Every man has his rise and his downfall. His rise can be attributed to hard work, dedication to accomplishing a set goal, or possibly even luck. Sometimes a man can become jealous at another mans fortune and wish for his downfall. He might even try to make this wish come true in an innumerous amount of ways. At some point in a mans life, there is his downfall. It could be a disastrous downfall or maybe just a minor setback. However, if this man is smart he will try to overcome this downfall and try to gain vengeance on those who brought this bad luck upon him. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes is living a ery successful life until others, who are jealous of him, bring upon his downfall in a terrible manner.
When he finally recovers from this disastrous event, he becomes filthy rich and extremely powerful. He is determined to bring revenge to those who have hurt him and rewards to those who had remained faithful towards him. He ruins the lives and sometimes even the families of Monsieur de Villefort, Monsieur Danglers, Fernand Mondego, and Gaspard Caderousse. SETTING The Count of Monte Cristo is set in France during the ending of the Napoleonic Era, which lasted from 1979 to 1821.
The Napoleonic Era was a ery dangerous and disruptive time where Royalists and Bonapartists consistently fought in order to determine their ruler. Much of the action occurs in Paris and Marseilles, which are situated in France, and in Rome, Italy. Edmond Dantes spends fourteen years in his life imprisoned in the dark dungeons of the Chateau DIf and is finally liberated to live in these cities. PLOT The Count of Monte Cristo is a story of the rises and downfalls of men due to the jealousy and greed of others who have opposed them. Edmond Dantes was living in the prime of his life. He was about to become the captain of the Pharaon and marry Mercedes, is lovely and devoted fiance. Everything was going good for Edmond until four men, who were jealous of the young and prosperous captain, sabotaged him. Fernand Mondego and Monsieur Danglers wrote a letter accusing Dantes of conspiracy with the Bonapartist agents in Paris.
Villefort sentenced Dantes to prison in the Chateau DIf in order to cover up his fathers connections with the Bonapartists. During the first part of Dantes stay in the Chateau DIf, he lost hope and therefore became suicidal. His imprisonment seemed to last forever and he decided to starve himself to death. One day he heard a cratching sound coming from a wall in his cell. His hope was renewed, for it was another prisoner trying to escape, and he decided to join the effort. Their tunnels finally combined and they, Dantes and Abbe Faria, were united. Faria then decided to educate Dantes in mathematics, languages, the sciences, and history. Faria eventually loses his life to sickness and Dantes escapes in his body bag. Dantes is thrown into the sea and is finally rescued by a ship of smugglers. They eventually deliver him to the Island of Monte Cristo, where he retrieves the treasure that was given to him by Faria.
Dantes first line of duty after being imprisoned for fourteen years is to find out what has happened during his stay at the Chateau DIf. He disguises himself as a priest and visits Caderouse. Caderouse, who was desperate for money at the time, exchanges his story about Dantes for an extremely valuable diamond. Here he learns of Caderouses indirect treason towards him. Next Dantes visits Monsieur Morrel and finds him on the verge of insanity and bankruptcy. Dantes decides to help Morrel, the man who had helped Dantes for so many years, by paying off his bills and replacing the lost Pharaon.
After helping his friend Monsieur Morrel, Dantes decides to take his revenge on those who have hurt him. He disguises himself as the extremely wealthy and dignified Count of Monte Cristo. His first target is Fernand Mondego who married his beloved Mercedes. Dantes obtained and then released information to the people that proved Fernand is a traitor. After this, Fernand loses his relationship with his family and eventually takes his own life. This is the second example of the rise and fall of a man. Fernand had everything going for him although a lot of it came from cheating; he had a eautiful wife, he had his wealth, and he had his fame.
Dantes came and destroyed this thus leading to Fernands downfall and consequently his death. Dantes next target was Baron Danglers. Danglers was an extremely wealthy banker and Dantes ruins him financially by exasperating all of his resources. This is yet a third example of the downfall of a man. Danglers had his wealth going for him. He was extremely rich and powerful until Dantes brought upon his downfall that led to his flea from the city. Dantes third target is Caderousse, who is a very greedy man. Dantes watched as Caderousses greed leads him to his death.
