The Count of Monte Cristo, Literary Analysis
Uploaded by brapp05 on Jan 31, 2005
“‘I wish to be Providence myself, for I feel that the most beautiful, noblest, most sublime thing in the world, is to recompense and punish,’” declares Monte Cristo to Valentine Villefort (Dumas 664). Revenge. That is all Monte Cristo has thought about since he escaped from the Château D’If, a prison for political enemies. Revenge also remains as the underlying theme in Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas, born July 24, 1802, wrote The Count of Monte Cristo from 1844 to 1845, the period in which the novel takes place. To countless people, this novel contains the genres of adventure, Romantic, and moralistic tale. Alexandre Dumas uses elements of fiction to exemplify the foremost theme and show the novel contains the genre of moralistic tale. Dumas uses plot to show how and why Edmond Dantés, the protagonist of the novel, exacts his revenge and also to show how revenge works. Dumas also develops the theme of revenge through the dialogue between each of the characters. Through conflict of man versus man, Dumas conveys the rising action, climax, and falling action to illustrate the theme of revenge in The Count of Monte Cristo.
Dumas utilizes the element of plot through the rising action to illustrate the origins of Edmond Dantés revenge on his various enemies in The Count of Monte Cristo. After the captain of Dantés ship dies, Dantés is named the new captain upon arriving back in Marseilles (Dumas 4 and 9). His superior, Monsieur Morrel notifies Edmond of his increase in rank to captain on his ship, The Pharaon (Dumas 7). Hearing this news, Baron Danglars “turn[s] very red” in jealous anger (Dumas 9). Danglars, envious of Dantés, b ...