FREE ESSAY ON THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

THEME
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 fiancee. 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.