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 man’s 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 man’s 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
very 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
very 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
D’If 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,
his lovely and devoted fiancée. 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 D’If in order to cover up his father’s connections
with the Bonapartists. During the first part of Dantes’ stay in the Chateau
D’If, 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
scratching 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 D’If. 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
Caderouse’s 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
beautiful wife, he had his wealth, and he had his fame. Dantes came and
destroyed this thus leading to Fernand’s 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 Caderousse’s 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 son’s life. Villefort is yet a fourth
example 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
very 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
son. 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
liked 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 Villefort’s 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
people 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.