Revenge has the overwhelming ability to change a persons perspective and emotions, creating a completely different person to the one you once knew, to rob someone of their original self, consuming their mind with the thought of revenge. Revenge can take over your life, "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman, "Gangs of New York" directed by Martin Scorsese, "True Grit" by Charles Portis and "The Count Of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas are strong examples of this theme. All these texts have a character fueled by revenge, pushing them to find their own justice. These often lead to the main character facing consequences that aren't always positive. In the novel The Princess Bride, we learn about Inigo Montoya, the son of a sword crafter. When …show more content…
he was just a child, a six-fingered man robbed and killed his father for a sword. Distraught and angered, an eleven year-old Inigo challenged the man to a sword fight saying "I, Inigo Montoya, do challenge you, coward". This does not end well as Inigo is quickly disarmed by the much more experienced Nobleman. The man then proceeded to give the boy two scars, one for each cheek. This one event spirals Inigo into a life of deep depression, afraid he will never be able to challenge that man again and avenge his fathers death. Even after he has "spent all these years preparing to find the six-fingered man and kill him in a duel". This shows us that revenge has severely changed Inigo, as we see him go from a talented young boy to an alcoholic mess working with criminals. We can also tell how revenge has effected him by his speech. "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die". This is a saying that he carries with him wherever he goes just incase he happens to finally meet the man who killed his father once more. William Goldman helps us to understand that the idea of revenge can have a long-term effect on you mentally, and can take a toll on you. This also relates to how Amsterdam is mentally effected his whole live by the death of his father, in Gangs Of New York. In the end, Inigo duels the six-fingered man, and ultimately overcomes his rival, but during the battle gets seriously injured. Although he gets his revenge, we are not sure if Inigo makes it out alive with his wounds, his future becomes unclear for the reader. This showing how getting revenge can still have extreme consequences, even after you've achieved it. The Charles Portis novel True Grit also displays how revenge can take over your life. This is displayed through the main character Mattie Ross, a 14 year old girl who seeks out her fathers killer by going into uncharted territories. We see this theme shown through Mattie, as she negotiates her way into chasing after Tom Chaney, the murderer of her father, with the help of a Marshall. Mattie wants nothing more than to get her own justice. She believes that “You must pay for everything in this world one way or another" and this fuels her to get to revenge, and make Tom Chaney pay for what he did. She has exchanged her adolescence for an occupation as a bounty hunter, something no typical teen would do, especially a female in that day in age This signifies a change in her sparked the thought of revenge. Charles Portis tells us that while we might seek revenge, we may not understand the repercussions. This is similar to The Princess Bride. After Inigo gets revenge he realises he has severe injuries, and may not make it out alive. In True Grit, Mattie finds her justice after all, but at the cost of her of one of her arms. Showing that sometimes revenge can truly cost an arm and a leg. In the classic Martin Scorsese film Gangs Of New York, the main protagonist is led by revenge. Amsterdam Vallon returns to the same town where he witnessed the murder of his father in a gang war after 15 years. Amsterdam has spent his whole life plotting revenge, and now has come to execute his plan and kill Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, the man who murdered his father all those years ago. Amsterdam displays how revenge consumes him by the lengths he goes to achieve it. Instead of becoming an immediate threat to The Butcher, he decides to befriend him and becoming a member of his father's rival gang. Vallon describes this by saying, "It's a funny feeling being taken under the wing of a dragon. It's warmer than you'd think." He quickly becomes like a son to Bill, still keeping in mind the task at hand. The thought of vengeance fuels Vallon so much that he wants a spectacle out of Bill's death. He says that he wants to "kill him where a whole court can watch him die". This showing the entrenched hatred towards his father's killer. This corresponds with True Grit as both protagonist seek avenge their fathers name at any cost. Scorsese wants us to see just how far a man's will can go when fueled by revenge, and viewers can see this through Vallon's ability to kill his way to The Butcher with no remorse. Ultimately showing that revenge can test whether blood is thicker than water. The theme of Revenge can be seen in The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.
