cold day in Salem, where the sun seeped through overcast skies above and the mist danced around in the street. The wind hissed and howled, and swept through the narrow streets. In the centre of the town, stood the proud house of Reverend Parris. But that day, Reverend Parris was not a proud man as the accusations of witchcraft drifted through the town, overwhelming him completely.
Biographical information about the author: Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Voltaire long held a great passion for writing, and rather than going to law school, spent his time extensively composing poetry, essays, and historical studies. His widespread recognition as an author was established with the publication of the play “Oedipus”, a variation on the original Greek tragedy, in 1718. In 1726, after a fight with a French nobleman, Voltaire was exiled to England. There, he was exposed to a
Obedience has always been a trait present in every aspect of society. Parents have practiced enforcing discipline in their homes where obedience is automatically learned from age one. Instructors have found it difficult to teach a lesson unless their students submit to their authority. Even after the adolescent years, law enforcement officers and governmental officials have expected citizens to uphold the law and abide by the standards set in society. Few will understand, however, that although these requirements for obedience provide positive results for development, there are also dangers to enforcing this important trait. Obedience to authority can be either profitable or perilous depending on who the the individual in command is. In the film, The Crucible, obedience leads to the deaths of many innocent individuals. It was because of the “afflicted” girls’ decision to obey Abigail that Salem was “talking witchcraft” and accusing so many individuals known for their devotion to God of speaking with the devil (The Crucible). It was also because of the town’s undivided obedience to their religion that those who ultimately decided who lived and died believed they were making the correct decisions. If obedience had been omitted from the chaos of the Salem Witch Trials, the mass hysteria of the issue could have been avoided. Although the theme of heteronomous obedience, or submission to authority, repeats throughout The Crucible, the characters’ internal conflicts with their
Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Trans. Lowell Bair. New York: Bantam Edition, 1956. Print.
John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, and Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, both have similarities and differences that appear through the history of the United States, prejudice, and also through the themes.
‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller and my related material ‘Happy Feet’ by George Miller is true to this statement “Understanding nourishes belonging…a lack of understanding prevents it” that represents the interpretation of belonging. To define belong is to have the correct personal and social assets to be a member of a particular group or it could be to fit a particular environment.
French authors and playwrights have been acclaimed worldwide for their dynamic prose, complex situations, and unpredictable endings. The same praises hold true for Edmond Eugene Alexis Rostand. Born of Provencal ancestry on April 1, 1868, Rostand was well-learned, as evidenced by his extensive childhood education as a student of the lycee of Marseille. His father was a prominent member of the Marseille Academy. As a direct result of this high influence, Rostand concluded his studies at the College Stanislas in Paris. He studied, under the direction of the then-renowned Professor Rene Doumic, the works of those creme de la creme authors held in high esteem --
Many scholars classify William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark as a revenge tragedy, a genre popular during the Elizabethan era (Gainor 41). Shakespeare's tragedy focuses on three sons–Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras–seeking retribution for the unfortunate death of their fathers– King Hamlet, Polonius, and King Fortinbras respectively. In the play, the father-son relationship is the primary motivator for each son's revenge. Because Elizabethan society places a strong emphasis on the relationship between father and son, each son feels obligated to right his father's wrongs. According to Fredric B. Tromly, author of Fathers and Sons in Shakespeare: The Debt Never Promised, “A defining . . . feature of Shakespeare’s
Proctor. For the first and only time in the play we see Abigail as her
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a frightening and entertaining short story about the severe consequences that result from persistent mockery and an unforgiving heart. Poe’s excellent use of Gothicism within the story sets the perfect tone for a dark and sinister plot of murder to unfold. “The Cask of Amontillado” simply overflows with various themes and other literary elements that result from Poe’s Gothic style of writing. Of these various themes, one that tends to dominant the story as a whole is the theme of revenge, which Poe supports with his sophisticated use of direct and indirect factors, irony, and symbolism.
Revenge as a theme is cleverly built upon throughout Hamlet; with it being the driving force behind three of the key characters in the play. Revenge is a frighteningly vicious emotion, which causes people to act blindly and without reason. In Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor enacts revenge for reasons unknown. Hamlet in contrast, has all the motive in the world to complete his task; yet he constantly hesitates. The text reveals that the need for revenge creates a stranglehold on the genuine emotions, thoughts, and actions of three characters: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Laertes; son of Polonius, and Fortinbras; Prince of Norway. This hold makes the characters act beyond their standard ethical positions and makes them helpless to
Henri Rousseau, born in May 21, 1844, was a self-taught artist who started his artistic career when he was forty. He began his life working as a clerk, then he joined the French army after being accused of stealing money from his employer. He later moved to Paris and obtained a job working for the French Customs Office, and it was there that he began painting part-time. It was really this background of his that allowed his paintings to be original and uninfluenced by traditional painting techniques. Since he was a self-taught artist and had no significant experience with painting, he had the freedom to paint as he perceived and as he imagined. Henri Rousseau was a man who liked to exaggerate his life to make himself seem adventurous and exciting. He made up stories about his time in the military and overstated his importance in the Customs office where he worked. This was also reflected in his artwork where manipulated the painting to emphasize beauty and excitement.
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
In the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the antagonist characters display parallel story lines through their searches for the enemy. Roger Chillingworth, the former husband of Hester Prynne and the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, works against his wife in order to find her untold second lover. Frankenstein is a contrasting story in which an unnamed monster is the antagonist towards his human creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Yet despite quite different story lines, the two characters possess traits that exibit parallels between them. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth displays the startling passionate characteristics of an unwavering drive to seek out his foe, madness as his focus on his search takes over his entire being, and terrible anguish when his task is unexpectedly over, all of which are reflected in the daemon created at the hand of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein.