What would one do if there was no judicial system to handle crimes committed such as murder? Would achieving justice through revenge be justified? When no one is on your side, you need to get your own vengeance. In Alexander Dumas’ novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes is wrongly arrested by his envious acquaintances, once referred to as his friends. Both Fernand Mondego and Baron Danglars are responsible for getting Dantes detained, while Monsieur de Villefort’s crooked prosecution ways ultimately lead to his imprisonment. This forces Dantes to choose his trespassers fate, taking a path of justice through retribution. Driven by vengeance and rage, Dantes’ conception of justice takes the form of revenge. He is eventually successful …show more content…
After being out of prison for some time, Dantes ventures back to his wretched house of imprisonment, where he takes on many feelings of nostalgia. Dumas writes, “The victory was complete: the count had twice vanquished doubt” (504). Dumas uses this language to express to the reader that in the mind of Dantes, his definition of vengeance was satisfied by the actions he committed against the people. The word, “complete,” demonstrates that the justice, that was never properly given to the ones who wronged Edmond, was finally done. The charade of The Count of Monte Cristo could stop, and Edmond’s life journey was now subdued. “Twice vanquished doubt,” helps to strengthen the fact that dantes was successful for the justice he needed so greatly. Everyone in Dantes life assumed him to be dead, and also not to be able to touch his successful enemies, yet he did not let that stop him. The fact he twice exceeded expectations is what gives more of a feeling of success to his whole quest. While Dantes proves to be successful for his justice, the damage caused to the innocent is what makes him not entirely successful. Following Dantes’ acts of revenge, reality sets in, making him realize that he has exceeded the rightful limits of justice, leading him to elaborate, “...God grant that I haven’t done too much already” (487). Dantes’ …show more content…
Following the public embarrassment of his enemy, Fernand, Dantes walks in on the sight of a dead Mercedes and Edouard. This causes Dantes great shock, and realization of his quests’ harm to the innocent around him, causing Dumas to express the following: “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’”
As everyone is thinking that Dantes is dead from prison, he really escaped and changed his name to The Count of Monte Cristo. Changing his name was a way to disguise him from being Dantes. After being locked up for so long, no one knew who he was. This disguise kept him from not having to go back to prison, and also helped with getting revenge on those who sent him to prison for no reason. In this novel, since Dantes was not able to be recognized, he used this dishonesty to back at Danglars, Mercedes, Benedetto, and Caderousse.
Descending from the first to the second level of Hell, Dante witnesses the transition to greater agony and greater punishment for the damned. Overwhelmed by the sinner’s harrowing cries and the extensive list of seemingly innocent souls given to him by Virgil, Dante beckons for two lovers to approach him, desperate for some sense of comfort. The souls are known to be the historical figures Francesca de Rimini and her lover Paolo, forever trapped in the circle of lust due to their sinful adultery. Through her words spoken to Dante, Francesca shows how she feels she has been unjustly punished and is deserving of others’ sorrow, and Dante, despite his awareness that she is a sinner, pities her. A close reading of this passage is necessary to better understand Dante’s internal battle with showing compassion where it is not deserved and Francesca’s incessant denial of her sins.
However, MacIntyre does not think that a state putting forth such a thin conception of the good can rationally settle competing theories of justice (chapter 17 in After Virtue is devoted to this argument). Just as debates in public morality, such as abortion, cannot be settled rationally by members of society, neither can philosophers or a nation’s citizens settle the debates on justice. Though interesting, the validity of this argument will not be explored here, as the objective of this section is not to carefully examine why MacIntyre thinks the neutralist state fails,
Before Dantes was ever locked into a dank and dark cell he was a carefree and naive young man. His life was looking great. He was a soon to be husband and had a great
After Dante demands the narrator to leave, and then calls him a scrub, the narrator is confused and wonders if Dante is right. “You’re confused almost to the point of paralysis. Because what did you do wrong? Why does he hate you? Your heart thump-thump-thumping inside of your chest. Doubt setting in. Maybe he's right. Maybe you really are a scrub. Maybe you shouldn't be allowed to show up like this everyday, uninvited” (de la Peña). The narrator’s thoughts contribute to the character’s motivation because at this moment it seems like the narrator is thinking of giving up. However, the narrator doesn’t give up which shows he is persevering and has confidence in himself. With these thoughts we can infer that the character builds up motivation to prove Dante wrong about all the things he
When Dante and Virgil reach the gate of Hell, Dante is overcome with fear upon reading the inscription above the gate and hearing the screams and lamentations of those inside. He reacts to the inscription by crying out, " ‘Master,’ I said, ‘these words I see are cruel.’ " (III.12). By this he shows his fear of the unknown because he does not yet know exactly what he will witness during his descent. One of Dante’s truest display of fear occurs upon reaching the vile City of Dis. When the "fallen angels" deny the travelers access through the city, Virgil, usually unflappable, even appears shaken up. Understandably, this does not help Dante’s nerves at all. He actually makes a side comment to the reader declaring the terror he felt after the angels had defied Virgil’s request saying: "And now, my reader, consider how I felt / when those foreboding words came to my ears! / I thought I’d never see our world again!" (VIII.
