In The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Edmond Dantes becomes and acts as an instrument of a divine plan. Dantes spends nearly his entire life working to fulfill a divine plan; one of retribution and dominance. As he strives to complete his end goal, Dantes experiences life, death, and rebirth. Early on in Dantes’ life, he is a young sailor with a great outlook for the future. He has just received news of a likely promotion that would make him captain of the Pharoan, which comes with prestige as well as a large salary. This, in a literary sense, characterizes “life”. Dantes undergoes the ordeal of “death” when he is sent to prison on false charges. The charges are enough to keep him locked up for a very long time, which indicates an end to life as he knows it. Then, almost as if to counter death entirely, Dantes experiences “rebirth” as he becomes the Count of Monte Cristo. As the count, he embarks on a relentless expedition to achieve vengeance against those responsible for his imprisonment: Danglars, Fernand, and Villefort. This crusade is Dantes’ divine plan. Dantes acts as an instrument of a divine plan when he experiences life, death, and rebirth.
Dantes experiences “life” early on when he has optimistic prospects for the future. Dantes, as a young sailor, is living a very fulfilling life. He is approached one day by Monsieur Morrel, the owner of the Pharoan. As the ship’s captain had recently died, they were discussing future plans for the ship when Morrel
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 Inferno is a tale of cautionary advice. In each circle, Dante the pilgrim speaks to one of the shades that reside there and the readers learn how and why the damned have become the damned. As Dante learns from the mistakes of the damned, so do the readers. And as Dante feels the impacts of human suffering, so do the readers. Virgil constantly encourages Dante the pilgrim to learn why the shades are in Hell and what were their transgressions while on Earth. This work’s purpose is to educate the reader. The work’s assertions on the nature of human suffering are mostly admonition, with each shade teaching Dante the pilgrim and by extension the reader not to make the same mistakes. Dante views his journey through hell as a learning experience and that is why he made it out alive.
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 was a young leader whose purpose in life, who he cares about, and how others viewed him contributed with remaining humble to his father, his love for Mercedes, and most importantly himself. Yet his naive manner made him ignorant of his surroundings. The purpose of Dante's´ life contributed to his loved ones expressed by “ With my first pay I shall buy you little house with a garden where you can plant your clematis, your nasturtiums, and your honeysuckle” (Dumas , 10). This expressed Dantes’ immensely loving bond with his father, for his dream was to give everything he can to him. Edmond’s passion in life is to grow in happiness with his loved ones, for that is his only duty in life for him. His sole purpose is dedicated
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
When Dante first begins in this story he was lost and clueless physically and mentally. Dante was located in a forest with his life ruined and not knowing what was in store for him. Dante had given up on his future and had given up on finding the correct path of life for himself. However, when he sees a sunset and a very important mountain that represent Heaven he will soon change. Dante is given an opportunity to change and turn his life around but to do so he must first experience the darkness of Hell with the assistance of Virgil who helps him and guides him through what is right and wrong.
He has morphed into a new man, with new values, a new character, and an almost completely different disposition. Ever since Abbe Faria solved the mystery to who framed him, Dantes has had a deep need for revenge. “At those moments Dantes' face would darken, for he remembered the oath of vengeance he had sworn, and he thought of how much harm a man could do to his enemies in our modern times with such fortune” (Dumas 72). With these thoughts there is no doubt Dantes has changed from his innocent, naive 19-year-old self to an educated vengeful man of 30. This shapes the entire story into the journey and the completion of a man's goal. Dantes becomes a dark man with only one purpose in life, to enact revenge upon his enemies. He begins by extracting the treasure from its resting place and repaying a man called Jacopo, who aided him once he was shipwrecked. Later, he returns to his home and disguises himself as a priest. Dantes will impersonate the voice of god in order to fulfill his vengeance. He speaks with Caderousse and finds all the men who are guilty and how they punished him. Then, he begins to carry out his plans, beginning with befriending Albert, Mercedes son, and Franz d'Epinay. As a whole, Dantes has become a man so set on revenge, he will not think of anything else. The very words he speaks reflect on what he will do to his accusers and what he thinks of the men he is speaking to. Dantes questions, “If a man has tortured and
In The Inferno, Dante explores the ideas of Good and Evil. He expands on the possibilities of life and death, and he makes clear that consequences follow actions. Like a small generator moving a small wheel, Dante uses a single character to move through the entire of Hell's eternity. Yet, like a clock, that small wheel is pivotal in turning many, many others. This single character, Dante himself, reveals the most important abstract meaning in himself: A message to man; a warning about mankind's destiny. Through his adventures, Dante is able to reveal many global concepts of good and evil in humanity.
In The Divine Comedy, Dante the Pilgrim journeys through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The journey that Dante undertakes serves as a guide for how we need to live our lives in order to realize true happiness. Free will plays a central role throughout Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. According to Dante, God gives use free will, which we can exercise in any way, to do both good and evil. Dante discovers, through his journey, that ultimate freedom, however, is found in aligning our free will with the will of God. According to Dante, meaning in life can be found when we come to this realization.
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.
Thesis statement: In Dante's Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy, Dante develops many themes throughout the adventures of the travelers. The Inferno is a work that Dante used to express the theme on his ideas of God's divine justice. God's divine justice is demonstrated through the punishments of the sinners the travelers encounter.
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
Often when we set out to journey in ourselves, we come to places that surprise us with their strangeness. Expecting to see what is straightforward and acceptable, we suddenly run across the exceptions. Just as we as self‹examiners might encounter our inner demons, so does Dante the writer as he sets out to walk through his Inferno. Dante explains his universe - in terms physical, political, and spiritual - in the Divine Comedy. He also gives his readers a glimpse into his own perception of what constitutes sin. By portraying characters in specific ways, Dante the writer can shape what Dante the pilgrim feels about each sinner. Also, the reader can look deeper in the text and examine the
Dante's `Divine Comedy', the account of his journey through hell, purgatory and heaven is one of the worlds great poems, and a prime example of a most splendidly realized integration of life with art. More than being merely great poetry, or a chronicle of contemporary events, which it also is, the `Comedy' is a study of human nature by a man quite experienced with it. The main argument I will make in this essay is that Dante's `Comedy' is chiefly a work of historical significance because in it lies the essence of human life across all boundaries of time and place. I feel that such a reading is justified, nay invited, by Dante himself when he says;
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.