Dantes fourth target is Villefort. The downfall of this man is brought upon indirectly by Dantes. Dantes hands a poison to Madame de Villefort and watches as she kills four people in the family in order to preserve the inheritance for her son. Then Villefort is publicly humiliated when the story of a past affair, which led to the birth of Andrea Cavalcanti, is told during a trial. He wanted to take revenge for the loss of his daughter and other members of the family, therefore he demands his wife to take her own life. She abides and takes her life along with her sons life. Villefort is yet a fourth xample of a downfall of a very powerful man. He was reduced to absolutely nothing but his own life after Dantes had taken his vengeance. After seeing the downfall of Villefort, Dantes is horrified. He believed that he took his vengeance too far.
He tries to reunite with Mercedes but she rejects him due to the heartbreak of losing her son. Dantes gives up on Mercedes and reunites Maximilian and Valentine. He then sets sail with Haydee and is never seen again. MAIN CHARACTERS Edmond Dantes (alias: Count of Monte Cristo, Abbe Busoni, Lord Wilmore, and Sinbad the Sailor) is the main character in this novel. He is a ery strong, powerful, dignified, and wealthy man. He uses the fortunes that he has worked to achieve to seek vengeance on those who have wronged him and to reward those who have been good to him. Monsieur de Villefort is the Deputy Minister of France and an enemy to Edmond Dantes. He sentences Dantes to a life of prison in order to protect his name and not reveal that his father is connected with the Bonapartists. This reveals an important characteristic about him.
He would do anything to give himself an advantage in gaining fame, wealth and power, including denying the existence of his father and killing his newborn on. He is a greedy, despicable man who deserves the vengeance that was brought upon him by Dantes. Monsieur Danglars (alias: Baron Danglers) is an enemy of Dantes. He wrote the letter to the government accusing Dantes of Treason. He did this out of jealousy and hatred towards Dantes. This again shows his true character: he will do anything to profit himself. When Dantes is arrested Danglers is pleased and eventually becomes a powerful banker. Danglers is eventually bankrupted by Dantes and he exiles to a foreign country. Fernand Mondego (alias: The Count de Morcerf) is the enemy of Dantes. His love for
Mercedes caused him to betray Dantes by help writing the letter. He to did this because of jealousy and greed. He coveted Mercedes and instead of challenging Dantes for her, he simply got rid of him by sending Dantes to prison. This shows that Fernand is not only jealous, but he is also a coward. He eventually commits suicide due to the unbearable sadness of losing his family. CHARACTERS MOST/LEAST LIKED I am not sure I really liked or disliked any of the characters in the novel. I am not indifferent towards them; it is just that each has certain qualities that I liked, and each had some qualities that I detested. I iked Edmond Dantes for the fact that he set a goal and was determined to carry it out. He wanted revenge on the people that had hurt him so much, and he was determined to carry this wish out. I also liked the way in which he spoke and conducted himself. He rarely lost his temper and I admire him for this feat. I feel that he did not need to take his vengeance as far as he did.
He completely destroyed Villeforts family and led Fernand to suicide. Although Dantes was hurt by these men, he has absolutely no right to take their futures and destinies in his hands. I also did not like the indifference to which he showed eople when they were about to die or while they were suffering. This showed, in some circumstances, that he only cared about himself. I neither like or dislike Maximillien. However, I can relate to him. I, like him, feel very strongly about a girl and I cannot be with her. I can relate to the suffering that he felt when he was not allowed to see her or when he thought he had lost her for good. I hope that one day I will be united with her just like Maximillien was united with Valentine. PERSONAL EVALUATION This book was extremely exiting to read. Once I got started reading it, I found it hard to put down.
The emotions and romance behind this story are incredible and I enjoyed the way that Dumas expresses these feelings through his characters actions. There was one part that I did not enjoy. This part dealt with the different names that people were given. This made it extremely difficult to read and understand. For example, in one paragraph they would be talking about how Fernand did something and then in the same paragraph refer to how the Count de Morcerf did another. Other than that point I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to reading The Three Musketeers, which is also written by Alexander Dumas.
