The Count of Monte Cristo

10970 Words22 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The count of monte cristo characters analysis

The Count of Monte Cristo Journal

In the beginning of the book The Count of Monte Cristo we meet Edmond Dantès; he comes across as a model of honesty, ability, and innocence. “He was a fine tall, slim young fellow, with black eyes, and hair as dark as a ravens wing; and his whole appearance bespoke that calmness and resolution peculiar to men accustomed from their cradle to contend with danger (pg 4).” Regardless of his youth, he is a useful leader to his sailors. He was also very devoted to his father and fiancée. Dantes was capable of looking into the good side of the people that disliked him like Danglars “a man of twenty-five or twenty –six…of unprepossessing countenance, obsequious to his superiors, insolent to his inferiors (pg6),” Caderousse “a man of twenty-five or twenty-six years of age (pg17),” and Fernand “tall, strapping, black eyed Catalan, with a red complexion, brown skin, and fierce air (pg21).”Even thought they were mean to Dantes he always treated them fairly and civilly Alexander Dumas shows us that when Morrel asks Dantès to evaluate Danglars’s work on the ship, Dantès could easily ruin his enemy’s career with a mean word but he chooses to put aside his personal feelings and honestly evaluates Danglars on a professional level. “If you mean as a responsible agent that you ask me the question, I believe there is nothing to say against him, and that you will be content with the way in which he has performed his duty (pg12).” Similarly, rather than reproach Caderousse for mistreating his father, Dantès politely welcomes him into his home and offers to lend him money. Dantès even manages to control his will toward Fernand, his rival for Mercédès feelings. Dantès is loyal to those he loves and sees the best in those who are flawed. While Dantès sits atop the pedestal of honesty and generosity, his three enemies could not be further from it. Unaware of Dantès’s kindness and tolerance, they have convinced themselves that he is very mean. When Dantès takes pride in his good luck, the other men feel injury to their own egos. There are only two enemies of Dantes, Caderousse and Danglars, actually dislike Dantès at this point; Fernand’s hatred of Dantès, by contrast, does not stem from any will of Dantès’s character. Fernand simply dislikes Dantès because he is the main obstacle to his own happiness with Mercedes.

Show More
Related

  • The Maltese Falcon

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.

    Read More

  • The Count Of Monte Cristo

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    	The story of Edmond Dantes starts out as him being a sailor, aboard the Pharaon; he’s soon to become captain of the ship. Monsieur Morrel is the name of the owner of the Pharaon and a great friend of Dantes. He treats Edmond with great respect. There’s also a little special lady in Dantes life, the beautiful and wonderful Mercedes. A dream job and a dream wife, who could possibly want more?

    Read More

  • Eyes of Revenge: The Count of Monte Cristo

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has introduced a character that has been judged harshly. Because, she has been misinformed of her husband’s death; therefore, she was greave and had sought comfort resulting in a baby from the lover whom gave her comfort. When her secret had been discovered she was isolated for committing a treacherous crime of adultery, as one of her punishments she was forced to wear an A on her chest. The novel presents a structure of a society, using symbolism and diction to give underline meaning to the themes, portraying religious tendencies ruled by the philosophy of good and evil.

    Read More

  • Revenge Does nNot Bring Happiness in The Count of Monte Cristo

    2184 Words  | 5 Pages

    Akin to many of Alexandre Dumas’ other masterpieces, “The Count of Monte Cristo” is a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue that paints a dazzling, dueling, exuberant vision of the Napoleonic era in France. In this thrilling adventure, Edmond Dantès is toiling with the endeavor of attaining ultimate revenge, after being punished by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d’If. He reluctantly learns that his long intolerable years in captivity, miraculous escape and carefully wrought revenge are all merely vital parts in his journey of awakening to the notion that there is no such thing as happiness or unhappiness, there is merely the comparison between the two. Ultimately, the irony that Dumas is presenting through this novel suggests that the inability to attain happiness through the hypocrisy that is revenge is because one is really avenging their own self. This becomes evident through his dramatic transformations from a nave, young sailor, to a cold, cynical mastermind of vengeance, and finally to a remorseful, humble man who is simply content.

