Alec Fox Mrs. Isaacs Language Arts Period 3 18 February 2016 In the beginning of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, we meet Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who is a described as “a fine tall, slim young fellow, with black eyes, and hair as dark as a raven's wing”. In addition to his fine appearance, Dantes is also model of honesty, ability, innocence, and devotion to his loved ones. This perfect life, however, stirs up dangerous jealousy among some of his so-called “friends”: Danglars, Caderousse, and Fernand. Even though they treated Dantes despicably, he always treated them fairly and with courtesy. Still, Dantes was betrayed and incarcerated for a more than a decade due to a crime that he didn’t commit. This caused him unimaginable …show more content…
Dantes was held in the darkest and most shameful prison in France, possibly even Europe. He was given limited food and was subject to physical as well as and emotional misery. After being imprisoned for so long, one major side effect was be some sort of psychological damage. The narrator tells us, “This all now has changed. The oval face was lengthened, his smiling mouth had assumed the firm and marked lines which betoken resolution.” His face accurately reflects the person that he had become.To better illustrate, in the novel it states, “Dantes passed through all the stages of torture natural to prisoners in suspense. He was sustained at first by that pride of conscious innocence which is the sequence to hope; then he began to doubt his own innocence, which justified in some measure the governor's belief in his mental alienation…” Dantes was now oblivious to the fact that he was still innocent. In truth, he just couldn’t fathom that he had been tortured for nothing. Dantes was completely ruined on the inside. Since he persuaded himself to believe that he was guilty in some way, Dantes escaped the dreadful prison with only one goal in mind—the desire for revenge. This was instigated with the help of Abbe Faria who assisted Dantes to uncover the people who had plotted to have him framed. A quote in the text would be, "Because I have …show more content…
First, Dantes’ future wife, Mercedes, was no longer with her one true and only love, Dantes. In a way, she was forced to marry Fernand Mondego, her childhood friend. Because of the fact that Fernand was in love with the young Mercedes, he was part of the evil scheme to keep Dantes locked away. In no way was she in love with Fernand, but Mercedes had almost no say in her choice. To add to his despair, whilst Dantes was imprisoned, his father, Louis Dantes, passed away due to starvation. He didn’t take his son’s imprisonment well, so Louis Dantes committed suicide. People claim that Dantes should be found guilty since after his escape, he discovered a large deposit of money, which he could have used for an exceptional purpose: to start a new life. But as someone once said, “Money can't buy happiness. It instead brings a pleasant form of misery.” This is exactly what occurred to Dantes. Also, Danglars left the Pharaon to own a large business; and Fernand, the luckiest of them all, deceived Ali Pasha in Greece to get his noble name, Count Mondego, and to get his wealth and his wife, Mercedes, who he stole from Dantes. But for Mercedes, it was too late, Dantes had already stolen her heart. Still. Dantes wasn’t happy in the first place, and this money that he had acquired made him even more despicable.. So in the end, the most astounding reason why Dantes is impeachable for his revenge is that his family
While he was successful in his goal, the pain and suffering he caused to innocent people like Edouard, the son of Villefort, and Mercédès, the wife of Fernand, throws the question of whether Dantes was really successful into doubt, as he wanted to reward the innocents and not hurt them. While Dantes was getting his vengeance on the Villeforts, he unintentionally kills Edouard. Dantes immediately regrets what he did when Dumas states, “Monte Cristo paled at the horrible sight. He realized that he had gone beyond the limits of rightful vengeance” (485). Dantes immediately feels regret for killing the innocent boy when he sees him. Dumas emphasizes this regret and sorrow even more by stating how Dantes was pale from the sight of the consequences of his actions, something that only happens when you truly feel terrified of what you’ve done. He acknowledges for the first time in the story that he was wrong in his pursuit of revenge, so he himself admits that he went too far. He realized that while he did get his revenge on the Villeforts, this was too much as Edouard never did anything besides be related by blood to them. Dantes tries to revive Edouard, but he failed to bring him back, which is the first point in the story where he fails during his quest. He punished the bad and was highly successful with that, but the suffering that he caused upon innocent people made him realized his justice was not worth it or even good. Furthermore, the death of Edouard caused Dantes to become the wrongdoer this time, as he unjustly killed a person for no reason. His original idea was to bring justice to all these criminals, but he ended up only becoming one himself and bringing more undeserved tragedy to people. After everything had happened and Dantes achieved the vengeance he wanted, he reflects on his actions when Dumas says, “Having arrived at the summit of his
The three people that Dantes swears vengance against are the Count de Morcerf, Baron Danglars, Villefort.
Edmond Dantès, the main character of The Count of Monte Cristo, is an innocent and unsuspecting young man who is thrown in jail by those who were jealous of him. Once Edmond escaped, he changed his identity to the Count of Monte Cristo, and plotted a harsh revenge against his enemies. At the beginning, he said “Happiness is like one of those palaces in fairy tales whose gates guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.” (Dantes 18) He thinks that his marriage with Mercédès is too good to be true, according to his statement. As it turned out, it was, and he was put in prison for fourteen years, and it was fifteen years before he saw her again. The only thing Edmond sought after he escaped from jail was revenge. So he took
In this quote, the author is showing how Dante’s finally learns about how he has gotten mistreated throughout the whole prison affair. I chose this quote because it shows the how gullible and trusting Dante’s was as a person and how it quickly changed into a fury that would not be extinguished.