In the acclaimed novel, main character Edmond Dantès is consumed by the idea of getting revenge on every person who did him wrong. In the novel, Dantès is falsely accused of high treason by his former best friend, and is exiled to a secret prison where he is expected to spend the rest of his life. However, Dantès escapes and discovers a hidden treasure worth millions. Unfortunately this comes after thirteen years of pain and anguish in a brutal prison, he then vows to use his new-found wealth "for vengeance". Dantès then transforms himself into The Count Of Monte Cristo, an aristocrat that is possessed by revenge. The Count then becomes focused on revenge, "In order not to interfere with his freedom to take revenge, he never eats or drinks in his enemy's house." This quote shows just how much he thinks about revenge, so much so that it has became a part of his daily routines. Dantès is not afraid to take a life and holds nothing back when it comes to revenge, He even says "Beware, our revenge will be terrible when we take it." This identifying kindred ideals with Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. The two characters (though both noble) will stop at nothing until they get their revenge, the thought of revenge often becomes their will to live. Alexander Dumas wants us to know that revenge can affect even the most noble and merciful people, and although people may seek revenge they can still be good in their hearts. We see this at the end of the novel, where Dantès decides to put the rest of his wealth towards peace, no longer haunted by idea of
revenge. Revenge is a powerful theme, The Princess Bride, Gangs of New York, True Grit and The Count Of Monte Cristo all show this clearly. These texts teach me that revenge is not to be underestimated, that people's lives can be truly changed by it. That anyone no matter who you are, can be plagued with the prospect of getting revenge. Most importantly though, it showed me that many times it's wiser to turn the other cheek. Because ultimately, an eye for an eye can make the whole world blind.
“I wish to be Province myself, for I feel that the most beautiful, noblest, sublime thing in the world is to recompense and punish” (Dumas 213). In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, there are many examples of vengeance from the main character, Edmond Dantes. Dantes started out as a young sailor with an encouraging career, a beautiful fiancee, and a loving father. However, those who were envious of his promising young life came together to take Dantes apart, as Dantes was wrongfully convicted and thrown in prison. What he learned about the men who wronged him ignited a fire in his heart to get his revenge on those three people, known as Fernand, Danglars, Villefort. Edmond Dantes started out as a young man with great ambitions
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.
Provenance: The Princess Bride was written in 1973 by William Goldman and later adapted into a film in 1987.
Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
In modern times, phrases such as “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” are commonly used. Also, the mere word revenge holds negative connotations as it is seen as immature and unnecessary. The theme of revenge uses archetypes to develop ideas without having to reiterate their meaning. According to the creator of the term, Carl Jung, “archetypes are defined as being a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.” (Dictionary) The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the novels that pioneer this theme, tells the story of a man’s quest for revenge on those who betrayed him. This man spends 14 years of his life imprisoned because of his betrayers, but he manages to escape to avenge his suffering. In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas uses the archetypes of the byronic hero, the betrayer and the old sage to demonstrate that one’s suffering doesn’t give them the right to seek revenge on those who have failed them.
Satire criticises and makes fun of the norms of human society. It adds an intellectual humour along with the archetypes that is present in the story. In The Princess Bride, by William Goldman, satire is in a wide variety of parts in the story from the communication between others to the character themselves including the Spaniard, Inigo Montoya. The author portrays Inigo as a Spaniard who becomes a fencer to seek revenge on the six-fingered man for the murder of his father, Domingo Montoya and he becomes a henchman to the criminal Vizzini. He is a very caring man to people he cares about, but he can only act on vengeance since he truly loves his father. With his attention only on reprisal, it can blind him from achieving the results he wants and that can significantly affect his personality as he is driven by it. When he finds the six-fingered man, he prepares after many years of training with famous fencers and even has a saying that he plants in his brain so that it is the driven force of vengeance. He is the ‘evil figure with an ultimately good heart’ archetype as he is a part of Vizzini’s group with Fezzik, but he has a change in heart that he needs Westley’s help to storm the castle. Although Inigo is a prestigious fencer who only cares about revenge, the author plays with satirical devices that portray the faults and weaknesses of his characteristics while maintaining his status as the best swordsman in his generation.
What drives the plot of a novel? A novels plot is driven by conflict. One such novel is the Princess Bride and it's plot is driven by the conflict of the characters. One of these characters is Fezzik. Fezzik overcomes a great internal struggle and this drives the novel and allows for a resolution. Fezzik is able to learn how to make decisions with his intelligence, strength, and his friends.