    Read More

  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula

    2365 Words  | 5 Pages

    to make us see how it would feel like, if there was a blood thirsty

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in Puritan New England during the 17th century. The scene in which the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale joins Hester and Pearl on the platform to showcase his sin is one which exemplifies Dimmesdale’s acceptance of his actions. Up until this point in the novel, Dimmesdale had hidden the fact that he had engaged in a sexual affair with Hester, a married woman. During the scene, Dimmesdale, distraught with guilt after seven years of living in secret shame, joins Hester in public to show his actions publicly. He then, being riddled with sickness, dies in contentment. Having finally accepted his actions, Dimmesdale can die without the torturous guilt of living a lie. Dimmesdale’s confession and ensuing downfall show that accepting the consequences of one’s own actions is the only way to truly achieve fulfillment and satisfaction in life, where as hiding one’s actions results in inner torture.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    2790 Words  | 6 Pages

    The aspect of Nature in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter seems to have been characterized to readers with having a mixed blessing. Rather than illustrating Nature in the typical Puritanical manner of the 1600’s, that Nature is downright evil, tying Nature to the “Black Man,” Hawthorne uses a different approach. Instead, Nature is fairly two-sided in that it portrays destructive as well as somewhat therapeutic powers. The text reveals the positive attributes of Nature that the Puritans overlook or fear. Conversely, the text shows that aspects of Nature that help mankind also harm him. The duality of Nature mirrors the complex inner feelings and dual nature of the novel’s characters. Nature represents the paradoxical juxtaposition of both good and evil in man, by showing both good and evil attributes in itself. Ultimately, Nature reveals man's inherent inability to be pure.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a cult classic. And with good reason. Anyone who simply believes that the title of this book just signifies that the protagonist wears a scarlet “A” on her dress in punishment of her adultery is ignorant. Obviously this paper would not be required if such were true. Instead, The Scarlet Letter is extremely ambiguous. One can argue that the scarlet letter is a character itself. I intend to flesh this out in literary, historic, and symbolic terms.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    this way because they had no control over the Forrest and were thus threatened by

    Read More

  • The Thousand and One Nights

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    When a person becomes trapped in a situation that stems from an individual with greater authority, being manipulative can be a very promising method to escape. The Thousand and One Nights does a very good job of being a good example of someone in this situation that uses stories within a story to capture encapsulate the attention of the reader. Despite the many little stories that go into the text, the main story behind it all is about a king named King Shahrayar and how he goes insane after catching his wife having sexual relations with a slave. After he sees this happen, he realizes that he can never trust any woman again and none of them are trustworthy. By expressing his views on women, he decides to marry a different woman every night, then the next morning have them killed by beheading. This is an ongoing event that brings death to most of the women in the village. Soon after, the king’s Vizier’s daughter, Shahrazad, came up with a brilliant idea that will end up saving her fellow countrywomen and hopefully keep the king from murdering so many innocent people. Her method behind all this is by telling the kind a different story every night that leaves him on a cliffhanger, making him curious enough to keep her alive for another day to continue her story. Shahrazad keeps herself spared from the king because of her cunning, and compassionate personality.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Hope In The Count Of Monte Cristo

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    Wait and Hope is the theme and the concluding phrase of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas, and it is a characteristic, that as the theme, is prominently displayed throughout the novel, and is especially noticeable in multiple specific characters. Mercedes brought this out of herself in her dealings with Dantes. She had hope that he would return to her and when, eventually, that hope failed her she regained it in time to hope for forgiveness and reconciliation in heaven, which specifically demonstrated an ability to wait throughout her hopes. As she lived by it her life is an especial example of the importance of hope in this story. Alongside her stands Dantes who also displayed these characteristics before and after his loss of

    Read More

  • Dracula by Bram Stoker

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the saying goes, “Women can do everything Men can do.” In the Gothic Novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, there is a constant theme of sexuality, from both male and females in society. In the Victorian era, the roles of male and females have caused a lot of tension. After reading Dracula, some would argue the roles men and women hold in society. As mentioned in Dr. Seward’s Dairy from Val Halsing., “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain—a brain that a man should have were he much gifted—and a woman’s heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose, believe me, when He made that so good combination” (Stoker and Hindle, 2003 250). A women’s mind is not the always the first thing on a males mind. Some would overlook what a woman really has to offer.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Redemption In The Count Of Monte Cristo

    2058 Words  | 5 Pages

    While he lies on the ground gasping for breath, Caderousse tells the Abbe Busoni that he does not believe in God. Only moments later, Edmond Dantes reveals himself to him, and he spends his dying breath asking the Lord to forgive him. Edmond Dantes, looking at his corpse, whispers “one”. This was the first evident moment in Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo where Edmond Dantes achieves any justification on his enemies for the wrongs they have done to him. After twenty years of meticulous planning, Dantes carries out his plan of ultimate revenge on his enemies in order to achieve the justice he believes he deserves. In his novel, Dumas shows that to obtain true justice—whether personal or societal—one must understand the limits of

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    2428 Words  | 5 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne analyzes Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. In the story, Hester is the main character of the story and was called Mistress Prynne (Hawthorne 70). Dimmesdale, in the story was referred to as Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 90). Chillingworth was originally named, Roger Prynne but later in the story he changed his name to Roger Chillingworth. In the story, Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale against Chillingworth and in the beginning she got punished and sent to prison and later she got to get out of prison but with the exception of having to wear the letter A on her breast every time she went out in to town.

    Read More

More about The Count of Monte Cristo

Open Document