In Viva la Vida, lines 27 through 28 say, “ People couldn’t believe what I’ve become.” This line blatantly tells the reader/listener that because of the king’s power, he changed in such a way that his subjects and the people around him saw an extreme change occur in him. In the Count of Monte Cristo, there is a similar transformation. The conversation between the Count and Villefort is a perfect example of the change that has happened to Dante's,”...you are unable to see those men whom God has placed above kings and ministers by giving them a mission to fulfill, rather than a position to occupy.” “And do you regard yourself as one of these extraordinary beings?”, asked Villefort…”Yes I’m one of them,” said the Count of Monte Cristo coldly…”You say you fear nothing but death? He [Villefort] asked. “I didn’t say I feared it; I said that it alone could stop me” Before Edmond was sent to prison, he was innocent and content with the world. He believed he had no enemies. Now, as the Count, he clearly sees his enemies and he considers himself an “extraordinary being”-an agent of God whose purpose is to bring justice to his enemies. While Edmond once was forgiving, he is now out for vengeance which he will fulfill with his acquired
The movie Amistad is about the basic rights of a human and the rights of those Africans who were stolen from their own land and forced onto a Spanish ship named Amistad. The ideals and principles of justice throughout the film are comparable to those of many philosophical writers and the fundamental forms of justice.
There is no doubt that when bad things happen to people, they want to reflect their misery on others whom they think caused it, which is exactly what happened with Edmond Dantes, a once innocent man who became consumed by hatred.
This quote symbols all feelings of sympathy and kindness have left Datnes heart as he now get revenge on all those who betrayed him. Dantes wants to be the instrument that hands out the punishment to his enemies.
...ards monstrous figures and sympathy towards those who seem to be tortured unjustly. In his perverse education, with instruction from Virgil and the shades, Dante learns to replace mercy with brutality, because sympathy in Hell condones sin and denies divine justice. The ancient philosopher Plato, present in the first level of Hell, argues in The Allegory of the Cave that truth is possible via knowledge of the Form of the Good. Similarly, Dante acquires truth through a gradual understanding of contrapasso and the recognition of divine justice in the afterlife. Ultimately, Dante recognizes that the actions of the earthly fresh are important because the soul lives on afterwards to face the ramifications. By expressing his ideas on morality and righteousness, Dante writes a work worth reading, immortalizes his name, and exalts the beliefs of his Christian audience.
After Dante sees the Hypocrites, damned to walk under the weight of their deceptions eternally, he also sees that they are walking over a figure lying naked and supine on the ground. This is the High Priest of the Jews, Caiaphas, who led the Sanhedrin in condemning Jesus. He is now crucified in Hell, sharing in the pain Christ suffe...
Dumas uses the archetype of the byronic hero to demonstrate that one’s suffering doesn’t give the right to seek revenge. A byronic hero is a protagonist that isn’t virtuous, but rather possesses many negative qualities. He is passionate about a particular issue and has intellectual capabilities that far surpass the average man. Often, a byronic hero is arrogant and self-centred. (Marinetti) In the novel, the byronic hero is portrayed by the character of the Count of Monte Cristo. The Count undertakes a quest to take revenge on those who have betrayed him. “He vowed that same implacable oath of revenge […] against Danglars, Fernand and Villefort.” (Dumas 212) The Count’s drive is the fact that he’ll get vengeance. He is so determi...
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
... Moreover, such belief in human reason signifies Dante's hope towards a bright society and the pursuit of God’s love as the other part of self-reflection. In conclusion, a great deal of tension and contrast between “dark” and “light” in The Inferno helps us to explore Dante’s self portrait—he fears dangerous desires and sinful darkness, but shows much courage and hope towards life since he nevertheless follows his guide Virgil to dive into horrible Hell. As shown in Canto I, such emotional reaction to dark and light symbols lays a great foundation for developing Dante’s broad and universal traits as his journey progresses.