Faria, a priest, completely changes Dantés' perspective on life when he helps Dantés figure out who put him in prison and why. Faria regretted what he had done to Dantés' innocent mind. Dumas writes, "Faria looked at him [Dantés] steadfastly and said, 'I regret having helped you clarify your past and having told you what I did.' 'Why?' 'Because I have instilled in your heart a feeling that wasn't there before: vengeance" (Dumas 58). When Faria dies, Dantés considers killing himself, but ends up vowing to get revenge instead. After a dramatic escape, Dantés sets out to destroy the lives of those who turned on him using his riches, important friends, and vast amount of knowledge. Dantés states, "He doomed these unknown men to all the tortures his fiery imagination could contrive, but even the cruelest ones seemed too mild and too short for them, for after the torment would come death, which would bring them, if not rest, at least the insensibility which resembles it" (Dumas 42). After life in prison, Dantés was no longer recognizable. He had been changed from the innocent, carefree, living life to the fullest boy of nineteen to a hardened and cynical adult man. Dantés' path of life had now become reversed the second he hits the water. He now lies to and uses everyone around him to further his own agenda of gaining revenge similar to the way
Edmond Dantes: the man of many faces including The Count of Monte Cristo, Chief clerk of Thomson, Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore, M. Zaccone and Sinbad the Sailor. Edmond is Incredible resourceful, his plan for vengeance against the people who tarnished his innocents and threw him into jail is so large and so complex. The reader gets distracted by the small things, caught up with what is going on not paying to the big picture then boom Edmond shows us his hand. Edmond hustles and cons everyone in the room to doing what he wants them to do. And develops a serious gods complex throughout the novel till he realize later on that he is not the messenger of god, and the world he has created around himself comes crashing down around
The main theme that is presented within The Count of Monte Cristo is that revenge and manipulation is easily able to hurt someone, but also benefit another. In this case, Edmond Dantès takes the side of benefit and those brought underneath his vengeance had been ruined. After a plan carefully schemed by three of his false friends, Dantes was thrown into prison and placed under a situation of betrayal and resentment. This long wait in the chateau d’If had put a need for revenge into Dantès head which had transformed him into the Count of Monte Cristo. Although the Count was considered bitter and cold, his seek for revenge had only benefitted him into a more creatively malicious character. Furthermore, this manipulation that Dantès had been put
Dante, the character, changes over the course of this journey. Dante begins his journey lost, and ignorant but then goes through a development when he travels through the inferno, purgatorio, and Paradiso. Experiencing the depths of Hell and light of Heaven, Dante’s life is then transformed. The influencers and assistants that Dante comes across will change Dante and make him closer and more united with God in the end.
We see Dante’s first step is to acknowledge his inferiority to Virgil; it is to him he owes his modest authorial prowess. This sentiment is understandable indeed. It is only natural for Dante to have nothing but the utmost respect for the great poet who, having preceded him by thirteen hundred years, merits such treatment.
Journeys can be taken many ways. Some people take the path less traveled and some people take the easy way out. Dante happens to be on journey that is less traveled, by exploring the depths of Hell in the Inferno. The epic poem’s story is about self-realization and transformation. It sees Dante over coming many things to realize he is a completely different person from the start of the Inferno journey. Dante sees many things that help him gain courage in order to prove to himself and the reader that accepting change and gaining courage can help one to grow as a person and realize their full potential. After seeing people going through certain punishment Dante realizes that he must not seek pity on himself and others in order to fully realize his true potential.
Dante also shows which sins he sees as the worst of sins, putting betrayers in the lowest circle of hell. Dante employs some common sense while discussing hell, putting obvious sinners in the lower circles and prone to harsher punishments, but he also puts the not-so obvious sinners in hell. Even though one may think he is doing the right thing, all motives are evaluated upon judgment and even a trace of selfishness or greed may threaten one’s chance in heaven. This is why Dante’s hell is rife with politicians and leaders. Although they may have the community’s best interests at heart, politicians become obsessed with fame and glory, often forgetting that they are representatives of the people.
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
The notion that the sinners Virgil and Dante meet are historical figures tempts readers to interpret Dante’s symbolism in a historical sense. Paul G. Chevigny, for example, argues that Dante’s view on betrayal originates from his ethical concerns in a “political milieu” (Chevigny, 790). For Dante, the most severe crime was the most human, the one that most clearly exhibits the misuse of free will: the betrayal of trust. Dante believes that crimes of betrayal were the most serious not only because they required the most deliberate practice of free will, but also because they did the most damage to the ethical net of obligations in society. As previously mentioned, Dante’s political role in Florence established his ideal of a stable society built among the trust of political leaders and their followers.
By his noble speech the reader learns that political corruption can damn a man's soul. The punished sinners who suffered death for political reasons are of paramount importance to Dante. Accordingly, he shows in the suicide's circle of hell the extreme consequences of failure in political life. Pier committed suicide for the shame of losing his favored position as Frederick's counselor. This illustrates the ancient Roman concept of honorable suicide, which protests any unjust action that robs one of reputation.
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas is an adventure and historical fiction novel that encompasses forgiveness, power, and vengeance. The story follows the adventure of Edmond Dantès, who dedicated the rest of his life to getting vengeance on the men who crossed him. Critics Justin Kaplan and Bryan Aubrey both explain their views on Dumas’ work, in great detail. Kaplan, in Treasure and Vengeance, speaks of his own life, and connects it with Dumas’ work. Aubrey, in his critical essay, on the other hand analyzes Dumas’ piece strictly based upon Edmond’s morality.