While getting inspiration for Monte Cristo, he heard a story about a man, which inspired the plot for his novel. Picaud, the man whom inspired the story, gained vengeance in a much more gruesome way than Dantes does. Picaud takes vengeance whereas Dantes is avenged. Justice is achieved because good is stronger than evil, not because of the Count’s power (Stowe 125). Perhaps this is Dumas’s opinion on vengeance. If it is well earned, then it will fall into the man’s hands rightfully (Maurois). Dumas’s inspiration for the novel also came from his personal life. His father was heavily mistreated, and as he watched helplessly for his whole childhood, it became important to him to avenge his father. Although people in his own life may not have wronged him as they did his father, he believes in revenge, and sought revenge through his literature (Maurois). Through the character of Edmond Dantes, Dumas portrayed his own desire to justify his father’s oppressors. In Maurois’s article, he speaks about this, saying, “He must have been sorely tempted to find compensation in fiction for the iniquities of the real world.” Perhaps he was afraid to vocalize his opinion publicly, so he decided on a more subtle route, which was to create a story that everyone could identify with. Writing Monte Cristo must have been closure for Dumas at the expense of his father. He sought vengeance in the form of literature
Revenge is a fairly strong emotion; it’s wanting to retaliate towards those who wronged you. Revenge is such an uncontrollable form of retaliation that it can result in a destructive outcome or be carried out successfully. Although the results may vary, revenge sums up to one thing which is pain of some sort, affecting both parties or just one. Throughout history, we see many tales of revenge and redemption. Often revenge does leave the one carrying it out feeling victorious, but this can suddenly change as the process of karma generally begins in some tales.
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing.” This maxim applies to the poet Dante Alighieri, writer of The Inferno in the 1300s, because it asserts the need to establish oneself as a contributor to society. Indeed, Dante’s work contributes much to Renaissance Italy as his work is the first of its scope and size to be written in the vernacular. Due to its readability and availability, The Inferno is a nationalistic symbol. With this widespread availability also comes a certain social responsibility; even though Dante’s audience would have been familiar with the religious dogma, he assumes the didactic role of illustrating his own version of Christian justice and emphasizes the need for a personal understanding of divine wisdom and contrapasso, the idea of the perfect punishment for the crime. Dante acts as both author and narrator, completing a physical and spiritual journey into the underworld with Virgil as his guide and mentor. The journey from darkness into light is an allegory full of symbolism, much like that of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which shows a philosopher’s journey towards truth. Therefore, Dante would also agree with the maxim, “Wise men learn by others’ harms; fools scarcely by their own,” because on the road to gaining knowledge and spiritual enlightenment, characters who learn valuable lessons from the misfortunes of others strengthen their own paradigms. Nonetheless, the only true way to gain knowledge is to experience it first hand. Dante’s character finds truth by way of his own personal quest.
It is believed by many that it is human nature to deem themselves to be tantamount to God. Such is the case when one decides to take revenge against those who wrong him. Though vengeance seems like the perfect way to achieve justice, a sense of equity, in actuality it is merely an unsatisfactory hypocritical action. This is the definitive realization of the protagonist, Edmond Dantès, in Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The protagonist comes to understand that after a lifetime of searching for justice, he really only yearns for justice from himself.
This notion of revenge and justice is often in literature, one of the better-known being the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas. However, literature is not the only time that revenge and justice are discussed. Works and Rules and real-life events that took place like the Bible, Hammurabi’s code, Twelve Tables, and others each have something different about the topic. More religious texts seem to forbid violence, while laws, such as the Hammurabi’s code, recommend revenge, but equal revenge. By judging from literature, it can be concluded that most authors have different opinions on the matter at hand, and revenge is sometimes justice, but usually not, and tends to lead to violence that was not intended.
	Edmond Dantes imprisonment made a huge impact on his life. He spent 14 years in the dark and quiet Chateau d’If. During those 14 years he met a priest, Abbe Faria, which they met each other through a secret tunnel in which they both have created while in prison. An amazing transformation takes place in Edmond Dantes as he learns about his enemies and a large hidden treasure that contains a large sum of money. Abbe Faria is a very smart man, while in prison he taught Dantes many useful knowledge including the whereabouts of a large treasure located on the Isle of Monte Cristo.
The Roman poet, Juvenal, once said that, "Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind." Most people would agree with Juvenal that revenge is an abhorrent human need that can only satisfy narrow-minded people. Even though, we know revenge will generally not bring us much satisfaction, we still constantly lust for taking revenge on someone. It is because revenge is such a natural part of human nature that writers so often use it as their theme. Revenge can easily be an awe-inspiring theme for a novel because it is something that all people can relate to, whether they know it or not. The suspense from it will make most people sit on the edge of their seats.
Revenge is defined as the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. It is a natural thing to feel, as everyone has the capability to be angered by other’s wrongdoings. However, the cycle of revenge and forgiveness is a complicated and controversial topic. The novel The Revenant by Michael Punke dives into this idea of revenge by telling the story of Hugh Glass, an explorer whose “ally’s” stole his belongings and left him to die after being savagely attacked by a bear. Glass’ journey following his abandonment is a long one, but it is driven by his revenge for those who left him. While this want for vengeance is normal, it may not always be the right response. The actions of Hugh Glass align with the normal cycle of revenge, as shown through the